Imagine serving your country in the military and wanting to go in and make an impact. During your service, a terrible accident happens and you end up with a permanent disability.
Unfortunately, you are not alone. There are 3.9 million veterans that receive disability compensation payments.
When you file for disability benefits, there is a percentage rating scale. You can receive up to 100% percentage and total benefits.
What do you have to do to get this? How difficult is it to go about receiving disability benefits like this? This guide breaks it down.
Consider Your Disability
The first thing you need to consider is what type of disability you have. Each one gets rated differently, and if you are going to get a 100% rating, you have to have a disability that prevents you from being able to work again. In other words, you can’t have any ability to work whatsoever and you will likely be in a position where you need these benefits to survive.
An example would be if you became blind while you served. It is unlikely that you would ever be able to work again, and because of this, you would have a better chance of getting 100% of the potential benefits.
Across the world, there are 36 million people who are blind. However, there are an additional 217 million people who have some sort of visual impairment. This ranges in severity from moderate to severe.
Remember, your disability has to be severe to get 100% of the benefits. So, that means that you would have to qualify as fully blind in this situation rather than have a moderate visual impairment.
Another example could be if you or a loved one have a severe mental condition. This could be severe enough that the person cannot communicate with loved ones or other people on their own.
Because they may not even have the mental capacity to live alone anymore, they could be eligible for 100% of the benefits in this situation.
Look into what your disability is and see if it is severe enough for you to qualify.
The Benefits Vary
Another important thing to note about this is that even if you qualify for 100% benefits, this could still vary greatly depending on what your household looks like. You have to remember that when it comes to benefits, the exact amount of money given to you does not just come down to the percentage. It also comes down to how many people live with you.
Let’s say that you get about $1,800 if you are a single person with no dependents. You can argue that this money can last a single person a lot longer because all of that money would go directly to them.
If you put two kids in this house, the situation changes greatly because now you have to worry about their needs as well. This could be extra groceries to feed them, extra clothes for them to wear, any health conditions that the kids may develop, and more.
Because of this, the amount of money you receive goes up depending on how many people live in your house. If you are married with no children, the VA will give you more money because you have another person that needs food and clothes. You may move up about an extra $100 per month in this situation.
Then, there are the kids. If you have one kid, you may see an extra $100. If you have another kid, increase that by another $100. Then, the government may decide to just give you $75 extra per month for each additional child.
The same can be said for parents. If you have elderly parents who rely on you to take care of them, the government may give your household extra benefits. Look into your situation carefully for this.
Combining Disability Benefits
Some people may think they have a loophole to get around the benefits rating if they do not get awarded a 100% rating. You or someone you know may be a veteran that has two different disabilities that have a combined rating of around 100%.
That works out just as well because the percentage adds up to the same amount, right? Well, not quite.
You see, getting 50% benefits does not always add up to 50%. It could be something like receiving 35-40% of what you would get compared to the people who have a 100% benefits rating. As a result, even after some people combine two different disabilities for benefits, they may only get 75% of the money versus people with a 100% benefits rating.
An example could be that a blind person with a 100% benefits rating gets awarded $2,000 per month by the VA. Then, you have another person that walks with a limp in their leg, and they lost a thumb.
Well, that person may only score a 50% on the rating scale for each of those disabilities. After that, they may only get $1,500 per month combined.
Do not assume that two disabilities that have 50% ratings are going to add up to the same amount.
Get 100% Percentage and Total Benefits
These are just a few things that you should know about getting 100% percentage and total benefits. To receive 100% of the benefits, you or a loved one better have a disability that essentially makes it impossible for you to work again.
Even if you do get awarded 100% benefits, remember that these still vary depending on how many people are in your household.
Do you want to know more? Message us here with your questions.