john999

A depression claim is a good idea. If you are in severe pain and disabled that would make anyone depressed and it is all secondary to the SC bad knees.

Big What I was trying to say was that in the words of one of the great robber barons of the 19th and early 20th centurny "Financial markets tend to fluctuate". We are all in a bind because if you leave you money where it is safe you get little interest. If you chase yields then you take on risk. I am too old for too much risk, but I always bought stock.

Carlie You know it is possible to have so much money you don't know what to do with it.

Terry Your family has really paid the price for freedom.

Are you considering survivor benefits in your calculations? I have been investing for about 30 years. Markets get busted every few years. Stocks,bonds, gold, housing they all get whacked at least once a decade. The government check has never gotten busted out yet, and if it does all you other assests won't be worth much anyway. During the Great Depression one of the first things FDR did was to make it illegal to use gold as currency. Your crummy VA check has a COLA so even if the money is debased by inflation you will get your increase. Don't spit on the old VA check. Nobody knows what economic conditions will be like in five years much less 20-30 years.

Now I know you can sell payments you get from a private disability policy. I have such a policy and was offered about 25% of the worth of the policy based on my life expectency. I turned that down pretty quick. You can get in trouble but if you have an annuity you always have a check at the beginning of the month. One good thing to do with a large retro payment is to buy an annuity for yourself.

You might have a lawsuit.

I think the US government would be the one to buy you out.

When you are rated at 70% for a single disability does the VA have a duty to infer or not infer TDIU if you are not working?

I think the IRS rules on IRA withdrawals are sort of tricky. I think I would have a CPA look at it and get an expert opinion.

The VA should have inferred TDIU when you were rated 70% for schizophrenia. Did they send you the official form to fill out for TDIU? Have you applied for SSDI?

The basic rate has not increased in 50 years. It is only increase due to COLA.

I think you should sure appeal the 0% on the anxiety/ptsd issue. I was born in Providence but have not been back since. If you have decent evidence for higher ratings possible appeal.

On the wrist you need IMO. For the knee you need an IMO also and this will be much harder I think to make a link to service or to wrist as secondary.

The VA has been cherry picking the evidence they received for decades. Many vets give up when they get denied by BVA, but I say press on since by not reviewing valid evidence you are being denied due process.

I was turned down by VA while being on SSD for VA service connected condition alone. The VA nitpicked by IMO's and came up with something they could raise an issue about to say that my real reason for being unable to work was due to non-VA and non-SSD reason. I just appealed it and got another IMO and won, but it pissed me off and was a very blatant attempt to deny my TDIU.

The VA is a black box. We don't know what goes on inside. If good data goes in one end you hope that a good conclusion comes out the other, but you can never know for sure until you get that decision in your hand. About ten years ago I had a claim in for an increase. I called the VA and asked about progress. I was told my claim was at the front office and that I had a big retro. What happened was I got a letter saying my increase was denied. I don't trust the VA until I get the official letter.

If you are trying to get 100% schedular the last 10% are the hardest to get. I have had 90% for the last 5 years. If I win my CUE I might get 100% going back 40 years. Won't that be a blast now that it does not really matter that much.

Some people are lucky and their claims sail through both SSDI and VA, but they are the exceptions. Persistence is what pays off. I think it will get harder after a few years when Iraq and Afghanistan are not such big issues. Now is the time to pursue your claim until you get everything you want.

Sometimes they will let it go back one year from the time you filed for TDIU if there is evidence. For instance, you are on SSDI a year before you file for TDIU. The VA has a good reason to make your effecitive date the same as for your SSDI date. Actually, I don't see why cannot go all the way back to the date you got SSDI for a SC condition to grant TDIU, but they usually don't.

If your own government does it to you like Agent Orange, or friendly fire in a war zone you get no medals. You don't even get an apology. If you are lucky you get compensation.

PR Are you going back to CAVC?

You probably never thought it would happen.

Regarding the chronic anxiety I think you should have an IMO from a psychiatrist. Were you treated or diagnosed with Anxiety disorder while in the service or within one year of discharge?

The true criteria for TDIU is that you not be able to work due solely to your SC condition/conditions.