DoD announced last week that is extending the deadline for submitting claims for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) to March 18, 2011. The extension was authorized in the latest FY2011 Continuing Resolution. This is the fourth extension of the deadline since it was first set for October 21, 2010. To date, more than 78,000 eligible recipients have received an average benefit of $3,700, for a total of over $291 million. But, that is less than 60 percent of the $540 million provided in the FY2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act for RSLSP. To reach the thousands of servicemembers who have not yet filed claims, DoD has engaged in a vigorous effort to contact eligible personnel through direct mail, veteran’s organizations, social networks, and the media.
Eligible recipients are servicemembers (including those who have separated from the military) whose length of service was involuntarily extended between 2001 and 2009 under the “Stop Loss” program. To receive the benefit of $500 for each full or partial month that was served while in Stop Loss status, servicemembers or their beneficiaries must submit a claim to the appropriate military service. Additional information is available on the DFAS website.
