Does A Veteran Disability Have To Be Service Connected To Draw Benefits

04 Jul Disability Compensation and Pensions

Military members are exposed to a diversity of dangers including combat, traveling to foreign countries, unsanitary environments, and diseases. Sometimes this results in a lifelong medical condition or inability that can interfere with a veteran's ability to go and hold a skillful job.

The U.Due south. government takes care of veterans who have disabilities and medical weather that were caused or worsened past military service by providing monthly inability compensation. Information technology also takes care of depression-income veterans who are totally and permanently disabled due to non-service-connected medical conditions and disabilities past providing a monthly disability alimony. Finally, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a lifelong pension to veterans who have earned our nation's highest military decoration — the Medal of Accolade. Keep reading for more than details.

Checking Your Eligibility for Disability Bounty

The VA provides monthly inability bounty to certain veterans. To be eligible:

Your disability or medical status must accept been caused or fabricated worse by your service in the military, as adamant by the VA. The VA makes determinations based on service connection and presumed service connectedness.

Your disability or medical condition must have been acquired or made worse by your service in the military, as adamant by the VA. The VA makes determinations based on service connection and presumed service connexion.

You must have a inability or a medical condition that the VA has assigned a disability rating.

The corporeality of monthly tax-gratis inability compensation yous can receive is based primarily on the disability rating yous receive from the VA. The VA rates medical conditions and disabilities on a scale of 10 percent to 100 percent in x-percentage-point intervals (in other words, x percent, 20 percentage, 30 percent, 40 percent, then on).

Yous must have either an honorable or full general belch. If you accept whatever other kind of belch, such as an other than honorable conditions (OTHC) or a bad-conduct discharge awarded by a special court-martial, and so the VA must determine that your discharge was non under dishonorable weather condition.

Establishing the Service Connection

To authorize for VA disability bounty, the VA must decide that your medical condition was caused or aggravated by your military service. Service connection for a disability or death can be established through many ways. To learn more on the four virtually mutual visit:

Help Establishing Your Service Tape

Your Disability Rating

The VA has a massive listing of medical conditions and disabilities, along with rules and conditions that ultimately result in the assignment of a disability rating. You can see the entire list online at world wide web.warms.vba.va.gov/bookc.html.

Figuring Monthly Rates

Your monthly disability compensation depends primarily on your inability rating. For those rated at thirty percent or more, rates increase based on the number of dependents you accept.

If you are rated at 10 pct disabled, your 2008 monthly disability rate is $117 per month. If you lot are 20 pct disabled, information technology'due south $230 per month.

As with most veterans benefits, children are considered to be those under the age of xviii, or nether the historic period of 23 if attending a college or academy equally a full-time student. Too included are children who are incapable of self-care if the incapability happened earlier the age of 18 (or 23 if enrolled in schoolhouse).

The VA adjusts the rates on December ane of each year to business relationship for inflation.

For the latest rates, visit the VA's Web site at www.benefits.va.gov/compensation.

For more information on your bounty and what is offered, please review the following data:

Most Your Bounty
Information on Housing Grant
Information on Pensions

Counting Your Income

Your countable income includes income received past yous or your dependents, if any, from most sources. Information technology includes earnings, disability and retirement payments, involvement and dividends, and net income from farming or business organization.

There is a presumption that all your child'due south income is available to or for you. However, y'all can exclude a portion of your kid's income. For 2008, the annual exclusion limit is $8,950.

Some income is non counted toward the yearly limit. For case, welfare benefits, food stamps, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) aren't counted. Additionally, you're allowed to deduct certain medical and educational expenses. When y'all apply for a VA pension, you should include all income and deductions. The VA volition exclude any income and include all deductions allowed by law when computing your almanac family income.

Receiving Payment

Assuming you authorize, your annual pension is the difference between your countable family income (after exclusions and deductions). This amount is and then divided by 12 and rounded down to the nearest dollar. This gives you the amount of your monthly pension payment. VA pensions are exempt from income taxes.

You cannot receive a VA non-service-connected pension and service-continued inability compensation at the same time. Even so, if yous apply for the pension and are awarded payments, the VA volition pay y'all whichever do good is the greater corporeality.