Navigating VA Disability Claims
For many transitioning from active duty to post-service life, filing a disability claim with the VA is one of the furthest thoughts from their minds. There can be many reasons for this — not wanting to be viewed as a “dis- abled veteran” at a young age; the feeling that other ser- vicemembers are more deserving of disability pay than someone who does not have visible or obvious injuries; or even the fact that one might not need the additional disability pay because retirement pay or a post-service salary is more than adequate. However, there are many reasons to set aside these biases and file a VA disability claim as soon as possible when transitioning. When Army Maj. Bradley Stevens decided to leave
active duty service to pursue his graduate school studies and a career in the finance industry, he did not think fil- ing a VA disability claim for his aching back and insom- nia was a priority. “I was focused on school and the next chapter of my life,” says Stevens. “Plus, I thought that VA disability was better reserved for those veterans who had serious conditions, like missing limbs.” Stevens later real- ized all of the other benefits of a VA disability rating that he had not previously considered. “I started to add up all the benefits I was passing up, like tax-free money every month, job preference possibilities, and not to mention my knee problem that started while I was in the Army was getting worse and now required surgery,” he says. “I realized that I should’ve addressed my VA claim a lot ear- lier than when I did.” In order to obtain a VA disability rating, the VA must
find a veteran has a current disability that either began in service or was the result of some incident or injury in service. The longer a veteran takes to file a disability claim with the VA, the more difficult it is to prove a current disability is related to service, due to the time elapsed. The closer in time to service a VA disability claim is filed, the easier it will be to prove the connection to service, because there will be fewer potential interven- ing causes that a condition might be attributable to.
MONETARY BENEFITS VA disability compensation is tax-free. Some military retirees might be eligible to receive both military retire- ment and VA disability compensation concurrently. Retirees who receive VA disability compensation at a 50-percent or higher rating are entitled to receive both
their full military retirement and their VA disability pay. Military retirees who are rated less than 50-percent dis- abled by the VA can choose to offset their military retire- ment with their VA disability compensation, thereby making that portion of their military retirement tax-free. The VA also is responsible for providing medical
care for service-connected disabilities. Even if you have health insurance after leaving military service, this might save a significant amount of money in copay- ments and deductibles. Besides the benefit of tax-free disability compensa-
tion, a VA disability rating also might carry other impor- tant benefits. Many states and localities exempt disabled veterans from various taxes, such as property taxes. Some states also provide free in-state college tuition to children of disabled veterans. You can check each state’s benefits in MOAA’s State Report Card, published annu- ally in the November issue of Military Officer magazine (
www.moaa.org/militaryofficer).
INTANGIBLE BENEFITS An important benefit to many transitioning service- members is veteran’s preference in federal hiring. Veteran’s preference applies to several different authori- ties that allow veterans to be considered both competi- tively and noncompetitively for federal jobs. Many non- disabled veterans will have a five-point preference for federal jobs, while a disabled veteran (regardless of the percentage of disability) is eligible for a 10-point hiring preference for competitive-federal jobs. These prefer- ences, and others, are explained in the article Veterans’ Preference in Federal Hiring, by Ralph Charlip, available at
www.moaa.org/vetspreference. As an additional transition-related benefit, veterans
who use the VA Home Loan Guaranty benefit will not be charged a funding fee if they have a VA service-con- nected disability. This can save thousands of dollars in loan costs when buying a new home in preparation for a follow-on career move. There are some other long-term planning benefits
a VA disability rating might provide. For example, the VA is obligated to pay for nursing-home services for veterans who are 70-percent disabled, which might be an important long-term benefit as health care costs con- tinue to rise. Additionally, surviving spouses of veterans
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