Question:
Jim, My husband has been receiving IU total and permanent since 2007. He is now 72 years old. It seems there are a lot of changes going on in VA and as usual IU is a target. Is my husband’s age going to be considered as non-qualifying in the future? I seem to remember reading that if you receive IU for 20 years you are protected. Is that accurate? I guess we are in anxiety mode due to uncertainty about all this reported social media monitoring. Not because we are doing anything wrong but because it adds another bureaucracy (SSA) in the mix to make mistakes and I feel like we as a group are being spied on. Any insight on the future for aging TDIU recipients? Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Jim's Reply:
The chatter you're hearing about the TDIU benefit is mostly just political talk. The fact is that the TDIU veteran isn't going to lose the benefit if the law changes as modifications and new rules are always a forward looking process. Current recipients of benefits would continue to receive those benefits even if future rules changed. The process is called "grandfathering in" (you've heard that phrase) and simply means that if future changes are necessary to a benefit, current stakeholders won't be penalized nor will they benefit from any change. Your husband's benefits are safe.