Can You Receive VA Disability and Military Retirement Pay? | Disabled Vets (2024)

FAQs

Can You Receive VA Disability and Military Retirement Pay? | Disabled Vets? ›

The answer is yes, it is possible, but only under certain conditions. Retired veterans who have a disability rating of 50% or higher, or qualify for Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC), are eligible to receive both benefits in full.

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) allows military retirees to receive both military retired pay and Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation. This was prohibited until the CRDP program began on January 1, 2004. CRDP is a "phase in" of benefits that gradually restores a retiree's VA disability offset.

Your level of disability (your disability rating) determines the amount of your disability compensation. Note: You can't get VA pension payments and disability compensation at the same time. If you apply for and are eligible for both, we'll pay you whichever benefit is the greater amount.

Veterans may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in conjunction with, or as an alternative to, VA disability compensation. Veterans may also use the Medicaid and Medicare health benefits that come with SSI/SSDI to supplement VA health services.

Yes, you can receive your military retirement pay and VA disability if you served more than 20 years. You must also qualify for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) by having a disability rating of at least 50%.

About Retirement Pay and Disability Compensation

The purpose of DOD pay is to compensate you for your career ending early, while the purpose of VA compensation is to compensate for your loss of civilian earnings after service and to pay you for your functional loss resulting from your disability.

In 2023 the VA benefits for those without children or spouse is at a minimum of $165 per month (for a 10% disability rating) and for veterans with 100% disability, the upper ceiling is $3.6k. If you end up receiving both benefits, you may receive upwards of $6k per month.

The member is also entitled to VA Disability Compensation based on a service-connected disability that is rated by VA as 50 percent disabling in the amount of $1200 per month. This member may receive military retired pay ($800) in full concurrently with the member's VA Disability Compensation ($1200).

To be eligible for schedular TDIU benefits, a veteran must have either: a single service-connected condition with a rating of at least 60 percent; or. (the 70/40 rule) at least two service-connected conditions with a combined rating of at least 70 percent, with at least one of the conditions rated 40 percent or higher.

Is it easier to get SSDI if you are 100 disabled veteran? ›

The Social Security Administration provides expedited processing of disability claims filed by veterans who have a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Compensation rating of 100% Permanent & Total (P&T).

Although Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and VA Disability benefits are government programs, each depends on a different entity and has its requirements, both with their pros and cons. In the first instance, it may be easier for a veteran to obtain VA Disability since it is designed specifically for them.

We use a method called the “whole person theory” to determine what we call your combined disability rating. We do this to make sure that your total VA disability rating doesn't add up to more than 100%. That's because a person can't be more than 100% able-bodied.

Veterans who are rated by the VA as permanently and totally disabled can travel Space-A (space available) on military aircraft for free. If you qualify you can travel in the continental United States (CONUS) or directly between CONUS and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa.

Unfortunately, your spouse cannot receive your VA disability compensation after you die. However, they may get a monthly allowance if they qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. If you lived in government housing, VA might also allow them to stay in residence for up to a year.

Under that phaseout, veterans whose gross household income was $170,000 or higher in calendar year 2023 and who would have received the average annual payment would no longer receive any disability compensation from VA in calendar year 2024.

However, there are exceptions to the 55-year rule that may allow older veterans to still receive disability compensation. Here are a few examples: Individual Unemployability (IU): Veterans over 55 who are unable to work due to a service-connected disability may be eligible for IU benefits.

The 8-year provision actually goes both ways. The veteran needs to have been totally disabled for at least 8 years before death and then the benefit will be granted to surviving spouses for the same 8 years.

On a case-by-case basis, beneficiaries with a 90% rate may be eligible for a tax-free VA pension. They may also be eligible for concurrent retired and disability pay (CRDP). They can also get a VA Home Loan Guarantee, and Vocational Readiness and Employment (VR&E) benefits.