§7438. Special pay: coordination with other benefits laws

(a) Special pay paid under this subchapter shall be in addition to any other pay and allowances to which a physician or dentist is entitled.

(b)(1) A physician or dentist who has no section 4118 ¹ service and has completed not less than 15 years of service as a physician or dentist in the Veterans Health Administration shall be entitled to have special pay paid to the physician or dentist under this subchapter considered basic pay for the purposes of chapter 83 or 84 of title 5, as appropriate.

(2) A physician or dentist who has section 4118 ¹ service and has completed a total of not less than 15 years of service as a physician or dentist in the Veterans Health Administration shall be entitled to have special pay paid to the physician or dentist under this subchapter considered basic pay for the purposes of chapter 83 or 84, as appropriate, of title 5 as follows:

(A) In an amount equal to the amount that would have been so considered under section 4118 ¹ of this title on the day before the effective date of this section based on the rates of special pay the physician or dentist was entitled to receive under that section on the day before such effective date.

(B) With respect to any amount of special pay received under this subchapter in excess of the amount such physician or dentist was entitled to receive under section 4118 ¹ of this title on the day before the effective date of this section, in an amount equal to 25 percent of such excess amount for each two years that the physician or dentist has completed as a physician or dentist in the Veterans Health Administration after the effective date of this section.

(3) All special pay paid under this subchapter shall be included in average pay (as defined in sections 8331(4) or 8401(3) of title 5, as appropriate) for purposes of computing benefits paid under section 8337, 8341(d) or (e), 8442(b), 8443, or 8451 of such title.

(4) Special pay paid under section 4118 ¹ of this title, as in effect before the effective date of this section, to a physician or dentist who has section 4118 ¹ service shall be credited to the physician or dentist for the same purposes and in the same manner and to the same extent that such special pay was credited to the physician or dentist before such effective date.

(5) For purposes of this subsection:

(A) The term "physician or dentist who has no section 4118 ¹ service" means a physician or dentist employed as a physician or dentist in the Veterans Health Administration who has no previous service as a physician or dentist in the Administration (or its predecessor) before the effective date of this section.

(B) The term "physician or dentist who has section 4118 ¹ service" means a physician or dentist employed as a physician or dentist in the Veterans Health Administration who has previous service as a physician or dentist in the Administration (or its predecessor) before the effective date of this section.

(C) Service in any predecessor entity of the Veterans Health Administration shall be considered to be service in the Veterans Health Administration.

(c) Compensation paid as special pay under this subchapter or under an agreement entered into under section 4118 ¹ of this title (as in effect on the day before the effective date of the Department of Veterans Affairs Physician and Dentist Recruitment and Retention Act of 1991) shall be considered as annual pay for the purposes of chapter 87 of title 5, relating to life insurance for Federal employees.

(Added Pub. L. 102–40, title I, §102, May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 196 .)

References in Text

Section 4118 of this title, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (c), was repealed by Pub. L. 102–40, title IV, §401(a)(3), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 210 .

For the effective date of this subchapter, referred to in subsec. (b), see section 104(a) of Pub. L. 102–40, set out as an Effective Date note under section 7431 of this title.

The effective date of the Department of Veterans Affairs Physician and Dentist Recruitment and Retention Act of 1991, referred to in subsec. (c), probably means the effective date of title I of Pub. L. 102–40, which enacted this subchapter, and which is generally effective on first day of first pay period after July 1, 1991, subject to certain transition and savings provisions, see section 104 of Pub. L. 102–40, set out as a note under section 7431 of this title.

Prior Provisions

Provisions similar to those in this subchapter were contained in section 4118 of this title prior to the repeal of that section as part of the complete revision of chapter 73 of this title by Pub. L. 102–40.

Effective Date

Section effective on first day of first pay period after July 1, 1991, subject to transition and savings provisions and prohibition on retroactive agreements, see section 104 of Pub. L. 102–40, set out as a note under section 7431 of this title.

¹ See References in Text note below.