Military Financial Independence

This is the final part of a three-post series on why you want to file a VA disability claim (even if you think you’re not disabled) and what goes on behind the scenes.

The first post explained why you want to file your disability claim, not just how to file it.  The second post explained why you should prepare as much of your claim as possible up front as a “fully developed” package and described various techniques to handle the Compensation & Pension exams.

Now we’ll wrap it up with the VA’s actions and your final decisions.

(Note: this post was originally published in 2016 and eventually consolidated with other posts on TheMilitaryWallet. I’m re-publishing the 2016 version, updating it for the PACT Act and my eight more years of personal experience.)

After the C&P exam

Click here for your account.

When you leave the doctor’s office, you still have homework to finish.

The most important task is taking notes on anything you heard or thought of during the exam that you need to research later. Your hot washup (and the actions you take afterward) might help you avoid weeks of confusion which could slow down your claim or even cause a denial. When you’re back home, review any recordings or other thoughts and add your notes to your personal record of your VA claim. If a problem crops up later, this reference will help you keep track of the chronology and maybe even identify mistakes.

Pro tip: the C&P doctor is not treating you, but they may suggest other treatments or physical therapy. Follow up on those suggestions– they may help improve your health!  (In addition, the doctor might even be hinting that seeking treatment will document a continuing need for it that will help confirm the validity of your claim.)  If you seek additional treatment or physical therapy, upload those records to your VA.gov account so the VA can see that you’re still seeking treatment for the disabilities that you’re claiming.

Save all of your papers from the C&P exams, including the notification letter for your appointment. If the VA has questions (or if your claim is denied) then you (or your lawyer) may need to follow up with the doctor. The VA will also send you a feedback survey which asks for the name of your doctor. If the doc did a great job (or if you felt there were issues) then that survey is the best place to let the VA know.

The VA can’t use your feedback survey to evaluate your claim, but answering the survey questions will help you review your records again. If the C&P doctor isn’t doing a good job for the VA, then your frank feedback could avoid problems for many other vets. Besides, if you skip out on the surveys then the VA’s website might decide that your account is incomplete.

What happens next?

Once the C&P exam is returned to the VA, their raters translate the doctor’s ICD codes and analysis into specific disability percentages. That process is completely out of your control, and most of it is also difficult to reverse engineer from a search engine. (We’ll get back to that in a few paragraphs.)  After the raters determine the numerical value of each disability, they’ll calculate an overall disability rating.

Disability math is equally confusing, and it’s an entire other post. Thankfully I won’t have to create it because my blogger mentor Ryan Guina has already written an excellent summary of the math of a VA disability rating. You can also listen to his podcast about determining how the individual disability ratings are combined into a final score.

Once your rating has been determined, the VA figures out your compensation.

Here’s another rookie mistake:  for many years, I naïvely assumed that the disability rating for retirees was multiplied by your pension to figure out how much you’d be giving up for tax-free compensation. This gross conceptual error kept me blissfully ignorant of why I needed to file a claim right away. After all, if I was “only” 10% disabled and that saved me taxes in the 15% bracket, then I was just saving 10% x 15% = 1.5% of my pension, right?

Um, no. Not only is this <buzzer> wrong wrong wrong, the first post of this series listed several other very compelling reasons to file your claim. Learn from my mistakes.

The VA rater enters a set of compensation tables with your rating, as well as your marital & family status. (Remember giving them a copy of your marriage license and your kids’ birth certificates?) The veterans compensation benefits rate tables show exactly how many dollars you’ll receive, or how much of your pension you may be giving up. If you’ve entered your financial account numbers into your VA.gov account then the VA is ready to send you money.

Show me the money?

If you’re a military veteran yet not a military retiree, then your VA money is headed your way. Remember that you’re also potentially eligible for a host of other veteran’s benefits from vocational rehabilitation to medical care to education to reduced fees on VA loans.

But by now a few of you retirees are thinking “Wait, what? Giving up pension?!?” Well, yeah. It’s the VA disability compensation offset.

Your military pension is paid by the DoD but your disability compensation is paid by the VA. Even though you have a disability rating, the law says that if you’re rated at less than 50% then all you get is a tax break. You give up a dollar of your (taxable) DoD pension for every dollar of (tax-free) VA disability compensation that you receive. This reduces your taxable income (and your tax bill) without actually creating a new stream of income.

2024 pro tip:  I get a lot of questions about tax forms.  If your military pension is offset by VA disability compensation, then your retiree IRS Form 1099-R simply shows a smaller number for the taxable amount of your pension.  You never get a tax form about VA disability compensation, and there’s not even a code about it on your 1099-R.  The VA never tells the IRS that you’re receiving VA disability compensation.

However, if you’re rated at 50% or more, then you’ll keep both your pension and your VA compensation. Read Ryan’s post on Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay for the details.

If you’re at least 10% disabled and it’s connected to combat (or training for combat, or hazardous duty, or an “instrumentality of war” that injured you instead of the enemy) then you may be eligible for the Combat Related Special Compensation program. That might completely eliminate the VA disability compensation offset, or it might only reduce it a little. The requirements are complex and confusing, but read about the details in Ryan’s CRSC post.

If you believe that you’re eligible for either CRDP or CRSC, then contact your VSO to work it out with the VA and DFAS. (Sorry about the acronym jargon bingo.)  You may need to apply with both the VA and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service because they’re separate programs with different verification requirements.

You may also be eligible for backdated compensation. Those details are far beyond the scope of these posts and they have highly individual answers, so read Ryan’s posts at TheMilitaryWallet and contact one of us if you have questions.

Just a few more things.

When your claim is finished, the VA archives all of their work in their claims file (also known as a “C-file”). Once your claim is finished, even if you agree with everything, remember to file a request for a copy of the file. You want to have your own record of your claim in case your situation changes over the years, and you’ll absolutely need your C-file if you’re appealing the results of your claim. Talk to your VSO, or read more about obtaining your C-file at Nolo’s legal website.

Someday your family will greatly appreciate that you took the time to obtain your C-file, so that they don’t have to.

It’s possible (yet very unlikely) that years from now the VA will re-evaluate your claim. They might have made a mistake, or the medical evidence has changed, or you may have claimed an additional disability which re-opened the question of one of your original disabilities. Save these documents for the rest of your life. It’s also remotely possible that your survivors will need the data to protect their survivor benefits.

Let’s make one thing clear: if you disagree with the VA’s decision on your disability claim, then get a copy of your C-file and review it with your VSO. The VSO can explain the VA’s claim letter and maybe even find the paper trail in your C-file. If that explanation isn’t satisfactory then you should decide whether it’s worth your time (and money) to hire a lawyer.

Again, every claim letter is a highly individual assessment, and we can’t help you figure out why the VA made the decision they did. Consult a lawyer and decide whether the possible compensation is worth the very real cost of time & effort (and legal fees).

My personal details of my VA disability claim

(Some of you readers have asked. If you don’t care then please skip this section.)

I submitted my “fully developed” claim in February 2016, nearly 14 years after retiring. (The first post in this series explains how I made that ignorant mistake.) I’ve finished the C&P exams and I’m waiting for the VA to ask more questions– or to determine the disability rating I just got word from the VSO on 2o April that the VA has everything they need.  They’ve turned the claim over to the raters for processing and determining the disability rating I received a rating of 30%

My injuries are relatively minor yet all too common among vets:
• Tinnitus. (Both ears.) For my fellow submariners, it’s 12-18 KHz tonals but no broadband (yet).  It does not wake me up at night.
• Hearing loss. People seem to sneak up on me from behind. I have trouble picking higher-pitched voices out of background noise, much to the disgust of my spouse and daughter.  2024 update:  Hearing aids can fix this issue, a topic for an entire new post.
• I’ve torn the ACLs in both knees and scraped up the cartilage in all four meniscuses (“meniscii”?). I’ve stressed the surrounding tendons. My left tibia is rotated a few degrees outboard. There’s less joint space between my tibias & femurs and extra bone growth around my medial meniscuses. The damage shows up on an X-ray as early degenerative osteoarthritis. It’s constant minor pain (2-3 out of 10).
• I have a submarine history of ear infections, respiratory viruses, bronchitis, and pneumonia. That continued through shore duty but it finally eased up in retirement. Chronic fatigue? Stress? Atmosphere control chemicals? I still take a daily antihistamine for congestion.  I’m also rated at 0% for sinusitis and rhinitis, which means that the VA has acknowledged the service-related connection.
• If you were inport Subic Bay during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991, please contact me to discuss the hazards of inhaling volcanic ash for 24 hours.

As I said, minor. My tinnitus and hearing loss is a hazard of submarine engine rooms (even despite excellent hearing protection) yet millions of civilians cope with those conditions every day. My knee pain is reduced with exercise (surfing, walking, squats, lunges) and ibuprofen. I’ve given up skydiving, skiing, basketball, and (regrettably) taekwondo sparring. I can run if I must, but no triathlons or even 5Ks for me.  My lung capacity is down to 70% but (frighteningly) that’s considered “normal for a man of my age.”

Everything adds up to a disability rating of 30%. Again, for more details on those numbers (including the dreaded “bilateral” factor), read about the calculations and the math of the VA disability rating at Ryan Guina’s excellent post on The Military Wallet.

Call to action:

Every blog post should inspire you to go forth and do something. Here’s what you can tackle after reading this post.

If you’re on active duty: Make sure everything is documented in your medical and service records! If you’re concerned that the military medical community may ground you (or even disqualify you) then at least take care of your health with a civilian doctor (and get a copy of those records). Even if an injury or illness might be your own dumb fault, it’s still likely service-connected and could someday be eligible for disability compensation.

If you’re leaving active duty: When you have your separation physical, discuss all of your lingering medical issues and seek treatment for them. (You have to show that a disability impacts your life, and you have to seek treatment for it.) Get a full copy of your medical record and get started on your VA disability claim.  Don’t wait– I can affirm that the process does not get easier after 14 years.

If you’ve already separated: Contact your local VA Regional Office or a veteran’s organization to find a VSO. Once they’ve answered your questions then you can decide on filing a claim. Remember, if you don’t file a claim now, then someday your family (or your survivors) may have to do it for you in order to obtain your benefits. Save everyone the trouble and file your claim now.

If you’ve already filed a claim: When you receive your claim letter, apply for a copy of your C-file! It’s the only way to check for accuracy, and you’ll absolutely need it if you’re appealing the claim. Even if you agree with the VA’s decision, get that C-file. Someday you (or your family, or your survivors) may have to upgrade your claim and they’ll need the information.

If you disagree with your VA disability claim results and you want to appeal: Get a copy of your C-file, discuss it with your VSO, and (if you’re still not satisfied) then find a lawyer.

There are no affiliate links or paid ads in this post.  Try your military base library or local public library before you pay money for these books– in any format.

Military Financial Independence on Amazon:

Reach your own financial independence Retire on your terms Success stories and personal checklists Royalties donated to military charities Use this link to order from Amazon.com!

Raising Your Money-Savvy Family on Amazon:

Reach your own financial independence Teach your kids how to manage their money Specific tactics from my adult daughter Checklists and spreadsheets for your family Use this link to order from Amazon.com!

Related articles:
Part 1:  Why You File Your Veterans Disability Claim (Not Just How) (It’s for your spouse & caregivers.)
Part 2:  What Happens When (Not Just How) You File Your VA Disability Claim (This is done in parallel with your separation or retirement physical.)
VA SITREP video “Three Tips for VA Disability Claims”
Part 4: What Happens After Your VA Disability Claim Has Been Approved

“Learn From My Mistakes… Without Repeating Them!”

There are roughly eighty-two gazillion websites which will tell you HOW to file your disability claim with the Veterans Administration. (I’ll link to some of them.) This post explains WHY you want to file your claim (even when you feel 0% disabled), and why you want to do it as you’re separating from the service. I’ll also explain why certain steps happen in a specific way and I’ll share a few pro tips on optimizing the process.

If you’re a spouse or family member of a veteran, I’ll also share why you are personally motivated to encourage your vet to file their VA disability claim.

(Note:  this post was originally published in 2016 and eventually consolidated with other posts on TheMilitaryWallet.  I’m re-publishing the 2016 version, updating it for the PACT Act and my eight more years of personal experience.)

Bottom line up front

• When you’re leaving the service, start your VA disability claim with your separation physical. It’s much easier to do it in parallel with your physical, and it’s the best time to document any service-connected disability. (Because you’re still… in the service.) Even if you’re disgustingly healthy when you’re leaving active duty, file the claim now so that it’s on the record if a surprise pops up later.
• If you’ve already separated yet haven’t filed a VA disability claim yet then start one now– so that your loved ones won’t ever have to do it for you. Even if the VA decides that you’re 0% disabled, you’ve done the hard work so that the claim could be upgraded later.
• If you’ve given up on your VA disability claim, then talk to a local veteran’s organization (like a chapter of Disabled American Vets or the American Legion, even if you’re not a member) and consider getting legal assistance. You have nothing to lose.

Click here for eBenefits.

It’s not just about the money. It’s about taking care of yourself now and making it easier for others to take care of you later.

Avoid these mistakes

In retrospect, I made a very common mistake. When I sat through the VA disability presentation at the Transition Assistance Program, I didn’t think that any of it could possibly apply to me. I didn’t feel disabled or even a little broken. I’m financially independent and I didn’t need to care about veteran’s hiring preference or disability programs.

It took me four more years after retiring to understand that I might have a service-connected issue (or two or four). If I’d consulted a Veteran Service Officer during my retirement physical (or had my medical record reviewed by the VA claims expert who was at TAP) then they would have shown me the error of my ways. The Department of Defense’s military separation physical only makes sure that you’re not sick or injured when you leave the service. They might not find your service-connected disabilities (unless you’re aware of the issue) and they’re not required to help you file a VA claim.

(2024 update:  yeah, I had issues.  It took me years to understand how my exposure to volcanic ash messed with my respiratory system and my sinuses.  The PACT Act has now made this nearly automatic for exposure to the toxic particulates of burn pits.)

I was also avoiding treatment. In some branches of the service, the medical community can stop your career in its tracks. When I was on submarines, if I’d had to take any medications stronger than a decongestant then I would have been pulled from certain duties. If I’d had knee problems then I might have been beached from sea duty and even disqualified from the submarine force. I spent so many years minimizing or even hiding my symptoms (like most guys, “I’m good!”) that it was difficult to change my attitude at my retirement physical.

The “I don’t deserve this” attitude is frequently seen among veterans. By the time I retired in June 2002, wounded warriors were returning from Afghanistan to our local VA clinic. I didn’t feel as though I had any right to clog up the care pipeline with my whiny little complaints about minor Cold War injuries. Vets tend to adopt a stiff upper lip and push through the pain. Hopefully, our lessons of the decades of war will improve that situation a little.

If any of this seems to apply to you (or a loved one) then here’s an additional problem: the VA disability claims process is detailed and tedious. It’s difficult to navigate. If you’re dealing with chronic injuries or pain, let alone a traumatic brain injury or PTSD, then the VA disability claims process is downright impossible. The only practical solution is building a team to help you.

Why you need to file your disability claim

Ironically, it’s not about you.  It’s about your loved ones.

If you’re financially independent then it might not even be about the money.

When my father ended up in a care facility with Alzheimer’s, the very first question from the geriatric care manager (and the care facility staff, and the lawyers) was whether he was eligible for VA benefits.

Dad was drafted years before I was born. He completed the Army’s 90 days of minimum training before being given a “critical skills” waiver (electrical engineering) and sent to the inactive Reserves. We never spoke of it when I was growing up, and Dad never talked about it even after I joined the military.

Five decades later and after a few years of Alzheimer’s, all Dad could remember about his military service was a night spent guarding a tank. (He said he was cold.) It took my brother and me over a year to stumble across the box which contained his (misfiled, crumbling) DD-214, and it took several more hours to research 1950s veterans benefits.

As you might predict, Dad wasn’t eligible for veterans benefits. It would’ve been nice to have had that discussion while he had his cognition, or to find it in his estate plan, or even (heaven forbid) to find a copy of a VA disability claim file. In retrospect, it’s clear that Dad never thought he’d be eligible for any veteran’s benefits. (He was right.) I wish he’d thought to write that down somewhere.

(Note for my spouse and daughter: Check the “Emergencies” folder in my desk drawer.)

Several other readers have mentioned this memory issue. Ideally, someday you’ll also be old enough for someone to ask about your veteran’s benefits. Maybe it’ll just be story time, but maybe your caregiver is trying to find help. You’re the only person who really knows what you went through during your service, and the daily events might not be written down anywhere. (Or they’re still *ahem* classified.) If it takes 20 years for the medical community to learn (and for the VA to reluctantly acknowledge) that you might have been exposed to something during your service, then you want to have the relevant data already on hand. Try to imagine yourself decades from now (or ask a Vietnam vet) and consider how frustrating it might be for you (let alone for your family) to start the claim in your 70s.

Even if you’re financially independent, maybe it still is about the money. When you’re “only” 20% disabled then you may not receive much compensation (just a smaller income-tax bill), but decades later your condition could get worse and you could end up 100% disabled. If your situation deteriorates then you (and perhaps your family and your caregivers) will be busy enough without the additional burden of filing your VA claim. Your veteran’s benefits might pay for your treatment, and they might also help support your caregiver. If your assets are dwindling and you’re facing Medicaid, your VA benefits might even offer the financial support of “Aid and Attendance”. People will ask you (or your family) about it, and it’d be great if you had this information in a file folder.

Finally, you might be all about the money. If you become unemployable and your disability care is draining your assets, then your VA claim is lifetime disability insurance. (It could also include Social Security Disability Insurance.) If you’re “only a little bit” disabled, your rating might still earn you a waiver of the funding fee of a VA mortgage. In some states, a service-connected disability (even with a 0% rating) is worth a college scholarship to the state university.  (Check with your state’s Veterans Affairs office, or a local state university financial office.)  Sure, you might already have the GI Bill or state National Guard benefits, but now you have more choices.

Enough preaching. Learn from my family’s mistakes.

Starting the VA disability claim process

Don’t try this at home, kids– seek professional help before it’s too late.

Find a Veterans Service Organization and use a Veteran Service Officer. If you’re a member of a veteran’s group then start there. If (like me) you don’t have a clue preference then use the one near your local VA clinic. Other VSOs are sponsored by the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, MOAA, and other veteran’s groups. You don’t have to be a member of the group to use their VSO services, although they’d certainly appreciate it. Their job is to help you research, assemble, and file your claim, and they’re paid from other funds.

The VSO will show you how to navigate the VA bureaucracy. If you don’t enjoy dealing with bureaucracy then get more help now from your spouse or a friend and have them accompany you through the entire process. Submitting the claim is hard, and if you’re in pain (or dealing with a TBI or PTSD) then you’ll quickly get discouraged and give up. If you’re the spouse (or potential future caregiver) for a veteran, then help them get through the process– because someday you may end up having to upgrade their disability rating. When you help a vet through the claim then you’ll also learn more about caregiver support and benefits.

There are four components to prove in a VA disability claim, and one of them is that the service-connected condition persists after you leave the service. (Otherwise, you’re healed, right?) This means that your post-military medical records should show that you’ve regularly sought advice and treatment for whatever conditions you’re claiming.

If you’ve hidden a condition from the doctors while you were on active duty (for fear of being beached or even disqualified) then you can see the problem with documenting this treatment in your medical record. Your final year or two before separation is a great time to seek education, treatment, and possibly physical therapy. Even if you sought help from a civilian doctor (because you didn’t want the chain of command to get involved) then make that record part of your disability claim.

When you submit your claim to the VA, they want to see the treatment evidence. Make it easy for them to put the pieces together. You can provide that evidence to the VA much faster than they can pull it from DoD files. The VA might not pursue your civilian records at all.

Gather your records

In the case of my retiree medical records, 14 22 years created a problem. I only visit my local (civilian) clinic once every 12-18 months, and after three years they started archiving the paper in a storage facility. (Retrieval search fee: $50.) After seven years they shredded the archive records in favor of HIPAA electronic summaries. By the time I started catching up on over a decade of clinic visits, all the clinic had was a series of one-line entries on a one-page spreadsheet.

I’ve lived in the same house for over 15 24 years. If you’ve moved around since you left the service then you can imagine how much more difficult it would be to get copies of your civilian medical records.

After you leave the military, whenever you’re seeking treatment then get a copy of the records for yourself. This is a hassle. It usually means an extra visit to the clinic (after the doctor has finished writing up your record and the staff has filed it) and you’ll probably pay a copying fee ($15).

In 2013, when a friend suggested that I start my claim, all of my records were on paper. The first step was buying a scanner to create a PDF. Today you might get an electronic copy of your records during your separation/retirement physical, but you’ll still want to scan in your civilian medical records. It’s absolutely essential that you be able to print out copies for the VA and for anyone involved in your claim. The doctors who do your VA Compensation & Pension exams should have copies of your record, but bring a printout just in case. If you have family or a friend or a wounded warrior advocate accompany you to the exams, then give them a copy to read on their own. (The extra set of eyes is a big help.) If the VA loses your paperwork, or if you end up working with a lawyer, then: more copies.

Organize and read your records

Once you assemble your medical record, then read it!

You’ll be surprised what you’ve forgotten over the years, and you need to understand the chronology of any illness or injury. Your years of perspective might discover triggers or related events. You might need to find additional records (orders, travel claims, evaluations) that help document when it happened and where you were.

(2024 update:  After a nasty sinusitis incident, I went back through all 946 pages of my VA disability claims file.  This was essential to realizing how many times I’ve been treated for “occasional” respiratory infections– at least annually for three decades– and understanding that this is not normal.)

If you’re missing critical information, then consult with your VSO or ask a veteran’s disability forum. You might have to go through mission reports, command histories, or even access classified redacted documents that you’re not cleared to read anymore. Another approach is the “buddy statement” of people who witnessed events & symptoms, or who can attest to your presence.

If your medical record is not merely incomplete but inaccurate or just plain wrong, then figure out how to fix it. (The VSO has seen this many times– ask for their advice.) An exam by a different doctor might help reconstruct the series of events which led to your current condition. Maybe the VA can work with medical summaries from others who were there with you. If someone else was with you back when you sought medical advice, ask them to provide a buddy statement. Until you have the evidence, you’re wasting your time with the VA.

I re-read every page of my medical record and tabbed some pages with Post-It notes of injuries, dates, and questions. The VSO didn’t need that but it helped me answer his questions and the later questions from the exam doctors.

My military medical record is over 300 900 pages (2024 update) in an inch-high stack. My VSO considers that “small” and “easy”.

Once you’ve refreshed your memory, you’ll need to answer the VA’s important questions:

• How do these injuries or symptoms affect you today?
• What’s the impact on your life?
• What’s your pain level?
• What can you no longer do?
• How do you cope?
• How often do you seek treatment?

“Seeking treatment” could be as simple as physical therapy or talking with the doctor for education & reassurance. The VA needs to conclude from your actions (and your records) that the symptoms or the injury are still affecting your life and that you’re still treating them. If you’re on active duty and concerned about medical disqualification, then seeking treatment can be an issue. Consulting with a civilian doctor (on your own) can be expensive. In the long term, the right answer is to seek medical advice before the condition gets worse. Even if a diagnosis disrupts your active-duty career, avoiding it may affect you for the rest of your life.

I’m over 2500 words into this post and haven’t covered the details of filing the claim yet. We’ll pick up in the next post with visiting the VSO to actually file the claim, and then conclude with what the VA really does with the disability claim.

[I’d like to thank reader JDarnell (an occasional poster, and longtime friend) for pointing out over eight years ago that I should really get off my dead assets and file my VA disability claim. He helped me understand the “why” after I ignored the “how” for over a decade.]

[I’d also like to thank Crew Dog at One Sick Vet for sharing their experience and helping me understand what the doctors need to know. Hint: it’s probably not in your medical record. Or not yet anyway.]

There are no affiliate links or paid ads in this post.  Try your military base library or local public library before you pay money for these books– in any format:

Military Financial Independence on Amazon:

Reach your own financial independence Retire on your terms Success stories and personal checklists Royalties donated to military charities Use this link to order from Amazon.com!

Raising Your Money-Savvy Family on Amazon:

Reach your own financial independence Teach your kids how to manage their money Specific tactics from my adult daughter Checklists and spreadsheets for your family Use this link to order from Amazon.com!

Related articles:
VA SITREP video “Three Tips for VA Disability Claims”
Part 2:  What Happens When (Not Just How) You File Your VA Disability Claim
Part 3:  What The VA Really Does With Your Disability Claim
Part 4:  What Happens After Your VA Disability Claim Has Been Approved