VA Disability Rates 2022, Qualifications, and Claiming Process

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VA Disability Rates 2022 – VA disability rates are the figure that shows the amount of monthly tax-free pay or compensation received by injured or sick Veterans due to their military serving or whose service created worsened state for their existing condition. Those who are qualified to receive these benefits are Veterans who developed physical or mental conditions prior to, during, or after their services. Below, you will find out the qualifications list, claiming process, and the current rate for this specific payment.

VA Disability Rates

VA Disability Qualifications

There is a comprehensive list of VA disability rates, in which the Veteran might be qualified for a different rate. However, the basic qualifications to be eligible to receive the benefits are similar: they have to be medically diagnosed by health professionals for conditions caused by or aggravated by their serving time in the military. Their disability must be connected to the service, be it affecting them physically or mentally. The benefits aren’t acquirable for those who are discharged dishonorably.

To be qualified to receive it, the Veterans must provide medical record evidence that they are currently diagnosed with certain health conditions. Then, it must be established by the medical professional that the condition is indeed caused by an event, disease, or injury developed due to military service.

There are several situations where the disability will be automatically considered to be connected to the military service, which is listed in the following:

  • The Veteran is a prior prisoner of war;
  • The Veteran used to be exposed to specific chemicals, such as Camp Lejeune’s contaminated water or Vietnam’s Agent Orange during their military service;
  • The Veteran served in Gulf War in Southwest Asia.

The VA disability rates will be assigned by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs according to the severity of the disability claims. The rate is ranging from 0% to 100%, with 10% increments based on the Veterans Affairs and private’s medical records, as well as service treatment records.

How to Claim VA Disability

In general, the VA disability benefits claims are processed for 125 days, in which there are 8 steps that are listed below:

  1. The disability compensation claim is filed by the Veteran to the Department of Veterans Affairs, via mail or via online;
  2. An assignment of Veterans Service Representative (VSR) by the VA to process the claim. The claim will be reviewed by considering supporting evidence and if there are additional proofs. If the supporting evidence provided by the Veteran is sufficient, then the process will proceed directly to step 5;
  3. The Veteran will receive a notice from the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) that informs them about the requirement of further evidence. The additional evidence must be collected and submitted by the Veteran, or it can be requested to be performed by the VA;
  4. All of the submitted evidence will be processed by the Veterans Service Representative (VSR). The claim will be handled on the next step if it’s deemed adequate but may require to be added with more evidence if it’s deemed insufficient;
  5. The decision and related documents to the decision that contains recommendations from the VSR will be prepared;
  6. The recommended decision will be reviewed and then final approval will be given by the VA;
  7. The packet containing the claim decision will be prepared by the VA;
  8. The Veteran will receive the claim decision via mail.

The Raising Rates for VA Disability Compensation in 2022

The annual VA disability rates are based on cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), in order to make sure that the benefits won’t be corroded by inflation. The COLA of VA disability compensation and of pension recipients are similar to the Social Security benefits percentage under federal law.

In the year 2021, the VA disability rates are increased by 1.3% based on the estimation of COLA. You may check the complete list of rates for this benefit at the official website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. You check here: https://www.ssa.gov/cola/ or https://www.va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/veteran-rates/

In the year 2022, the VA disability rates will likely be anywhere from 4.5% – 5.3% or even higher, based on the recent projections. (source: cck-law.com)

VA Disability Rates 2022 (5.3% Increase)

Combined VA Rating VA Disability Rates 2022 (5.3% increase) VA Disability Rates 2021
10% $151.78 $144.14
20% $300.03 $284.93
30% $464.74 $441.35
40% $669.47 $635.77
50% $953.01 $905.04
60% $1,207.15 $1,146.39
70% $1,521.28 $1,444.71
80% $1,768.36 $1,679.35
90% $1,987.20 $1,887.18
100% $3,313.18 $3,146.42