Va 100 Percent Disability Pay

Can Va Disability Compensation Go Beyond A 100% Va Rating

There are circumstances in which veterans can receive additional compensation related to exceptionally severe disabilities or conditions. Special monthly compensation is a type of compensation with a range of categories and criteria. SMC is awarded to veterans with severe disabilities in order to bring their compensation above and beyond what schedular ratings can provide. Read more in our article Are You Eligible for Special Monthly Compensation?

Free State Education Benefits For 100 Percent Disabled Veterans

Some states offer FREE college benefits to some veterans and the dependents of 100% disabled veterans. In Texas for example, the Hazelwood Act provides veterans, spouses, and dependent children with up to 150 hours of tuition free college at state schools. In the state of Florida, the Congressman C.W. Bill Young Tuition Waiver Program waives out-of-state tuition fees for all honorably discharged veterans who reside in the state and who are enrolled in Florida public, post-secondary institutions. Florida also provides scholarship opportunities for dependent children and spouses of veterans who died from a service-connected disability or who are rated 100% permanently and totally disabled by the VA. Click HERE to see if your state offers free education for disabled veterans.

Dependents Education Assistance Va Benefits For 100% P& T Disabled Veterans

If youre the child or spouse of a Veteran or service member who has died, is captured or missing, or has disabilities, you may be able to get help paying for school or job training through the DEA program, also known as Chapter 35 benefits. Generally, a disabled veteran must be 100% P& T due to a service-connected disability for dependents to qualify. Click HERE to find out if youre eligible for this incredible benefit for survivors and dependents of eligible disabled veterans.

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Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation And Employment Program

The Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program, also known as Voc Rehab, is designed to assist veterans with service-connected disabilities to obtain suitable employment and/or achieve independent living goals. It consists of several application phases, involving tasks for both VR& E staff and Veterans to complete. A full list of Voc Rehab coordinators can be found HERE. Veterans can also get started with the VR& E process by contacting your local VA Regional Office.

Who Should I Contact If I Have Questions About My Disability Rating

There are many organizations that specialize in helping veterans with their benefits and claims.

The first place to start is with the VA. VA representatives have access to your records and are the best source for up-to-date information.

However, the VA isnt always the best place to get assistance with your claim, especially if you are filing an appeal after the VA denied your claim. In that case, I recommend contacting a veteran benefits counselor at your county VA office, or an organization such as the DAV, AMVETS, VFW, American Legion, or a similar Veteran Service Organization.

You can also use the Physical Evaluation Board Forum to anonymously ask questions about VA disabilities, ratings and the military medical board process.

If that doesnt work, consider hiring a lawyer that specializes in VA disability claims. I dont have any specific recommendations for lawyers, so please do your research before hiring a law office to represent you. At the minimum, you will want to ensure they specialize in military law, VA disability claims, social security disability claims, or similar types of law. As with all legal agreements, also make sure you understand the compensation structure.

Thank you for understanding, and thank you for your service!

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+ Best 100 Percent Disabled Veteran Benefits: The Ultimate Guide

I hope you enjoy reading this blog post.

If you want to learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, to speak with a VA claim expert for free.

In this post, we will be covering the 25+ Best 100 Percent Disabled Veteran Benefits in detail, along with tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help veterans get the VA disability benefits theyve earned for their honorable service.

Weve also compiled a complete list of the top 100 percent VA disability benefits for veterans in 2022 along with action-steps so you know HOW to get them.

In our experience at VA Claims Insider, many disabled veterans with a 100% VA rating dont realize the incredible state and federal benefits they qualify for by law.

This means you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of VA disability benefits you deserve for you and your family.

Alright, lets explore some of the incredible state and federal benefits available to veterans with a 100 percent VA disability rating.

• #14: CHAMPVA Medical Insurance
• #15: Dental Care
• #26: Disabled Veteran Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Special Monthly Compensation Rate Payment Variations

Effective December 1, 2022

Levels K and Q are special rates called SMC rate payment variations. We may add Level K to your basic SMC rate.

SMC-K and SMC-Q rates

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How To Receive A 100% Va Disability Rating

The highest percentage that can be given for service-connected compensation purposes is a 100 percent VA disability rating, or total disability rating. This rating is only available to veterans with extremely debilitating service-connected ailments that make them unable to work and mostly unable to care for themselves. You start by filing a service connected claim. You may also want to consider VA unemployability with VA Form 21-8940.

If you are unable to work and need someone to help take care of you, then a 100 percent rating may be appropriate.

Disability ratings range from 10% to 100%. The idea behind these ratings is that the veteran should be compensated according to the impairment that the disability would cause to the average persons ability to earn a living. This compensation generally comes in the form of monthly payments.

Past Rates: 2022 Veterans Disability Compensation Rates

Review 2022 Veterans disability compensation rates. Use our compensation benefits rate tables to find your monthly payment amount. We base your monthly payment amount on your disability rating and details about your dependent family members.

Want to review current rates for Veterans disability compensation?

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What Is A 100 Percent Va Disability Rating

Your disability rating is the percentage the VA assigns to your disability when determining eligibility for various VA benefits. Your rating can range from 0 to 100 percent in 10 percent increments.

There are several different types of 100 percent VA disability ratings, according to Department of Veterans Affairs Code § 3.340:

SERVICE-CONNECTED

These are disabilities caused by injuries that occurred or were aggravated during your service.

If you receive a 100 percent disability rating for one service-connected disability, or a combination of these disabilities, you are still able to work full time without disrupting your benefits.

TOTAL DISABILITY/INDIVIDUAL UNEMPLOYABILITY

Total disability/individual unemployability is a disability rating that may be granted if a veterans claim asserts that he or she be paid benefits at the 100 percent disabled rates, even though the disability or disabilities rate below 100 percent.

These claims can be made by a veteran if a service-connected disability prevents him or her from maintaining gainful employment.

To qualify, a veteran must:

• Have a single disability with a rating of 60 percent or a single disability with a rating of 40 percent, paired with additional disabilities equaling a rating of 70 percent or more
• Medical documentation establishing why the veteran cannot work in physical and sedentary jobs

With A Dependent Spouse Or Parent But No Children

Compensation rates for 30% to 60% disability rating

Find the dependent status in the left column that best describes you. Then look for your disability rating in the top row. Your basic monthly rate is where your dependent status and disability rating meet.

If your spouse receives Aid and Attendance benefits, be sure to also look at the Added amounts table, and add it to your amount from the Basic monthly rates table.

Compensation rates for 70% to 100% disability rating

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Gathering Evidence To Support Your Veterans Disability Claim

Providing ample evidence to document the seriousness of your condition is an essential part of maximizing your VA disability claim. You will need a persuasive nexus letter from a healthcare professional who focuses on treating patients with your specific condition. Diagnostic tests and documentation of any treatments youve tried in the past are also helpful. You can submit records from a VA provider as well as any relevant private medical evidence.

In addition to evidence from medical professionals, you can also submit statements from family, friends, coworkers, and others with knowledge of your condition. Having people who are close to you testify how your symptoms affect your day-to-day life provides strong support for a 100% rating. In some cases, your attorney may also recommend submitting personal journal entries, so you have a chance to explain your condition in your own words.

Past Rates: 2021 Veterans Disability Compensation Rates

Review past Veterans disability compensation rates for 2021. Use our compensation benefits rate tables to find your monthly payment amount. We base your monthly payment amount on your disability rating and details about your dependent family members.

Want to check current disability compensation rates?

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Va Travel Pay And Reimbursement

VA Travel Pay Reimbursement is for regular transportation, such as, car or POV, plane, train, bus, taxi, or light rail. You may be eligible for this reimbursement if youre traveling for care at a VA health facility or for VA-approved care at a facility in your community, and at least one of the below descriptions is true for you. The current VA travel pay reimbursement rate is 41.5 cents per mile for approved, health-related travel. Pro Tip: Veterans can now file a travel pay claim and reimbursement online!

The Survivors & Dependents Educational Assistance Program

Dependents of veterans with total disability can avail of DEA benefits for degree and certificate programs, apprenticeship, as well as on-the-job training. The veterans dependents can receive up to 45 months of education benefits, if they started to use the program before the first of August, 2018, and if they started on or after said date, they have 36 months instead of 45.

In addition, eligible dependents can access career counseling, additional guidance on how to avail various VA benefits, and other forms of personalized academic counseling collectively referred to as Vocational and Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits.

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Special Monthly Compensation Benefits For 100% Disabled Veterans

VA Special Monthly Compensation, also known as VA SMC benefits, is additional tax-free compensation that can be paid to disabled veterans, their spouses, surviving spouses, and parents. For disabled veterans, VA Special Monthly Compensation is a higher rate of compensation paid due to special circumstances, such as the need of aid and attendance by another person or by specific disability. For example, the loss or use of a creative organ, which is Erectile Dysfunction for men and Female Sexual Arousal Disorder for women.

A Change In Your Family Status Can Change Your Va Disability Payment

Remember to contact the VA whenever you have a change in family status as your rates may change as well.

If you have a 30% disability rating or higher and you are also supporting qualified dependents such as a spouse, child, or parent, you may be eligible to receive a higher VA disability payment.

If your disability rating is 20% or lower, changes in your family status should not affect your VA disability payment rates.

The VA will not know when there is a change in your family status, so you will need to inform them immediately when something changes, like a birth, wedding, a parent moving in with you, divorce, a child coming of age, or the death of a qualified dependent.

Inform the VA of a change as soon as possible.

The VA will sometimes backdate payments to make up for any shortfalls, like if you had to wait for your child to receive a social security number to report a new dependent.

In the case of the loss of an eligible dependent, your payment may decrease. The VA can recoup overpayments if you failed to notify the VA of a change in family status in a timely manner.

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Calculating Multiple Va Disability Ratings

The VA uses a special method for calculating multiple disabilities.

Here is a simplified example:

Example: If you have a 30% disability rating, the VA would multiply that against 100%, which is assumed to be good health. This gives you 30%. Subtract that from 100% which leaves you with 70% . Then subtract 70% from 100% and you are left with 30%. If that is your only disability, then your final VA Service-Connected Disability Rating is 30%.

If you have multiple ratings, you continue with the process, using your final number each time as your starting point. Continuing with our example, if your next rating is 10%, you would multiply 10% against 70%, which is 7%. You subtract that from 70%, which leaves you with 63%. Subtract 63% from 100% and you get 37%. Your disability rating is 37%, which rounds up to 40%.

It can get complicated quickly, so I have an in-depth article and podcast that explain how the VA calculates combined disability ratings. I highly recommend reading and/or listening to get a good idea of how the process works!

Want To Speak With A Va Claim Expert Its Free

For a limited time, you can book a FREE, no-obligation VA Claim Strategy Call with one of our experts.

Heres a few topics worth exploring on your FREE discovery call:

• Why VA claims are taking longer right now , and how you can speed-up your claim, even if youve already filed, been denied, or gave up.

• Why medical evidence is the #1 way to win your VA claim, to include how to get DBQs and Nexus Letters at reduced rates from private medical providers.

• Why many veterans ignore secondary claims for secondary service connection and service connection by aggravation, and how they can help you increase your VA rating.

Click the button below to book your FREE VA Claim Strategy Call:

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Va Disability May Be Garnished For Child Support & Alimony

Disability payments from the Veterans Administration are not normally subject to garnishment or assignment. 38 U.S. Code § 5301. However, there is a limited exception in 42 U.S. Code § 659 which authorizes garnishment only to the extent that military retirement was waived to receive VA disability. So there are two preconditions to garnishing VA disability payments for family support:

• The veteran has retired, not simply ETS’d, and
• The veteran has a disability rating of 40% or less, so there is a VA waiver in effect against the military retirement.

See our article on garnishment of military pay for more details on how to garnish family support from VA disability benefits.

Health Care Priority Group 1

Veterans with a 100% VA disability rating are assigned to Health Care Priority Group 1. Those in this group can avail of the following benefits:

• Preventive care, mental health care, and geriatrics and extended care
• Emergency care at a non-VA facility and foreign medical care
• Hospitalization services and ancillary services
• Medical equipment, prosthetic items, aids, and automotive adaptive equipment
• Medications/supplies, eyeglasses, and hearing aids
• Nursing home placement, home improvement, or structural alteration grants
• Clothing allowance benefits and medically related travel benefits

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