Does Va Disability Expedite Ssdi
Getting VA disability benefits unfortunately doesnt guarantee youll get SSDI benefits. As we explained above, the VA requirements and SSDI requirements are different. You might qualify for one or the other, if not both.
However, qualifying for VA disability can, in some cases, expedite your SSDI claim. Thanks to the SSAs Wounded Warrior program, veterans who get a 100% P& T disability rating are given priority when processing claims. That means, if the VA rates your disability at 100% and determines that your disability is permanent, you could get your SSDI claim approved faster.
Are Ssdi Benefits Taxable
Social Security disability benefits can be subject to tax at both the federal and state level. Many recipients do not pay taxes at the federal level because their federally Adjusted Gross Income is too low to be taxed. However, a spouses income or household income can cause SSDI to be taxed. Supplemental Security Income benefits are not taxed.
37 states and D.C. do not tax social security benefits but 9 states do.
Does It Help To Get Approved For One Program Is You Already Have The Other
In the past, the answer was yes. If you were approved for VA Unemployability benefits, then your chances of getting approved for Social Security Disability benefits were very high.
Unfortunately, from 2017 onwards, the Social Security Administration changed their regulations, stating that VA Unemployability approvals would not be taken into consideration while a persons application for Social Security Disability benefits was being processed.
However, the evidence that you shared with the VA department will be used by the SSA in assessing your claim for Social Security Disability.
The VAs office will also not take into consideration that you are being given Social Security Disability benefits. This is because the SSA does not ask whether the disabilities sustained were because of military service. And the main requirement for eligibility for VA Unemployability is that your disabilities need to be service-related.
There are a lot of times that a Veteran has disabilities that are both service related as well as non-service related. So, the Veteran has to prove that it is a service related disability that is the reason for his or her Unemployability.
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Misconception #: A Tdiu Rating Is The Same As A 100% Rating
Nope. There is a difference between an Individual Unemployability rating and a 100% rating. Many veterans get this confused because they pay the same. Your TDIU rating will be based upon the severity of your service-connected conditions and your unemployability factors. A 100% rating will be based solely upon the severity of your service-connected conditions.
Veterans Eligibility For Ssdi
SSDI benefits are available for both veterans and other workers. They are calculated based on work credits accumulated throughout the veterans or other workers working life. However, SSDI is only awarded to people who qualify as totally and permanently disabled . The disabled veteran needs to check to see if their condition meets the requirements for SSDI. This can be found in the Blue Book compiled by the SSA.
This book contains a list of all conditions and the requirements needed in order to qualify for disability benefits. Most veterans who qualify for SSDI have their claim fast tracked as a reward for the time they have sacrificed representing their country.
A veterans claim for SSDI does not affect their VA benefits and each benefit is applied for separately. Any veteran who has paid Social Security taxes may apply for SSDI independently of VA benefits. You need to have accumulated 40 work credits and 20 of those need to have been earned in the last 10 years leading up to the date you were diagnosed with your disability.
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Differences Between Ssdi And Va Disability
A primary difference between these two programs is the nature of disabilities they consider eligible. To qualify for veteran disability benefits, your disability must have been service-connected that is, it started during your active duty. Under the SSDI, this is not an eligibility requirement.
However, the SSDI program also does not consider disability by degrees you are either found disabled or not. This is in contrast to the VAs rating system which compensates even partial degrees of disability. Under the VA program, you may receive benefits even when your compensable disability rating is only 10 percent, whereas in SSDI, you must be found to be completely unable to work profitably before you can collect benefits.
Because of this, the benefit amounts between the two programs also vary. Veteran disability benefits depend largely on the rating of disability as well as the number of dependents. Check these tables on the VA website to see how much you may receive. On the other hand, SSDI benefits are based on your work earnings record prior to disability . SSDI recipients typically receive $700 to $1,700 per month.
How Do Ssdi And Va Disability Benefits Affect Each Other
Youre allowed to receive payments from both the SSDI and VA disability programs. In fact, you could receive either SSDI if you have a substantial work history, or Supplemental Security Income if you meet the income limitsalong with VA benefits.
Just because its possible doesnt mean its easy.
You have to qualify for disability under the different rules and regulations of each program:VA Disability Benefits
A major difference between Social Security and VA disability benefits is that the VA recognizes levels of severity of your disability, from 10% to 100%, and awards benefit amounts on a scale depending on your percentage.
The central requirement is that your health problems stemmed from your service.
VA Disability benefits are considered to be obligatory compensation for your service, so they may be easier to win than SSDI.
SSDI Benefits
To Social Security, where the standard is your inability to workregardless of when or how your health problems startedyou either have a fully qualifying disabilityor you dont at all.
SSDI is a form of insurance, funded by taxpayers, where the burden is on you to prove you deserve benefits.
In your application for SSDI, you need to show that your condition matches Social Securitys definition of a disability:
You cant do substantial work of any kind because of your health problems.Your condition is expected to last at least a year, or it could potentially lead to death.
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Social Security Disability Vs Va Disability Compensation
This week, CCK partner Zachary Stolz and Social Security expert Michael Mooney discuss the role of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs in administering federal disability benefits. They also answer some commonly asked questions about the interplay between Social Security Disability Insurance and VA disability compensation.
Are There Limits To The Amount Of Benefits You Can Receive
Your ability to receive disability benefits is not tied to income, though you do need to have enough work credits to apply.
Anyone who has paid Social Security taxes can apply for disability benefits, and your ability to qualify is tied to the number of work credits you have earned over the years. Generally speaking, you need to have 40 work credits and 20 of those credits must have been earned in the past ten years leading up to when you were diagnosed with your condition.
The number of work credits needed is based upon your age, though, as you earn four credits each year you earn a certain amount of money. Younger applicants will need fewer than 40 credits to apply.
There is no income limit to apply for disability benefits, but in order to qualify for benefits you cannot be able to perform work. There are incentive programs through the SSA that allow you to work while receiving benefits, such as the Ticket to Work program. It is important to talk with the SSA if you want to work while disabled as this can jeopardize your ability to receive your disability benefits.
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Difference Between Ssdi & Ssi
SSDI pays benefits to disabled individuals who are unable to work, regardless of their income and resources.
SSI pays disabled individuals who are unable to work AND have limited income and resources.
Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News
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Drawing Va Benefits And Ssa Benefits
Veterans may be permitted to draw both VA and SSA benefits, but depending on the SSA program you enroll in, you may or may not have your Social Security benefit amount reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount of your VA disability pay . Those drawing SSI may risk benefit reduction if they dont meet income caps those drawing SSDI are not at risk.
With or without the benefit reduction, it can be helpful to have a VA disability rating established when you apply for SSA benefits such as SSDI or Social Security Income payments. Not in every case, but in some very important circumstances this can be a big help.
If you apply for both VA disability benefits AND Social Security disability benefits, will the amount of either be reduced because you draw both?
The key to understanding this issue to is recognize that Social Security comes in two different options: Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance . One program allows you to draw VA disability pay with no penalty, while the other features a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount of Social Security payments based on the amount of the VA disability payments.
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Are Family Members Eligible To Receive A Veterans Ssa Benefits
The SSA official site states Certain members of your family may qualify for benefits based on your work. These family members may include, :
- A spouse aged 62 or older
- A spouse of any age caring for the child of the applicant. The child must be younger than 16 years old, or disabled
- An unmarried child, adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild or grandchild younger than age 18
- An unmarried child 18 or older with a disability received before age 22
Programs Affecting One Another
SSDI payments and VA disability benefits will not affect each other, meaning you can receive full monthly payments from both programs. SSDI benefits are also available to eligible spouses or children. The Social Security Administration does offer another type of benefits known as Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which would be affected by VA disability. People who receive SSI have a low income and limited resources, and are usually awarded to veterans who receive VA Pension, not VA disability benefits.
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Speeding Up The Benefits Process
If you served in the military on or after October 1, 2001 and became disabled while on active duty, you are eligible for expedited processing of your disability claim with the SSA. Whether you became disabled while serving overseas or while serving on U.S. soil, you are entitled to this expedited process.
The SSA is supposed to automatically expedite your claim if you qualify, but the agency might not. When you apply, make sure to tell the SSA that you qualify, and request expedited processing. Do this by downloading and filling out the Critical Request Evaluation Form, I-2-1-95.
A few years ago, the VA launched an initiative to decrease processing times for certain types of claims. Read Nolo’s article on fast-tracking veterans’ disability claims to see if you qualify.
Ssi Payments Are Affected By Your Va Disability Pay
SSI is considered a need-based benefit and applicants may be subject to monthly income caps to qualify. Applicants who exceed the monthly income caps will not qualifyINCLUDING monthly income that is exceeded due to disability payments to you by the VA.
At the time of this writing, Social Security Income features a $20 general exclusion which means the first $20 dollars of your VA compensation is excluded from the dollar-for-dollar reduction in SSI based on your VA benefit amount each month. VA benefits are classified by the Social Security Administration as unearned income that does not come from a paying job.
Under this rule, if your VA disability pay is $250, minus the $20 general exclusion, your SSI benefits would be reduced by $230.
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Can I Receive Va Benefits And Social Security Disability At The Same Time
If you are anticipating or are already receiving disability benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs , then you may also be eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance from the Social Security Administration . SSDI is administered by the SSA to provide monthly benefits for disabled workers. To receive SSDI, you must have worked enough and paid taxes into the SSA to earn sufficient credits for coverage. In general, that means you must have worked the equivalent of five years of the last 10 years prior to the start of your disability, but that can vary depending on age. While VA disability is only available to military veterans who suffer from a service-related disability, SSDI is available to any worker who suffers from any disability that meets the requirements under the SSAs guidelines. So, if you have a service-related disability and other medical conditions, you can combine those together to gain approval for SSDI. Unlike VA disability, to get SSDI you must be fully disabled. There are no partial disability benefits under the SSAs guidelines.
Contact our office today if you or anyone you know would like to learn more about qualifying for Social Security Disability benefits.
Difference Between Social Security Disability And Veteran Affairs Disability Compensation
The Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs both have their own disability programs. However, each program evaluates and processes disability claims quite differently. The VA evaluates veterans with a service-connected disability while the SSA evaluates Americans who have a disabling condition that is expect to last a minimum of one year or result in death.
The main difference is that the VA system allows for partial disability benefits in percentages 10%, 20%, 30% up to 100% and awards benefits based on the determination. Though, the SSA offers a disability program their system is an all or nothing evaluation scale. The applicant must be deemed permanently disabled or 100% disabled by the SSA
Its good to keep in mind that receiving VA compensation doesnt negatively affect your qualification for Social Security Disability Insurance . However, the SSA does take your VA disability benefits into consideration when applying for Supplemental Security Insurance since unearned income is counted in this program. Having a disability rating can improve your chances of approval when applying for either SSDI or SSI, and shows the SSA your disability has been recognized by another governmental organization. Although having a VA rating of 100% doesnt even guarantee you will receive disability benefits.
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Different Payment Bases For Louisiana Disability Benefits
If you qualify for VA full or partial disability compensation, payment is based on the injury/condition or combination thereof based on the rating given by the doctors. The payment amounts are listed here and are set by the VA. As an example, if your service-related injuries/conditions give you a 40 percent disability rating , your monthly disability payment is $600 . You are paid that even if you are working.
Ssi Income And Va Disability
Unlike SSI , Social Security Disability Insurance is not need-based, but rather based upon an individual’s capacity for gainful employment. Therefore, receiving military retirement benefits will not affect a candidates eligibility for SSDI.
The only exception to this is if you’re receiving VA pension, which is for very needy veterans who are disabled outside of active duty and have limited income or assets. People on VA pension may be eligible for SSI benefits, as both programs are designed for people with disabilities who are needy.
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About Va Claims Insider
VA Claims insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. Were here for disabled veterans exploring eligibility for increased VA disability benefits and who wish to learn more about that process. We also connect veterans with independent medical professionals in our referral network for medical examinations, disability evaluations, and credible Independent Medical Opinions & Nexus Statements for a wide range of disability conditions.
Crdp And Crsc: Concurrent Receipt Explained
Before you can understand CRDP and CRSC, you have to understand what happens when a veteran is receiving service retired pay and VA disability compensation at the same time. Veterans who receive retired pay and VA compensation at the same time are typically subject to the governments double-dipping laws. The law stipulates that benefits cannot be duplicated.
To comply with this law, veterans who receive both service retired pay and VA disability compensation simultaneously are required to waive part of their service retired pay. The amount the veteran receives in VA compensation is subtracted from the amount they receive in retired pay to avoid double-dipping. This subtraction is referred to as the VA Waiver.
For a long time, this was the end of the story for retired veterans who were also disabled. But now, certain veterans qualify for what is called concurrent receipt. Concurrent receipt is the restoration of service retired pay that has been withheld by the VA waiver. There are two forms of concurrent receipt: Concurrent Retired and Disability Pay and Combat-Related Special Compensation .
The two benefits serve the same function restoring all or part of the VA waiver but each has different eligibility requirements, application processes, and funding sources. And for veterans who are eligible for both benefits, it can be hard to know which concurrent receipt benefit to choose.
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