Separation Pay Calculator

What involuntary separation pay comes to — and how much of it the VA takes back out of your disability compensation.

Six years is the minimum for separation pay. At 20 years you retire instead, so the ceiling here is 19.
Your separation orders state which. Half pay applies where service was honorable but the separation does not meet every condition for the full rate.
Not sure? The combined rating calculator works it out from your individual conditions.

Enter your grade, years of service and separation type, then press Calculate Separation Pay.

The part nobody explains at out-processing

Separation pay is a lump sum for being involuntarily separated short of retirement. If you later receive VA disability compensation, the VA recoups it — withholding your monthly compensation until the separation pay has been recovered.

The detail that matters: for separations after 30 September 1996 the VA recoups the amount you actually received, after federal tax withholding — not the gross. Getting that wrong overstates what the VA takes by roughly 22%, and it is the single most common error in advice on this subject.

This is separation pay under 10 U.S.C. § 1174. Disability severance pay under § 1212 is a different payment with a different formula — see the severance recoupment calculator.

Estimates only. Separation pay is computed on your actual final monthly basic pay and creditable service as DFAS records them, and recoupment is administered by the VA under 38 CFR § 3.700. Figures here use the 2026 pay tables, the 2027 VA compensation rates and a flat 22% federal supplemental withholding rate; state tax and FICA are not shown. Confirm with your finance office and an accredited representative before making decisions.