A little-known law has forced over 120,000 veterans to return the money they got to leave the military, new data shows

A federal law has forced nearly 122,000 disabled veterans to return lump-sum incentives they received to leave the military, according to new data obtained by NBC News.

A federal law has forced nearly 122,000 disabled veterans in the last 12 years to return payouts — some totaling tens of thousands of dollars — they received to leave the military when it needed to downsize, according to new data obtained by NBC News.

The statistics come amid renewed calls to change the little-known law, which prohibits veterans from receiving both disability and special separation pay, which are one-time, lump-sum incentives offered to service members when the U.S. had to reduce its active-duty force.

“Nobody realizes that they are doing this to so many people,” said Vernon Reffitt, who was recently told to repay the $30,000 he got to leave the Army more than 30 years ago.

The clawbacks have thrown many veterans into sudden hardship. One said it would take him nearly 15 years to pay back what he owes. Another said he has to cut out expenses that are not a necessity, as his wife, who works full-time, is considering taking on another job to make ends meet. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said it had to recoup special separation payments from more than 17,000 veterans in the 2018 fiscal year — the highest annual amount so far. That total swelled from about 12,400 the previous year, although it’s unclear why.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/disabled-veterans-incentive-return-federal-law-rcna163636

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