A new kind of myPay account is now available from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) for Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve and Air Force Reserve “Gray Area Retirees.” The new type of account was created to help these individuals stay connected and informed between the time they stop drilling and the time they start receiving military retired pay.

Gray Area Retirees are service members who served in the Guard or Reserve, qualified for retired pay, have retired from their service (stopped drilling), but are not yet at the age where they can start receiving retired pay. The time between retirement from service and the date when they are eligible to begin receiving retired pay is known as the “gray area.” The “gray area” applies even if the member is in the Retired Reserve.

A Guard or Reserve member is generally not eligible to start receiving retired pay until they reach age 60. However, some periods of active duty or active service can reduce the age requirement below 60 years of age.
myPay is DFAS’ pay management portal used by approximately 5 million military members, federal civilian employees, and military retirees and annuitants.

In the new basic myPay account, Gray Area Retirees can confirm or update their email and mailing addresses to stay informed about news related to their upcoming retired pay. Additionally, when they apply for retired pay and have a current email address in their account, DFAS will email them notifications about the status of their application.

To find out more, Gary Area Retirees are encouraged to visit https://www.dfas.mil/grayarea.

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About DFAS

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service provides responsive, professional finance and accounting services to the men and women who defend America. DFAS pays about 6.6 million people and in FY 2020 made 137.3 million pay transactions, 4.3 million travel payments, paid 12.4 million commercial invoices, made $623.3 billion in disbursements to pay recipients, and managed $1.27 trillion in military retirement and health benefits funds. For more about DFAS visit http://www.dfas.mil or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DFASOfficial).

Questions? Contact Steve Burghardt, DFAS Media Relations, at 303-517-6687.