Benefits intact

Q: I work for the Air Force. One of our retired military members was told that if he waived his retired military pay to combine the military and the civilian service, he would lose his Tricare benefit. What exactly are people waiving when they waive retired military pay?

A: He was misinformed. Waiving his military retired pay and making a deposit to the civilian retirement fund would allow him to get credit for his active-duty service in determining his eligibility to retire from his civilian job and in his annuity computation. It will have no affect on any military benefits to which he would otherwise be entitled.