johnsctt78

congrats on the Rocket Docket ride...beats the Hamster Wheel by a mile.

this implies support that you left work for reasons besides "retirement" and with lay and medical documentation it will support the "need" to leave work for medical reasons.

@johnsctt78
choices like this, while the natural thing for a responsible person to make, can create problems for veterans seeking compensation. Assuming that the route you choose is TDIU with all its restrictions, then make sure you get a lot of strong lay evidence from your former coworkers.
Again I suggest Veterans Law Blog on the issue of how to create strong Lay Evidence from an accredited VA attorney.
Your med records need to show complaints for pain and increasing frequency of complaints. and IMO/IME would benefit you if you can afford it. Just make sure it has the magic words that VA wants from the DBQs.
Please keep us informed.
Good luck
 
 

@Fat
just to be clear, payments only appear there AFTER they have been issued by Treasury. It is a following indicator not a leading one as you should already have that money in your account.

"i did decide to just retire out last august before i was subject to any negitive actions at work,ive seen over the yrs what happens to disabled workers working in the vet admin and i did not want the dogs on me"
yeah I could write a book on that.
When I FTCAed them for wrongful death, the malpractice on my husband began as soon as he started working there. They almost killed his buddy there too, another Vietnam Vet- the going scuttlebutt at this VA, was ' are they planning to kill all us Vietnam Vets in the same department my husband and his friend worked in.'
Luckily his friend is still living  and I got him 100% P & T under 1151.
I found a motive for the malpractice- motive is not needed for FTCA, but I know why they did it.
 

@johnsctt78
Glad you got the back pay.  @Berta as usual is correct. Read that link! You may have a possible CUE.
Your right knee being 40%, and the total reaching 80% should, but may not have, triggered the VA rate builder to have them consider TDIU.
There is a lot here on TDIU, however Attorney Chris Attig, who posts here and is a friend of Hadit, has a blog called Veterans Law Blog. I highly recommend you look at his site, if you can afford it, join.
somethings to consider:
I noticed you used the word "retired" from the VA. Are you actually getting a retirement check? is it a full retirement benefit? there are complexities with that word even though the VA is not supposed to consider your age for TDIU.
You are going to want to get a Voc Rehab opinion that you cannot work and retraining is not appropriate. This can be tricky in that the VA has some issues with the concept of 'marginal employment' and what it means to be able to do sedentary jobs. If you can afford to pay for an outside opinion that is fine just research and make sure they have the appropriate credentials and experience to do that job. They need to conform to VA written statement forms in their written opinion. Just saying hi, he can't stand up, will not cut it for TDIU.
There are two main forks you can choose when speaking to the Voc Rehab people.
If you want an new career, say being a stock broker, lawyer, or programmer. There are educational benefits that you could receive for education if approved. 48 months of Stipend and all Tuition paid. You can even go from High School Grad to a Masters Degree if you fight them hard enough. you can get a JD or MD even. There is a VA attorney advocate Ben Krause who runs another vets blog who not only got Voc Rehab once and got a degree, he managed to do it twice and get his Law degree.
you will have to fight for that. If you choose that path PM me I can tell you a few things that might help you.
The other path is to convince VocRehab that you are not a good candidate for even sedentary jobs like answering the phone. This would need them to learn things like that for you sitting, standing, walking and laying down are all constantly painful. That you cannot focus for long time on simple tasks.
Be clear here I am NOT telling you to lie or make it up. I am telling you that if these type things are true that you need to make sure they are documented!
in bolstering that situation you would need medical records showing pain management and pain related complaints. complaints about standing, sitting, walking, and laying down.
Proper buddy statements saying things like you walk ten steps and have to rest. That sitting playing cards is impossible.
Getting your bosses and coworkers to write letters saying what they witnessed about you not being able to do your job because of the pain and problems is good evidence if done right.
@Berta is right to ask if you have applied for SSDI or SSI and was it granted? that is powerful support for the VA.
Good Luck and keep us posted

Go to ebenefits and look under payments.
They could have the deposit amounts.

It would be great if ,when you get the decision, that you could scan and attach it here- Cover your C file # and name prior to scanning it.
 

Please read this link carefully:
https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibility/special-claims/unemployability/
It is quite possible, in my opinion, that the VA should have considered you for TDIU-
The actual decision will show if they did or didnt and could be the basis for a potential CUE.
I see you are a New Yorker like me.
Do you deal with Buffalo RO?
Reason I ask is that I do and have never received a proper decision right off the bat.
It is not always necessary for a veteran to formally apply for TDIU when the medical evidence and ratings suggest that they should infer it.  The TDIU regs are here under a search.

@johnsctt78
The 3/2019 date is definitely retro pay. but it will only be for April and May. They wont pay for the partial month of March.
Did they grant you TD/IU? Did you apply?
If you are in hardship, then that may be the best thing for you and you might consider SSDI and or SSI. At 100% pay TDIU pays a single person 3K. SSDI at 100% is likely to pay you about the same depending on your work history and zipcode. Both are protected incomes but you would have limits on how much other money you can earn.
Whether you asked or not, to see if they granted you TDIU go to Ebennies and Letters.
If there is a Commissary letter showing generate it.
The existence of the commissary letter indicates a 100% rating for both TDIU and Schedular ratings.
It will tell you that you can use the commissary and give you a date to renew the ID card. That date corresponds to your next review. If the Commissary letter does not have a date to renew the ID card then you are P&T.
This letter generates long before the BBE comes or and back pay.
                                                           

If I'm not badly mistaken, your first payment at this new rating should be effective last week on May 1.  VA Comp doesn't pay for a partial month, so you won't get paid anything for March.  So, if they didn't pay you at the new rate last week, they apparently owe you one month, April.  Congrats on your new rating.

VA math is not linear.  They use a formula to determine percentage.  I normally use this calculator to help me calculate.
https://www.hillandponton.com/va-disability-calculator/

congrats on hitting the lottery of short time in the VA process!!!

It can definitely happen.