Today I want to do another solo episode. It’s been a while since I’ve done one of those. Don’t worry though, I have a bunch of great guests lined up over the coming weeks, so we’ll get back to hearing their stories next week. Actually, I only have a few more episodes to round out the second year of this podcast, which will be in the beginning of June so I’m pretty excited about that.

Anyway, today I want to talk about disability benefits from the VA for service connected conditions. I’m a member of several veteran related Facebook groups and I keep seeing some of the same questions over and over again from veterans about their disability ratings, how to apply, why the math of a rating change doesn’t seem to make sense, and a number of other things. So I figured I’d use this episode to unravel some of the mysteries behind VA disability claims as best as I can, because let’s be honest it’s all a bit of a mystery even if you’ve gone through the process before.

OK, so first I want to talk about who these claims are for. If you served – it doesn’t matter if you were active duty, reserves, national guard, or if you were in basic training at the time of a service connected injury or illness. If you served and got sick or injured while serving, had a pre-existing condition that got worse by your service, or a disability related to your service that didn’t appear until after you ended your service, you very likely could have a valid VA disability claim. You also generally have to have had an honorable discharge unless you can get your discharge reviewed and upgraded. There’s a whole process for that, which I’m not familiar with, but it is possible.

Now, a lot of people will say that they won’t apply for a rating because they say “I don’t want to take it away from someone who really needs it” or “I didn’t get blown up by an IED so I don’t deserve it.” That’s a bunch of crap. Anyone who has any condition that developed during their service should apply. You’re not taking it away from anyone if you apply. The only person you are taking it away from is yourself if you don’t apply.

The whole idea behind the disability benefits is that, well first off you’re not going to get rich off of it. At most, even if you’re rated at 100%, you’re looking at a little over $3,000/month depending on how many kids you have and if you’re married. The idea behind the disability payment is that it will compensate you for the condition you sustained while serving. This can offset lost wages or other expenses while getting treatment for your condition. If you can’t work due to your condition, it can offer you a basic level of income, which helps ease the burden of the condition you developed during your service. Again, you’re not going to get rich off of VA disability. If you’re not 100% rated it should be able to offset some lost wages while you get treatment for your condition.

For example, if you get rated for PTSD, you’ll likely find yourself taking time to go to appointments with a psychologist. This could take time away from work and result in lost wages. The VA rating helps by making up some or all of those lost wages. But it isn’t a system where you submit for specific lost wages. If you’re rated at a certain percentage, the VA compensates you based on that percentage, so it may or may not cover all lost wages. And if you’re worried that you’re going to take benefits away from someone else or you just don’t deserve it, these ratings aren’t always permanent. In the PTSD example, you may get re-evaluated a few years after your initial rating and your rating could get lowered or eliminated altogether d...