Jim,
First let me say that you have a wonderful site filled with all kinds of needed information about the VA system. That being said, I would like your opinion about some information that I am seeking.
TDIU requires that there is no "gainful" employment and you certify such using the VA Form 21-4140. They also check with the IRS to see if there is any "earned" income. Now my question - Does Army Retirement Pay count as "earned" income for the purposes of this provision? My guess is that it does not (even though I pay income taxes on it and file a return).
Anyway, I have my letter for review of my service connected disability rating (Currently 60%SC) and the Reno NV Regional Office has had my file since 28 June 2011. I submitted my "statement in support of the claim" and indicated that I could not hold gainful and meaningful employment due to the severity of my spinal condition that has been getting worse over the past year (all noted in my VA medical records). So now to just wait for the review and decision to be made.
Thanks for any information you can provide with the Army Retirement Pay issue.
Reply:
Thanks for the kind words. The http://www.vawatchdog.org web site is growing daily to better serve veterans who are seeking factual information regarding the benefits they earned by their military service. It's free with no membership or registration requirements and we are designing it to make it easy to search and simple to read and understand.
No, your retirement income is not a factor in the TDIU decision. Such things as retirement income, Lotto winnings, family (spousal) income, Las Vegas slot machine winnings, income from trusts or the sale of a property and so on have no influence and aren't calculated in a TDIU decision. I get these and a lot of other questions almost daily. Some years ago a veteran contacted me scared to death that his slot machine winnings of 1/4 of a million dollars would end his benefit. It didn't.
The only thing that matters is that you are eligible and whether or not you earn income via "gainful employment". Although the precise definition of gainful employment is difficult to pin down (as with a lot of VA language) it's usually thought of as a traditional job with a 40 hour work week that you are at year-round. If your 60% (single) or 70% (multiple ratings) service connected disability prevents gainful employment, you're eligible.
The Veterans Benefits Administration does cross match with IRS, Social Security and so on to ensure that veterans are reporting income via the VA Form 21-4140 just as they should. As with all reporting to VA, we urge veterans to never try to game the system by hiding any income or other facts. Veteran beneficiaries should always remain credible by being accurate.
TDIU beneficiaries may hold part time employment as they attempt to gain skills to reenter the work force. There are rules that cover self employment and family efforts like farming and so on.
If your 60% is a single rating for a single service connected condition, your eligibility to apply for the TDIU benefit should be inferred and VA should automatically notify you and offer you the application process to be considered for the benefit. Otherwise, notify your Regional Office in writing that you wish to be considered for TDIU and get on with the lengthy process of application and adjudication.
Please read my page on TDIU at http://www.vawatchdog.org/tdiu-unemployability.html