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Disability benefits and criteria
- Thread starter HAL Pilot
- Start date
Anybody know the answer to this?
Ditto. What are we talking here. I have to express my ignorance of VA disability benefits. 17 years of service, and I have had my baseline reset twice, in addition to tinnitus (sp?). I am coming up on retirement, and I guess I should be smarter in my knowledges on this... but I am not...
Guess I can search the interweb as well as anyone...
Am I reading the VA web page correctly, 30% disability, if you have a spouse and dependant gets you: $429 a month?
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/rates/comp01.htm
Am I reading the VA web page correctly, 30% disability, if you have a spouse and dependant gets you: $429 a month?
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/rates/comp01.htm
You found it. Those are the payments you recieve if you found disabled by the VA, and what you get paid by percentage and dependents.
It's not really 10% of anything, it is a 10% disability rating with 100% being the max rating. It's not a linear progression either.
If you add up all my separate ratings, it is 50% but when combined it is a 30% total rating.
Hmm, learn something new every day... wonder if my submarine and time as a diver gets me the 10% radiation exposure disability?...
Seriously though, there seem to be the given effects of having a career around heavy machinery, such as the hearing loss. For those of us interested in continuing flying for the airlines after retirment, will the VA disability application/determination affect any of that? Or is it apples and oranges?
Seriously though, there seem to be the given effects of having a career around heavy machinery, such as the hearing loss. For those of us interested in continuing flying for the airlines after retirment, will the VA disability application/determination affect any of that? Or is it apples and oranges?
You are reading it correctly.
But what you have to remember is that unless it is a combat related disability and over a certain percent (and I don't know what the percent is), your retirement pay is offset by the amount you receive for the disability. But the amount you receive for the disability is tax-free.
MOAA is working on getting full concurrent receipt to do away with the offsets for all.
There are also other VA benefits tied to the disability rating. For example, 30% and above does not have to pay the VA funding fee on home loans and is eligible for voc rehab training which includes training costs as well as a living allowance in addition to your retirement/disability pay. I know one guy who did a 2 year pharmacist course under voc rehab.
I do not put my VA disability on my FAA medical questionnaire. My FAA doctor told me that unless I fell that it effects my ability to fly, I do not have to list it. Plus it is against the law to discriminate for a disability that does not effect your job performance.
Say your pension is $2000/month and your disability payment is $500/month.
You will receive $1500 pension (taxable) and $500 disability (non-taxable).
If the disability was combat related and over the % threshold, you would get $2000 (taxable) + $500 (non-taxable).
Unless your disability is over the % threshold and combat related (i.e. you got a purple heart for it), you will never receive an amount that is higher then your pension. For any disability payment you receive, an equal amount is taken away from your pension. The only difference is that the disability amount is tax-free.
The formula is complicated....in my case I am rated at 60%.... with dependents....$1068. But, that is not what I get every month in terms of a net gain to my checking account. In my particular case my retirement is offset by $240 each month, giving me a net gain of about $800.
You can find the table here: CRDP (concurrent retirement (receipt??) and disability pay)
http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/retired-pay/crdp-pay-computation Note that the increase of offset increases each year until 2014 when we all get our full disability pay and full retirement.
If your injuries are combat related (or in combat related training...such as aviation) go here for info. Combat Related Special Compensation "While engaged in hazardous service (e.g. flight, diving, parachute duty)" http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/retired-pay/comparing-crsc-crdp
Used to be your VA was deducted from your retirement (assuming you retired) on a dollar for dollar basis. Now...once you reach 60% (or above) the offset is figured differently.
Tinnitus sucks - plain and simple. After over 5,000 flight hours, I have it "bad" and plan on claiming every last decible that i've lost from the VA. BTW - I believe the Navy's "Hearing Conservation" program officially began in 1986. So, if you joined before then, hearing loss will not be an issue for you when trying to claim VA disability. After almost 27 years of active duty service I can tell you that keeping your medical record up to date (and making sure you have copies of EVERYTHING in it) will help immensly when trying to make a VA disability claim. Just my .02c
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