- As a disabled us veteran you may have questions
about what benefits are available to 100% disabled veteran.
My name is Lori Underwood with Woods and Woods.
And we have prepared this segment
to help answer some questions
about what benefits are available to you
as a 100% service connected veteran.
I think we should back up for just a moment
and discuss what 100% disabled can mean
because it can mean at least
a couple of different things.
You may be service connected for either one
or several disabilities that result in a combined rating
of 100% service connection
or you may be receiving compensation
and being paid at the 100% rate
because you are unable to work
due to your service connected impairments
this is often referred to
as total disability individual unemployability.
These are two different things.
A combined rating of 100% and IU
and there may be some variances and in ciliary benefits
such as special monthly compensation,
educational benefits, dental benefits
and various allowances.
One of the key differences
between being 100% service connected
and receiving IU is that a veteran can work
while receiving combined rating of 100% service connection.
But a veteran may be not be able to work while receiving IU.
This is because the TDIU award
is made available by the VA
for veterans who are unable to work
because of their service connected impairments
but may not meet the combined rating of 100%.
Well you may ask what's the advantage of TDIU then.
The advantage of TDIU benefit
is that while you may not be service connected
for a combined rating of 100%,
being awarded TDIU will entitle you to payment
at the 100% service connected rating.
A 100% service connected rating can be quite hard
for veterans to obtain and the VA understands
that you may not be able to work
because of your service connected impairments
regardless of your rating.
Both TDIU
and 100% disability service connection compensation
are tax free benefits
they can be also be received
while you are receiving social security disability.
One question you may have
is how much does this disability compensation pay?
TDIU and 100% disability compensation benefits
pay the same in every state:
Texas, Florida, Idaho, California, they're all the same.
This is a federal benefit.
TDIU and 100% also pay the same basic rate.
To find out what the current payment is for 100%
you can consult the VA's website
where they published their VA compensation rate tables.
Now there are other factors
that may apply to some veterans and not others.
For example, a married veteran may be paid
an additional amount for a spouse,
a veteran may be paid an additional amount
for dependent children.
There are special monthly compensation awards
that can be added onto 100% total disability compensation
and there are the same special monthly compensation awards
available for some TDIU.
All of these factors are situational to a veteran's life.
And that may create some variances.
It's also important to know the VA disability compensation
is adjusted over time for cost of living.
So a compensation rate table from 2014, 2015, 2016 and today
just as an example
are all going to be a little bit different.
Don't forget, if you are receiving IU
instead of 100% total disability
the base compensation rate pays the same.
Well I hope that answers some of the questions
that you may have had about 100% VA disabled benefits.
This book is a VA disability veteran's benefits manual
The size of this book indicates
there's a whole wide world of VA benefits available to you
and VA law to navigate
and learning more about these benefits.
Give us a call and let us discuss your claims
with you further and help you achieve your maximum benefit.
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