Most veterans think about their VA disability rating in terms of one thing: the monthly compensation payment. But a VA disability rating can affect much more than the amount of your check.
Depending on your rating and other factors, you may qualify for additional health care, employment, travel, education, home loan, and family benefits. Some benefits are tied directly to a particular rating, while others require additional findings, such as Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) or Permanent and Total (P&T) status.
Understanding those distinctions is important. Here is a breakdown of some of the additional benefits that may become available as a veteran's disability rating increases.
A 0% Rating Still Has Value
A 0% rating means VA has recognized a disability as service-connected, even though the condition is not currently severe enough to warrant monthly compensation on its own.
That service connection can still be valuable. Veterans with a 0% service-connected rating may qualify for benefits including:
- No-cost VA treatment for the service-connected condition
- No-cost prescriptions for the service-connected condition
- Travel reimbursement for qualifying VA care related to the service-connected condition
- Commissary and exchange privileges
- Potential 10-point veterans' preference for federal employment, if the veteran otherwise meets the applicable eligibility requirements
A 0% rating can also become important later. If the condition worsens, the veteran can seek an increased rating without having to establish service connection all over again.
There is also a special rule for veterans with two or more separate permanent service-connected disabilities rated at 0%. Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324, VA may assign a 10% rating if those disabilities clearly interfere with normal employability. That 10% rating cannot be combined with another compensable service-connected rating.
10% and Above: Health Care and Other Benefits Expand
Once a veteran has a compensable service-connected rating, additional benefits become available.
Veterans rated 10% or higher generally receive:
- Monthly VA disability compensation
- No-cost VA inpatient and outpatient care
- No-cost prescriptions for service-connected conditions
- Travel reimbursement for qualifying care related to a service-connected disability
- Waiver of the VA home loan funding fee
- Commissary and exchange privileges
- Potential federal veterans' hiring preference
- Eligibility to apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E), subject to VA's determination of entitlement
- Certain burial benefits
Prescription copays may still apply to medications used to treat non-service-connected conditions at ratings below 50%, unless another exemption applies.
30% and Above: Additional Benefits for Veterans and Their Families
A 30% rating is an important threshold because VA begins paying additional disability compensation for eligible dependents.
Depending on the veteran's circumstances, dependents may include a spouse, children, or dependent parents. Additional compensation may also be available when a spouse requires aid and attendance.
At 30% or higher, veterans may also qualify for:
- VA travel reimbursement for qualifying VA or VA-approved health care, not limited to treatment of a service-connected disability
- The federal government's 30% or More Disabled Veteran appointing authority, which allows agencies to make certain noncompetitive appointments
These benefits are in addition to the health care, home loan, employment, and other benefits available at lower compensable ratings.
50% and Above: No Prescription Copays and Possible Concurrent Retirement Pay
Veterans with service-connected disability ratings of 50% or higher are generally placed in VA health care Priority Group 1.
Among other advantages, this generally means veterans at this level do not pay VA copays for medications, including medications prescribed for non-service-connected conditions.
A 50% rating can also be especially significant for military retirees. Certain qualifying military retirees with VA disability ratings of at least 50% may receive Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP).
CRDP can allow an eligible military retiree to receive both military retired pay and VA disability compensation without the usual dollar-for-dollar offset. This benefit does not apply to every veteran rated 50% or higher; the veteran must separately meet the applicable military retirement requirements.
60% to 90%: TDIU May Become Especially Important
Ratings in this range can become particularly important for veterans whose service-connected disabilities prevent them from maintaining substantially gainful employment.
Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, commonly called TDIU, allows VA to pay compensation at the 100% rate even though a veteran's combined schedular rating is below 100%.
Under VA's general schedular TDIU rules, a veteran may meet the rating threshold if:
- The veteran has one service-connected disability rated at least 60%; or
- The veteran has a combined rating of at least 70%, with at least one disability rated at 40% or more.
VA has additional rules allowing certain disabilities to be treated as one disability for purposes of these thresholds. Veterans who do not meet the percentage requirements may also potentially qualify for TDIU on an extraschedular basis.
Meeting the percentage threshold does not automatically mean a veteran will receive TDIU. VA must still determine that the veteran's service-connected disabilities prevent substantially gainful employment.
That distinction is important because some additional family benefits depend not merely on a 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% rating, but on VA finding the veteran totally disabled and, in some cases, that the total disability is permanent.
100%: Additional Benefits Become Available
A 100% schedular VA disability rating can provide significant additional benefits beyond the increased monthly compensation payment.
For example, veterans rated 100% may qualify for comprehensive VA dental care.
A 100% rating, however, is not necessarily the same thing as Permanent and Total status.
A veteran can be rated 100% while VA still believes the disability may improve in the future. This distinction matters because some of the most valuable benefits available to a veteran's family depend on the veteran being considered permanently and totally disabled.
Permanent and Total Status: Important Benefits for Dependents
When VA determines that a veteran's total service-connected disability is Permanent and Total (P&T), additional benefits may become available to eligible family members.
These can include:
- CHAMPVA health coverage for an eligible spouse and dependent children
- Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA/Chapter 35) for qualifying spouses and children
- Certain additional education and training benefits for eligible dependents
A veteran may potentially be considered P&T based on a 100% schedular rating or a TDIU award if VA determines that the total disability is permanent.
This is why two veterans receiving compensation at the 100% rate may not necessarily have exactly the same additional benefits. One may be 100% or TDIU with P&T status, while another may be totally disabled without VA having determined that the disability is permanent.
100% Plus Separate Disabilities Totaling 60%: SMC(s) or Statutory Housebound
Some veterans qualify for an even higher level of compensation known as Special Monthly Compensation at the housebound rate, or SMC(s).
One way to qualify—often referred to as statutory housebound—is to have a single service-connected disability rated as totally disabling along with additional, separate and distinct service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60% or more.
There is also a separate path to SMC(s) for certain veterans who are actually substantially confined to their home because of service-connected disabilities.
SMC rules can become complicated quickly, particularly when TDIU is involved, so veterans with multiple high ratings should not assume VA has necessarily considered every level of Special Monthly Compensation that may apply.
Why Your VA Disability Rating Is About More Than the Monthly Check
A rating increase can affect much more than monthly compensation.
For example, moving from 20% to 30% can mean additional compensation for dependents and broader eligibility for travel reimbursement. Reaching 50% can eliminate VA prescription copays and may affect concurrent retirement pay for qualifying military retirees.
A higher rating can also put a veteran in a position to qualify for TDIU. And if VA ultimately determines that a veteran is permanently and totally disabled, that determination can open significant benefits for the veteran's spouse and children, including CHAMPVA and Chapter 35 education benefits.
The important point is that a disability percentage, a TDIU award, and Permanent and Total status are not interchangeable. Each can carry different benefits.
Veterans and their families sometimes focus so heavily on the monthly compensation amount that they never realize they may already qualify for additional benefits they are not using.
At Affleck & Gordon, we help veterans and their families understand not only the compensation attached to a VA disability rating, but what that rating may mean for their overall benefits. If you have questions about your VA disability rating, an increased-rating claim, TDIU, or a claim that is still pending, please call us or contact us online.
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