UCX Program

The Unemployment Compensation Program for Ex-Service member (UCX)

The UCX Program provides unemployment compensation benefits to Service Members transitioning to the civilian labor market who meet the following eligibility criteria:

·      Active duty or Active Reserve Status during the claim base period.

·      Honorably discharged.

·      Completed the first full term of service (Reservist must complete 180 days of continuous active duty).

·      Meet state eligibility requirements.

To apply, you must bring your DD Form 214, social security card, and your military and/or civilian job history/resume to your state employment office.

UCX Fact Sheet:  https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/docs/factsheet/UCX_FactSheet.pdf

State Criteria: https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/UnemploymentBenefits/unemployment-benefits.aspx?lang=en&frd=true

PCM and Referrals - Don’t Make My Mistake!

Although I have spent considerable time working on this guide, I continue to discover new things - even 11 months after retiring from the Navy.

Last week I was ready to schedule my first civilian annual physical. I figured they would be booked a couple months out. To my surprise, the doctor I selected, and is listed as my PCM at the TRICARE website, stated they weren’t taking new patients and what was displayed in TRICARE was irrelevant. I then had to spend considerable time to find a new PCM. Lesson learned…if I were to do this again, I would have signed up for TRICARE and immediately book my first appointment (read on for additional reasons you might want to do this).

A couple years before retiring, I received my PCM referrals and began seeing a specialist (once or twice a year). As part of my preparations to retire I asked a medical representative what to do about my specialist care - I was told good to go, just follow-up with my civilian PCM when I had my first annual appointment a year from then. Not so good advice as I just discovered that all your referrals (no matter what the stated date is) expire the day you retire. I am not thrilled to pay out of pocket for my specialist appointment, but luckily it is not as expensive as I had envisioned. This is the second reason you should make a PCM appointment post-retirement sooner than later - establish new referrals to continue specialist care.

I have added a note in Chapter 1 to make an appointment with your new civilian PCM and not wait until your next annual is due.

Retirement Pay and Foreign Compensation

Retired members of the uniformed services are required by 37 U.S.C. § 908 to obtain Congressional consent to accept civil employment (and compensation for that employment) and payment for speeches, travel, meals, lodging, or registration fees, or accepting a non-cash award.

If a retired member accepts foreign compensation without prior approval, the retired pay is subject to withholding.

Navy retirees can contact the Chief of Naval Personnel/OPNAV N1 legal counsel at (703)604-3399 or navyfge.fct@navy.mil.

New VA Disability Claim Requirement

The VA announced that starting 1 April 2023 transitioning service members applying for VA disability compensation under the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program need to submit their new VA Disability Benefits Questionnaire (VA DBQ) with the claim. You can find additional information and the form at https://www.benefits.va.gov/compensation/dbq_publicdbqs.asp.

My observations are as follows:

The Separation History and Physical Exam is currently documented on DD Form 2807-1 (Oct 2018). I haven’t found any official documentation to tell Service members to start using DBQ Part C except for the VA press release with the 1 April mandate.

• DBQ Part A only exists on the VA website – notably without a form number (so not an official document to support the 1 April deadline).

• VA Form 21-526-EZ was not modified prior to levying the new “Requirement”.

• The VA DBQ webpage provides guidance to fill out either DD Form 3146 or VA SHA DBQ. DD Form 3146 does not currently exist per www.esd.whs.mil/Directives/forms.

VA and DoD were both supposed to agree on this, it doesn’t look like DoD has formally approved it, nor does it look like VA has done due diligence to support the 1 April deadline.

Navy SkillBridge Update

On 3 March 2023, the Navy released NAVADMIN 064/23 that contains updated SkillBridge participation requirements. These changes institute significant restrictions on SkillBridge participation. A summary of the requirements are as follows:

Any Sailor or Officer must register and apply for SkillBridge approval via https://myeducation.netc.navy.mil. This site can be accessed using a CAC or DEERS Information (DoD EDI or SSN).

The maximum time one can participate in SkillBridge prior to separation is limited by paygrade as follows:

E1 – E5 180 Days

E6 – O4 120 Days

O5 – O10 90 Days

O5 and above are not permitted to participate in SkillBridge if their billet would be gapped. Additionally, OPNAV N13 approval is required.

Any Officer seeking to participate in SkillBridge must have completed their minimum service requirement for commissioning and if they accepted a retention bonus, the period of the service obligation must be complete.

Any member who received service-funded education (including Tuition Assistance), is not permitted to begin a SkillBridge opportunity until all obligated service for that education is complete.

Veteran National Park Pass

Another Veteran benefit is a free lifetime pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites, including national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests.

The pass covers entrance fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at national parks and national wildlife refuges, as well as standard amenity fees at national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Veterans can present a DoD ID Card, Veteran Health ID, Veteran ID Card, or veteran’s designation on a state-issued U.S. driver’s license or ID card at a participating federal recreation area.

Additional information is available at: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/pickup-pass-locations.htm

Free Glasses for Military Retirees

Although I am sure there are people in the know about this benefit, I didn’t find anyone talking about it during my transition preparations.

After reading SECNAVINST 6810.1 (AFI 44-117/Army Regulation 40-63), I discovered that retirees, regardless of rank, who require vision correction are entitled to receive one pair of standard issue spectacles or half-eye spectacles per year through the Naval Ophthalmic Support Training Activity (NOSTRA).

If you have a TRICARE plan and receive treatment at a Military Treatment Facility, contact your MTF and they will place the order through the Spectacle Request Transmission System (SRTS).

If you have a TRICARE plan, but you aren’t authorized treatment at an MTF (or live greater than 50 miles from the MTF), submit DD Form 771 along with your mailing address, daytime phone number, and email address to NOSTRA.

Detailed ordering information is available at this link: https://www.med.navy.mil/Naval-Medical-Readiness-Logistics-Command/Naval-Ophthalmic-Readiness-Activity/Ordering/how-to-order-retiree/

Navigating HSA and FSA in Military Retirement

I was excited to start my new job, but during the benefits presentation I was still unclear about the FSA – was I eligible and how does it interact with TRICARE? A synopsis of the big takeaways is below. My guide contains additional information along with links to IRS and other references at www.navyretirementguide.com.

Health Savings Account (HSA) – You may contribute to an HSA if you have a High Deductible Health Plan. This plan allows you to contribute pre-tax dollars to pay qualified healthcare expenses; generally, these funds cannot be used to pay premiums. Unlike an FSA, you do not have a time limit to spend these funds. The 2023 contribution limits are $3,850 for individuals and $7,750 for families.

Retirees and their dependents who are enrolled in TRICARE are not eligible to participate in an HSA. If you want to participate in an HSA, then you must disenroll from TRICARE.

Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) – If your employer offers this, you can contribute pre-tax money to pay qualified health care expenses. Some employers may choose to contribute to this account. The 2023 contribution limit is $3,050 per employer; however, your employer may set a lower limit. You must spend the money you put aside on health care expenses during that year unless your employer allows a grace period (normally up to 2.5 months) and/or carry-over (maximum $610).

Retirees and their dependents who are enrolled in TRICARE may use an FSA; however, it is important to know that FSA funds cannot be used to pay your TRICARE premiums.

TSA PreCheck Post-Military

As I prepared to check my daughter and me in for our flight to Atlanta to attend her cheer competition I was surprised to get a pop-up notification that stated I was not registered for TSA PreCheck. I went and grabbed my retired military ID to verify my DOD ID number - perhaps that had changed and caused the issue. Nope - still the same. This was my first plane trip since retiring from the Navy on 1 Jan.

After doing some online research I discovered that your DOD ID number no longer works once you separate/retire. I am always amazed at how long anything with the government takes, except when they are cutting you off. I checked with a friend who retired on 1 Feb and he confirmed he no longer had TSA PreCheck as well.

Fortunately I am enrolled in Global Entry, so just needed to change the number to my Global Entry PASSID number. Looking around there seemed to be quite a few credit cards with this benefit.

The following website looks to have good information if you are looking for alternatives to get TSA PreCheck.

https://militarymoneymanual.com/tsa-precheck-military/

Website Kickoff

When I started down the path of developing my guide, I only intended to build it for me and my friends at the U.S. Naval War College. It started with a checklist, and it slowly grew to a 15-page pamphlet. As I started off on my SkillBridge Internship I had time to ponder additional questions and research those topics.

Distribution Issues. Initially, I just emailed the guide to a few people. I don’t recall exactly who suggested it, but someone pointed me to distribution via LinkedIn - and thus began my dilemma. I thought posting the guide would solve my distribution problem; however, many people experienced download issues and reached out to me to ask if I could email them a copy of the guide. As the months went by, the demand for the guide began to increase to the point where I was spending 30-45 minutes per night replying to questions and emailing copies to people.

Revision Control. I recently looked at a copy of my original guide – yikes! Not only had the guide grown from a 15-page pamphlet to 77 pages, but the content had also changed significantly. As I continued to do my research, I found lots of new information to deep dive into and modified information that I previously published. A few weeks ago, I began adding change bars and a revision log at the back, but that doesn’t help someone who has a version of the guide they received in the Summer of 2022.

What’s Next? I decided to build a website as the next logical step to improve visibility, distribution, and revision control. If there is a continued demand signal, I will work to update and add to the guide (e.g., add state veteran benefit information for additional states). I think there is a need for the guide, and I am working to increase distribution to assist those who are separating or retiring from the Navy (90% of the contents is also applicable to the other Services).

Bottom Line: I don’t have all the answers, but my goal is to provide access to resources and provide my experiences to enable you to make decisions that are right for you.