Taperman articles

For those that serve their country, the Department of Veteran Affairs provides a wide range of disability benefits. But each veteran receives different types of benefits-- and not all of these benefits are equally valuable. The VA uses eight "priority groups" to determine which benefits you will receive, with "1" being the highest priority and "8" the lowest (as of 2003, no new veterans are enrolled into group 8). Your priority group depends entirely on your disability and how it first occurred (service-connected or non-service-connected), your financial situation, and your current level of disability.

Because the fact of a disability originating from service-related or non-service-related sources has a generous impact on your veteran disability benefits, its important to know the qualification requirements for both types of benefits.

The Requirements for Non-service-Connected Benefits

A veteran who suffers from a total and permanent disability qualifies for non-Service-connected benefits. Eligibility for non-service-connected benefits also depends on several other factors:

• Income- Being eligible for non-service-connected benefits is based on the recipient having limited earnings and a net worth too low to provide the veteran with adequate maintenance. To get more information on income eligibility requirements, please see 38 U.S.C.S. §§1521-22.

• Service - To reach eligibility for a non-service-connected pension, a veteran must have one day or more of active duty in a "period of war", with at least 90 days total active duty. For those enrolled in the military after 1980, however, the requirement is simply a full period of active duty. Specifically, an individual who enlisted for the first time on or after September 8, 1980, is required to complete a minimum period of service, either twenty-four months of continuous active duty or the full period for which the veteran was called to active duty. In addition, the active service of the eligible veteran needs to include 90 total days during a period of war or one day of service during a period of war which ended in discharge due to a service-connected disability.

• Discharge- To qualify for VA benefits, you must have been discharged from military duty under non-dishonorable circumstances.

The Requirements for Service Connected Benefits

Eligibility for service-connected benefits, differently from non-service-connected benefits, is not dependant on a veteran having done wartime service or meeting a net worth or income level. Instead, you need to be able to prove the source and current status of your disability with:

• Evidence of current disability- Because benefits for a service-connected disability are awarded only to those with a current disability, an applicant for these benefits must provide recent medical records diagnosing the current state of their disability.

• Evidence of the occurrence of disability or injury- Veterans applying for service-connected benefits must next provide evidence that their current disability was either incurred during or worsened by military service. Veterans should keep in mind, though, that the VA uses the term "in-service" broadly, also including injuries that occurred during leave.

• Support of the connection between the current disability and the service-connected injury- This requires that applicants give evidence of a connection between the injury incurred in service and the current disability.

Author