Benefits

Question:

I had a pacemaker and ICD implanted in 2016. I am a Blue Water Navy Vet. I filed a claim in 2020. Will I get back pay to 2016 even though the law was not passed until 2019 for Blue Water Vets? 

Jim's Reply:

Retroactive benefits apply to the date that you filed a claim. There are some circumstances where the effective date may be the time of the onset of the condition or other unique events but in the great majority of cases, it's the date you filed.

Even where there may be extraordinary cases like Nehmer, the veteran must have filed a claim and been denied for retroactive benefits to kick in. If you filed a claim after your pacer and ICD were implanted in 2016 and you were denied, you may have a shot at retro to that time. Good luck sir.

Question:

I am a Vietnam era Vet who served January 1970 thru December 1971. I served at the Pentagon in 1970 and then got orders to Vietnam in late 1970. I was on my way but got diverted to Germany due to President Nixon cutting back troops. I am now 73. Am I entitled to any benefits at this stage of my life and if so what might they be. Thanks for your help.

Jim's Reply:

You may well be entitled to health care, home financing and more. This will take you some time to sort out but I'll suggest you start at this VA website. It's never too late. Good luck sir.

Question:

I was recently awarded 100% schedular with P&T. Am I allowed to work part-time or full-time without being penalized (losing my P&T status)? I have seen where some experts have said no you can't work because that is why you were awarded P&T. Others say yes you can work but you shouldn't because the VA will call you back for a C&P Exam. Still others say that you can work as long as you do not work 12 consecutive months. I understand the work rules for TDIU but I am confused about the work rules for 100% schedular with P & T.

Jim's Reply:

The disability ratings system that VA uses is notoriously hard to figure out. The system was designed in the 1940s into the 1950s for what was then a largely agrarian and emerging industrial American society and hasn't had any substantial changes since.
 

It seems incongruous when the term '100% Totally Disabled' is applied to an individual who is capable of mostly mainstream life activities but such is the VA rating system. Many 100% rated veterans have gone on to leadership positions in public life all while keeping their 100% schedular rating.
 

The Schedule For Rating Disabilities
 

A 100% permanent rating brings with it privileges that make a totally disabled veterans life a bit simpler. The veteran who is eligible for that 100% is sometimes very clear cut and other times not so much. The regulations recognize that some veterans will have a number of disabling conditions that when stacked together will make gainful employment impossible for that vet even though the conditions do not add up to 100%. Thus we have the TDIU or 'unemployablity' rating that allows a veteran who is rated at 60% to 90% to be awarded a 100% rating because of defined work related challenges.
 

Although disability compensation is awarded to compensate for shortcomings in our ability to earn a living because of our disabling conditions, that isn't addressed as clearly for the 100% schedular rated veteran as it is for the 100% TDIU vet. The regs are clear that the TDIU vet can't work and earn a wage above the poverty level or he or she will risk losing benefits. But whether or not the 100% schedular rated vet is allowed gainful employment isn't addressed as clearly.
 

In the end the 100% schedular rated veteran is allowed to work at any employment and earn as much as they are capable of with no penalty. The TDIU veteran is only allowed to earn up to the federal poverty level or VA will question why the vet is rated at 100%.
 

The system makes no sense in our society today and recommendations to make the necessary changes have been cast aside. Most recently the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors, sometimes called the Dole-Shalala commission, gave strong guidance on changes that must be taken. The report was shelved with no attempt to initiate any change.
 

In any case, yes, you are allowed to pursue any employment that you are capable of of you may earn as much money as you can and there is no penalty for that. Good luck sir.

Question:

I’ve looked on this thread and on Google for a while but I still remain confused on my award letter. During my research and from other users, a permanent rating is P&T which stands for "permanent and total." However the wording on my benefits letter is different and I want to know if it means the same thing. My letter states, “You are considered to be totally and permanently disabled due solely to your service- connected disabilities: The effective date of when you became totally and permanently disabled due to your service-connected disabilities...” Unlike all my research which is P&T, mine letter is worded T&P. Also, if they are the same thing am I allowed to get a job? I’m having a hard time on google figuring out if getting a job would take away my benefits.

Jim's Reply:

VA could possibly make the language in an award letter more obtuse and difficult to grasp but I'm not sure how.
 

P & T is Permanent & Total. T & P is Total & Permanent. Each refer to the same concept that a veteran is totally disabled and that he disabling condition(s) are static and won't show any measurable improvement in the future. The phrases are used interchangeably.
 

Your Department of Veterans Affairs and its employees and every veteran I've ever met are all guilty of abusing language that's already confused. The TDIU benefit is Total Disability Individual Unemployability. Vets and VA staff alike will call that IU, Unemployability, and any number of other acronyms I've heard over time.
 

These terms P & T - T & P mean the same thing. I salute you for being aware and concerned enough to question that...when dealing with your VA, question everything.
 

That isn't paranoia, that's common sense. 

Question:

Am I able to hold a job/make income if I have T&P disability? Through my own research I find it confusing. I understand that under TDIU the VA can terminate benefits, however I’ve also found that the VA rates on ability to make income even if T&P. I’m looking for clarity on this as now I am too paranoid to be employed.

Jim's Reply:

Yes, you're allowed to work and earn as much as you can if you're rated as 100% disabled by The Schedule. If you aren't receiving TDIU benefits you're good to go.

Question:

This question is on behalf of Air Force 1st Lt Douglas Brookfield, killed in a Cargomaster crash in Labrador, CAN in 1964. He was just 24. A senior member at his hometown local historical society will not allow Lt. Brookfield's personal items (such as small booklet of poems he wrote) to be displayed in the Society's Veterans Day yearly exhibit. The reason given when questioned was that "he was not a Veteran [since] he did not serve in a period of active war." She claims the local Veteran's agent supports her in this. This seems wrong on several levels?

Jim's Reply:

A "local veterans agent"? 
 

That doesn't sound like someone who is on our side does it? The fact is that anyone who served honorably is a veteran. Whether they served in a period of war makes a difference on some benefits and nothing else.
 

Serving in the military is a challenge under any circumstances. The physical demands and the mental stress come with the territory and there aren't any civilian careers that compare. The person who you're honoring wouldn't have died in a Cargomaster crash as a civilian and I think that says it all.
 

It seems particularly mean spirited to not honor a veteran. You can tell her I said so.

Question:

Can TDIU, P&T, SSDI Veterans earn passive income by writing a book, investing in stocks, or buying properties?

Jim's Reply:

The word passive would best describe something that requires no effort. Your 3 examples are all real work. Writing a book, investing in the market and buying properties in hopes of a profit are all examples of work or 'gainful employment' and those who earn their livings at such endeavors wouldn't like to hear that you think any of it is passive.
 

So...no, these are not things you can do to earn income other than income that is less than the poverty level. 
 

What you might call passive income, that income that is allowed, would be winning the Lotto, inheriting poor old Aunt Gertrude's fortune, marrying a wealthy partner who gifts you with riches or stumbling across a pirates chest of booty.
 

The VA is more forgiving than the SSA. An SSDI beneficiary has to be careful of even doing volunteer activities because the SSA may see that as an indication that the beneficiary is able to work. The VA allows volunteering and when you enter your VA facility, most of the volunteers you'll meet there are disabled vets.
 

Be careful with any earned income if you're rated as TDIU. The VA is tracking your IRS and SSA accounts and if you raise suspicions, you'll get a request to complete a VA form 21-4140 and you could lose the 100% rating.

Question:

I want to request my temporary 100 percent rating be changed to T&P. Is there a VA form required or is the request submitted by letter to the Regional VA Office?

Jim's Reply:

There is no regulatory path or form that a veteran can choose to request to convert a temporary rating to a permanent rating. In fact, I recommend that veterans don't attempt to change a temporary rating other than to request the change when you're meeting with a C & P examiner at a scheduled future exam.
 

Temporary ratings come with a scheduled future exam that will occur at varying times depending on what the disabling condition and rating are. The examiner is the authority that will make a recommendation whether or not a disabling condition is static and unlikely to show future measurable improvement and is 100% permanent or if there is healing to be done and a 100% or permanent disability rating may not be warranted.
 

As with all things VA there is a process to ratings and if you step outside the process you can make a mess of your claim. All too often veterans who are adamant about pursuing a permanent 100% rating will find themselves at a C & P exam and later discover that their rating isn't 100% any longer. You stand a real chance of losing the 100% and the permanent status of the rating. We have to be careful what we ask for, VA can be a challenge to deal with.
 

If you're under age 55 or if the temp rating is for mental health it's even more likely that you won't be successful in seeking a permanent rating unless and until you have a scheduled future exam. The only exception I'd offer is that if you are placed in hospice care with a medical diagnosis of an end of life within 6 months, then it makes sense to petition VA for a permanent rating. 
 

Otherwise, patience is a good idea. Wait for the process to get you to the future exam and ask the examiner to recommend a permanent rating. Good luck. 

Question:

My husband draws compensation from the VA and we live in a private housing subsided by HUD. The landlord says his disability is counted as income. The VA office said it’s not. Who is right? We need to know.

Jim's Reply:

Department of Veterans Affairs compensation payments are always counted as income. I can't think of any program or plan that doesn't see that money for what it is...real money. VA benefit money is used in home loan decisions, child support and alimony cases and in credit card applications and every other financial support ruling that I'm aware of.
 

VA compensation is tax exempt and many veterans confuse that with how agencies like HUD, Social Security and other aid agencies count it as income. It is tax exempt income, but income nonetheless.
 

I'm sure the "VA office" said that the money was tax exempt because they wouldn't know about or have any authority to speak to how HUD viewed the money...it's a HUD rule, not a VA rule and VA can't comment.
 

If you're interested in the details, scroll down to Subpart B - Disclosure and Verification of Social Security Numbers and Employer Identification Numbers; Procedures for Obtaining Income Information on this page and you can explore some of the federal regulations that support the reporting of all income.

Question:

Jim, I had a QTC examination and have been searching for any information on my exam. I can find nothing. Evidently, the VA does not want our veterans to find out what is in their files. Do you have any knowledge as to how to find OUR medical history within QTC or are we not allowed this information? Without the information, it makes it difficult to reply to the VA without knowledge of what is in our exam reports. That's like going to war with no ammo. The vets' questions and your answers have helped me quite a bit. Thank you.

Jim's Reply:

A Compensation and Pension examination is not entered into your medical record as it is not a health care event. You do not establish a doctor-patient relationship and no treatment, prognosis or therapy is offered. This document is not a part of your medical history, rather it is an administrative tool used to determine a very narrowly focused question or questions about your disability claim. The C & P exam is a part of your electronic VBMS claim that's in process and you do not have a right of access to that.
 

There is nothing for you to reply to. Until your claim is completed and you have the decision in hand, there is no reason for you to have a copy of the C & P exam. If you were to get a copy and see something you disagreed with and then fired off a letter about it, your claim would stop processing and return to start.
 

Then you'd be questioned as to whether or not you are withdrawing your claim (a common assumption when the vet interrupts the process) and then eventually you'd be subjected to another C & P exam. You may also be flagged as a problem.
 

You could easily add a year or more to the time it takes to adjudicate your claim and gain nothing at all or even lose the battle, have your claim closed in error and have to start all over. The fact is that the C & P exam isn't the only factor that weighs in on a decision. The rater will use the information in the report along with your history and the decision will be made using all the information to come to a fair conclusion.
 

VA disability claims are a process. If you interrupt the process before it completes, you can cause a lot of delays and damage to your claim. Patience is a virtue! Good luck.