Can I work with a 100% military disability rating? What are the implications? The answers may surprise you, in part because of some misconceptions about how the VA applies the term “disability” to its ratings.
Quick Answer: A veteran generally can still work while receiving VA disability but not always.
What Is A VA Disability Rating?
VA disability ratings and compensation are not automatic. The Department of Veterans Affairs assigns a disability rating to servicemembers who submit their current conditions and medical records to the VA, for a medical review.
VA disability ratings and pay are awarded on the basis of injuries, diseases, or other medical conditions the VA has determined to be as a result of military service. Certain conditions may not be detected until after a veteran has completed military service. However, the VA can and does make determinations on conditions detected after service is complete.
The VA Disability Rating Percentage Scale
The disability rating and pay are on a scale of percentages. One veteran may be listed as 10% disabled, while another one is rated at 100% depending on circumstances. High percentages do not necessarily mean that veterans’ disability percentage impacts their ability to work or take care of themselves.
The VA may assign a percentage to a single condition, or a disability rating there may be made up of smaller percentages assigned to multiple conditions which add up to a larger VA disability percentage rating.
For example, if one type of injury equals a 60% rating, and there is another injury that equals a 25% rating, the veteran’s total percentage of disability would be recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs at 70% (60% + (25% * 40%). This is because the second disability rating is calculated by how much it affects the veteran’s non-disability percentage. The combined percentage rating is calculated by the effect the new 25% disability rating has on the 40% “ability” percentage. Since one-fourth of the 40% rating is 10%, the combined disability rating will be 70%.
Types Of VA Disability Ratings
The percentage scale is only one of two types of possible VA ratings. Those percentages are known as the “schedule of rating”. The other type of disability rating possible is related to the veteran’s ability to keep and maintain a job. The “Individual Unemployability” rating measures whether or not the VA believes the veteran can find and keep a job with the rated conditions, and what percentage of work time may be lost due to related illness, treatments, etc.
Why Is A Veteran Rated At 100% Disability When They Are Not Fully Impaired In Some Way?
If a veteran who has a VA-rated condition that earns, for example, 50% disability, but the condition results in the veteran being unable to realistically function in the workplace, that veteran could be awarded 100% disability compensation on the basis of the unemployability even though the condition does not fully impair them in everyday life.
Can I Legally Work With A 100% VA Disability Rating?
A veteran may legally work with a 100% disability rating, either as a combined percentage or as the result of a single medical issue.
However, if the veteran is listed by the VA as being 100% unable to work under the Total Disability/Individual Unemployability rating, the veteran is not permitted to have “substantial gainful employment”. This is listed in the Code of Federal Regulations, but there is no comprehensive list describing what is considered “substantial gainful employment”.
Instead, the Code of Federal Regulations defines what it does not consider to be a violation of these rules; something called “marginal employment”. This is defined as follows:
…marginal employment generally shall be deemed to exist when a veteran’s earned annual income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, as the poverty threshold for one person.
There’s more. So-called marginal employment may also include (but may not be limited to) “employment in a protected environment such as a family business or sheltered workshop…when earned annual income exceeds the poverty threshold.”
Can a Veteran Receive Both VA and Social Security Benefits?
Yes! A veteran can receive both VA service-connected disability benefits and Social Security benefits. However, it is important to note that receipt of one does not guarantee receipt of the other. A veteran generally cannot receive both a VA pension and Social Security at the same time.
Can You Get Over a 100% VA Disability Rating?
No, by law you cannot have more than a 100% rating but also because the VA states “a person can’t be more than 100% able-bodied.”
To Summarize:
- Veterans with “schedule of ratings” disability percentages may legally have “substantial gainful employment” even if they are rated at 100% disabled UNLESS they receive Total Disability/Individual Unemployability compensation.
- Receiving the Individual Unemployability benefit which designates you as 100% “unemployable” means you cannot work a job deemed “substantial gainful employment” that elevates your income above the “official” Census Bureau’s definition of the poverty line.
- In reference to Individual Unemployability, it does not matter how much or how little you work-the measure of “gainful employment” here is whether or not your earnings rise above the poverty threshold as determined by the government.
- If you’re still not certain of your individual circumstances it may be best to consult with a lawyer.
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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