[Eligibility for Retired Pay]

An Army disbursing officer requested a decision as to whether the provisions of a barring act were applicable to a retired Army officer's entitlement to retired pay. The officer was never informed by the Army that he was eligible for retired pay; moreover, when he filed the claim 6 years after he retired, the Army advised him that he did not have the necessary service credit. The officer submitted evidence that he fulfilled that requirement, but the GAO Claims Group reviewed the claim and would authorize only partial payment because of regulations barring claims not received within 6 years of the date they first accrue. Upon review of the decision, GAO noted that, although the officer had reached the mandatory retirement age, the Army did not notify him that he had met the years-in-service requirement until almost 6 years after he retired. GAO held that the accrual of such a claim for the purposes of the barring regulations cannot begin until the service's determination that the individual fulfilled the years-in-service requirement. Accordingly, since the officer's claim was received within 6 years of the determination, he was entitled to the entire amount accrued since his retirement.