Question:

I am not rated as totally disabled but my medical conditions are preventing me from working. I can usually get a job but I can’t keep it. Do I have any options?

Answer:

Even if you are not rated at 100%, VA benefits may be available to compensate you at the 100% level if you are unable to work because of your service-connected condition/s. If you have a single service-connected disability rated at 60% or higher, and you cannot obtain or maintain (i.e., get or keep) substantially gainful employment because of your disability, you may be entitled to a total, or 100%, rating on the basis of total disability based upon individual unemployability TDIU or IU) due to your service-connected disability. If you have two or more service-connected conditions one condition must be at least 40% and your combined rating must be at least 70% and you are unable to obtain or maintain substantial gainful employment as the result of your service-connected disability or disabilities.

“Substantial gainful employment” is essentially a job that pays at least an amount equal to the annual poverty level as set by the government. TDIU entitles recipients to monthly VA compensation at the 100% level, even though the severity of their disability does not meet the requirements for a scheduler 100% rating.

Entitlement to TDIU generally requires evidence that the veteran is unemployable due to a disability or disabilities. Evidence usually consists of medical evidence such as a doctor’s statement that your service-connected disability renders you totally disabled and unemployable. Statements may also be submitted from your former supervisor and co-workers regarding your inability to obtain and maintain substantial gainful employment.

Even if you are currently employed you may, under some circumstances, qualify for TDIU. This is the case where your current salary is substantially less than the prevailing poverty level, or you are working at a job where you are protected from the requirements that somebody else in that position would be expected to satisfy. Common examples of this are where you are working for a friend or a relative who is aware of your condition and they make special exceptions for you. Under these circumstances the VA will not consider your employment to be substantially gainful employment. A job with a salary below the poverty level is called “marginal” employment and a job where you are protected from normal work requirements is called “sheltered” employment. Both marginal and sheltered employment are the exceptions to the unemployment requirement for TDIU benefits.

As with many other VA benefits TDIU is not necessarily a permanent benefit. The VA may periodically require you to undergo a new medical examination to determine whether or not you are still unable to work due to your service-connected disability/s. Failure to report for such an examination will almost always result in the reduction or severance of your TDIU. Likewise if the VA becomes aware that you are working at a job that is neither marginal nor sheltered while you are receiving TDIU benefits, your TDIU rating could be revoked and you may be liable to the VA for an overpayment of your TDIU benefits.

Caution must be exercised even if you are working as a volunteer. If the VA determines that the nature and amount of unpaid work that you are performing demonstrates that you are not employable, TDIU benefits can be revoked. If revoked by VA your benefits will be decreased to your actual rating.

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