Who do you contact for pay and benefit questions after you retire?
By DFAS Cleveland April 2026
After you retire, it can be difficult to identify which agency you should contact for questions about your pay or benefits. Here are the main points of contact you should keep handy.
DFAS Retired and Annuitant (R&A) Pay
DFAS R&A Pay is primarily a payroll office. We establish and maintain military retired pay, Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity accounts, and issue monthly payments to both military retirees and their eligible survivors, including the following:
- Active and Reserve/Guard Retirement payments
- Temporary and Permanent Disability Retirement payments
- Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay
- Combat-Related Special Compensation payments
- Survivor Benefit Plan payments
We also have a range of online tools where you can submit documents or a question online, change a retiree mailing address, order a duplicate copy of your 1099R, and submit documentation through our online upload tools: https://www.dfas.mil/askdfas
To call our Customer Care Center, please call (800) 321-1080 or (317) 212-0551 during normal business hours.
DFAS myPay
After you receive your first retired pay deposit, when you log in to myPay, you will see a new Army Retiree account. This is where you can manage your retired pay and download PDFs of your Retiree Account Statements (RAS).
If you are entering the gray area, approximately 30-45 days after your transition, when you log into myPay, you will see a new Future Retiree myPay account. If you keep your contact information current in this account, DFAS and Army can send you important information, such as news about changes in laws or policies that impact your retirement benefits, reminders about applying for retired pay, and Army Echoes.
Plus, with a current email address in myPay, when DFAS receives a completed Gray Area Retiree application for retired pay (uploaded from HRC), DFAS can send you email status notifications.
If you need assistance with your myPay account, please call (888) 332-7411.
Army
With more than 130 Retirement Services Offices (RSO)worldwide, servicing all three components of the Army, your servicing RSO is ready to assist you in the transition from a uniformed service member, to a Retired Soldier and make determinations for some entitlement programs, such as Combat-Related Special Compensation, and assists with many other retirement related matters.
Find your RSO on our website, bookmark Army Retirement Services, for helpful planning tools and materials, and everything about retirement from A to Z in the Army Retirement Planning Guide.
Read the “Change of Mission” newsletter for up-to-date information on policies and benefits relevant to Soldiers with 17 or more years of service. Consider where you want to retire to—will the decision be based on a desired location, a job or education opportunity or other variables?
U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) issues official Army retirement orders for active-duty, Reserve, and National Guard Soldiers. HRC, specifically the Retirement Services Branch, processes the application and publishes the orders, which are subsequently uploaded to IPERMS and mailed to the Soldier. HRC issues retirement orders, which are required to process your retirement pay application.
You should work with your RSO to complete and submit your application for retired pay. If you are entering the gray area, be sure to mark your calendar to contact your RSO to start your application for retired pay at least nine months before your pay-eligible date.
Please contact HRC'S Retirement Services Branch for assistance with the following:
- CRSC eligibility determinations
- Applying for retirement or retirement eligibility; assistance with BRS lump sum election
- Retirement orders
- Legal name changes
- Assistance with making Survivor Benefit Plan decisions and changes
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides services to former members of the military, not just those who are retired from the military.
If you are disabled, the VA establishes your level of disability compensation and handles any changes or updates.
These include:
- Additional (tax-free) benefit for veterans injured while in the service
- Ratings for service-connected disability codes
- Ratings for Special Monthly Compensation
- Individual Unemployment ratings
- Re-rating you if you feel your disability has increased
The VA also administers pensions, educational programs, home loans, life insurance, vocational rehabilitation, survivor benefits (such as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation-DIC), medical benefits and burial benefits.
If you have questions about any of these topics, please contact the VA at (800) 827-1000 or visit their website.
TRICARE
If you have questions about your TRICARE allotment or enrollment premium, please contact TRICARE. DFAS can only start, stop, or change a TRICARE allotment with direct instruction from TRICARE.
East Region (formerly North and South Regions):
Visit: https://www.humanamilitary.com/
Call: (800) 444-5445
West Region:
Visit: https://tricare.mil/west
Call: (844) 866-WEST (9378)
The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program – FEDVIP
If you enrolled in the FEDVIP dental and/or vision insurance program, BENEFEDS is the government-authorized and OPM-sponsored enrollment portal that eligible participants use to enroll in FEDVIP coverage.
If you have enrollment questions, and do not have access to the internet, please call the BENEFEDS Customer Service Center at (877) 888-FEDS (3337) or (571) 730-5942.
National Personnel Records Center
https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records
The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records is the repository of military personnel, health, and medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services.
Contact the National Personnel Records Center if you need a copy of your DD 214 after you retire.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Contact the IRS for tax-related questions and to download forms and publications.
