IN THE CASE OF: BOARD DATE: 16 July 2020 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20180002171 APPLICANT REQUESTS: correction of his retirement pay to reflect a 2% annual increase in his Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in 2018. APPLICANT'S SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD: * DD Form 149 (Application for Correction of Military Record) * Order# C-02-601514 dated 4 February 2016 * Order# C-02-690026 dated 4 February 2016 * Order# C-02-601514A01 dated 9 February 2016 * DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 28 April 2016 * DD Form 215 (Correction of DD Form 214) * Retiree Account Statement dated 1 December 2017 * Retiree Account Statement dated 29 December 2017 FACTS: 1. The applicant states that he was medically retired (60% disabled) on 28 April 2016. He understood that during the 2017 calendar year he would only be entitled to a partial COLA increase because it was his first full year of being retired, however in 2018, he would be entitled to the full COLA increase of 2%. He contests that he did not elect to receive the Career Status Bonus (CSB) after serving 15 years, and he is not a REDUX retiree. He assumes that this must be an oversight. He has submitted inquiries to the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) previously and was advised to submit a request through the ABCMR to have this corrected. He has spoken with other Officers and was advised that there must be a miscalculation being made somewhere that needs to be corrected. 2. A review of the applicant’s available personnel records reflects the following: a. On 31 May 1997 he was commissioned in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) at the rank of Second Lieutenant (2LT) /O-1 and ordered to active duty. b. On 12 December 2001 (Order# 346-0008) he was reassigned to the United States Army transition point pending release from active duty. c. On 30 May 2002 he was released from active duty and transferred into the USAR (Reinforcement). d. From 31 August 2004 through 7 June 2008 he spent multiple periods of service on active duty. e. On 15 June 2009 he was again ordered to active duty. f. On 4 February 2016 (Order# C-02-690026) he was to be released from assignment and duty due to a physical disability incurred while entitled to basic pay and under conditions that permitted his retirement for permanent physical disability effective 28 April 2016. Disability retirement is based upon 16 years 5 months and 15 days of active service with a total of 20 years 6 months and 10 days service credit for pay. g. On 28 April 2016 he was released for retirement from active duty due to a permanent medical disability and placed on the retired list effective 29 April 2016. h. His service records do not reflect CSB/REDUX retirement. 3. The applicant provides the following: a. Order# C-02-601514 dated 4 February 2016 reflective of him being reassigned to the installation for separation processing. b. Order# C-02-690026 dated 4 February 2016 – see 2f. above c. Order# C-02-601514A01 dated 9 February 2016 reflective of a change in the report date reflected on Order# C-02-601514A01 to indicate 19 February 2016 rather than 18 April 2016. d. DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) dated 28 April 2016 – see 2g. above. e. DD Form 215 (Correction of DD Form 214) reflective of him being awarded the Legion of Merit; to be added to his DD Form 214. f. Retiree Account Statement dated 1 December 2017 reflective of his gross pay entitlement of $4842.00 per month. g. Retiree Account Statement dated 29 December 2017 reflective of an increase in his gross pay entitlement to $4890.00 per month. 4. See applicable regulatory guidance below under REFERENCES. BOARD DISCUSSION: 1. The Board carefully considered the applicant’s request, supporting documents, evidence in the records and Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1401a(b)(2) change effective 27 November 2017. The Board considered the applicant’s request, his record of service, the date of his entry and the date of his retirement. The Board found that the applicant met the criteria for the 2018 COLA increase as stated in the law. Based on a preponderance of evidence, the Board determined that a correction to the applicant’s retired pay was necessary to correct an error. 2. After reviewing the application and all supporting documents, the Board found that relief was warranted. BOARD VOTE: Mbr 1 Mbr 2 Mbr 3 :X :X :X GRANT FULL RELIEF : : : GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF : : : GRANT FORMAL HEARING : : : DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined the evidence presented is sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by amending his retirement pay to reflect a 2% annual increase in his Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in 2018. I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. REFERENCES: 1. Army Regulation (AR) 15-185 (ABCMR) paragraph 2-9 states the ABCMR begins its consideration of each case with the presumption of administrative regularity. The applicant has the burden of proving an error or injustice by a preponderance of the evidence. 2. The retired pay computed under each retired pay plan is adjusted each year, effective December 1st, by the change in consumer prices. The COLA is determined by the percentage increase, if any, between the average 3rd quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the current year over the average 3rd quarter (CPI) of the prior year. In the event of a decrease in the CPI, the COLA will not be negative, but will be zero. Additionally, the COLA for the next year will reach back to the 3rd quarter CPI to the last year in which there was a positive COLA increase. The first COLA adjustment after retirement is calculated under a formula different than that above, if the member retires between January 1st and September 31st. This is to preclude the advantage of receiving a retirement based on both a new pay raise and full COLA in the first year of retirement. 3. Fiscal Year 2016 Adjustments to Retired Pay memorandum provides detailed guidance regarding Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) and other computation procedures applicable to military retired pay. This document specifies the COLA for retired pay and premium determinations effective December 1, 2015. Since there was no increase to this year’s COLA, the basic index quarter for the next year remained that of the third calendar quarter of 2014, which would be compared to the third quarter of 2016. As such, the percentage of increase was set at “0” (zero). a. Effective 13 January 2017, the retired pay COLA percent increase for 2016 for those who first became a member of the uniformed Service on or after September 8, 1980 and who retired between 1 April and 30 June 2016 was .03% in accordance with Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1401a(d). b. Effective 27 November 2017, the retired pay COLA percent increase for 2018 for those who first became a member of the uniformed Service on or after September 8, 1980 and who retired before 1 January 2017 was 2% in accordance with Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 1401a(b)(2). //NOTHING FOLLOWS// ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20180002171 5 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1