JR Reihs

When you find yourself taking a non doctors opinion from a VA C&P exam, one must step back and ponder the thought of an IMO from a qualified ortho or a real doctor qualified to actually preform such exam.........In order to further yourself up the mountain, you must be willing to be proactive to remove the resistance. In your case, an IMO would be your next best step to counter the APRN guess.

I agree with John 100% "none VA Math". The government bean counters have a pretty good handle on the timeline on how many Vets are dying off vs how many new ones are coming on board. It is nothing but a numbers game with the VA, they get x amount of money per year divided by x number of expected claims, minus expected number of of dead vets that frees up the money for the new claims. They are very well aware that if all claims were granted in proper form, the system would be overwhelmed in dollar value, so they deny and deny until they no longer can, by that time, enough vets have passed causing less stress on the system when award is finally made. If the VA were ever made to pay interest on awards, most of this non-sense would stop.

WTG Asnod. I never really got into the nuts and bolts of the ILP , but you have awakened me to dip into the abiss of the VA once again, pretty interesting stuff you have uncovered.

Makes no sense at all. Reagan pulled all those employees into the FERS program in 84, it was automatic. What your friend might be missing would be the TSP fund contributions, he would still have some funds into it as there were a small amount that was automatically moved into the fund every payday, so he should have a TSP account, he also should have life insurance, but the amount would depend on the choice he made up to x5 base pay.......he is covered under the OPM disability rules of FERS which the amount depends on years of service, that is why they gave us the TSP account helping to offset the measly amount under regular retirement.

The hitch is, when you are under 62, there is an offset between FERS and SSDI. when you reach 62 under FERS there is a re-computation to include time on FERS disability and ending the SSDI offset that gets you a few more bones per month.

Congrats....The VA gave you your 100% in Aug, so they are saying that Sept 1, 2013 was the retro date start. From the way I read it , all the amount withheld from that date will be your retro x each month adding for the Colas of Dec 13/14/15. I can't tell you the exact amount and wont even try, but a good average would be around $1300 per month from Sept 1, 2013, based on the amount withheld.

I forgot that you were retired, and now you raise a good question that I really am not 100% on. i wouldn't think that you would use different cards from what they already give you, but also raises a question about how Tricare will work with Champ VA.......I'm sure someone here knows the answer. One thing is for sure......you are in a good position either way.

OP, you got some great info here, but I also want to add that since you had a Doc give him the topical cream, I would also suggest applying for the clothing allowance grant.....this needs to be done by Aug 1. As was stated, now that you have filed an appeal, I don't think the VA will reduce the IU rating......he is still at 60% and not working while also collecting SSDI, which will be a major sticking point for the VA to overcome.

It looks like Gerd will be the first retro and it was the migraine claim that got you to 100%, so I would assume that will be your back pay date - the 90% you already had. Now what you need to do is jump on the state and Fed bennies that come with P&T. 1st, get your 19 y/o to the college VA person to get the Chapter 35 school benefits done, and refund of any monies due from the past months in school if your state offers tuition waivers, then get the retro from the VA for the same. 2nd, get your DOD cards for the family 3rd, get your family enrolled in Champ VA 4th, check for state bennies such as property exemption, car tags, ect... if there is such, apply for refund back to your 100% award 5th, make sure your award contains everything that you asked for, if you feel they were wrong, that will be a decision you need to make as you are now T&P, this is the golden ticket, and there is not much more to gain, unless you seek Voc Rehab, or the ILS program. 6th and most important.......enjoy yourself and your family, the retro may not be huge, but it can do some good for things you could not get or do before, On the calculation, I really have no idea other than if it is based on the 11/12/13 date, just look at the schedule between 90-100 with the number of dependents you have x the amount of months between now and the retro date......it won't be exact,but it will be a good ballpark. One other thing........Congrats to you and your family!

I would say yes as long as the rating is not solely related to a mental issue.

Way to go Asknod. about 10 years ago I got a Certified letter from he VA which stated that I had been flagged due to Jetgun use, and that I should be screened for Hep. I never did anything about it as I have been out since 84, and no problems on that front, but it sure freaked my wife out. I have kept that letter in my safe ever since.

If she was entitled to Chapter 35 benefits then she would have a claim to those accrued benefits that she could then apply to the student loans. Add in that most states have some form of help for tuition in these cases, she might have some recourse to get some of that back also..

I don't know about the new "rules". I have been static for many years, so I am lucky so far as to not having to play the VA game on this issue. My braces are hard plastic and metal, but nothing would surprise me, guess I will find out about the 20th of next month.

Logged on and saw this very sad news. He will be missed.

We just went through this with my wife's Grandmother. She was a WWII vet in her 90's, an never had a medical problem until she was 91. She ended up in an assisted living home and slowly went into needing full time care. We applied for AA under the Pension program of which she was approved for 1500 and change with a 24K income. The problem we currently are dealing with is, the VA would not pay the retro as they found her incompetent and was going to appoint a fiduciary. She died while waiting on this to be done......Fast forward. The Estate has filed a claim on her behalf for monies due (16 months) until the time of her death, this was done by her son as executor. The VA then comes back with a denial letter, stating he was not a minor child....LOL WTF, the letter clearly stated he was the executor and that it was the estate making the claim of prior benefits due before death....Only the VA. I am sure this will be resolved soon after I wrote the new appeal, but it does show that AA under the pension program is a very good benefit. I was actually surprised in the amount awarded based on her income, yet added together, it just barely paid the monthly cost of the home of 3600 per month. OUCH!

30-60 day is what I am seeing now, back when I was approved it took about 3 weeks to get the papers and the deposit came right after.

Keep in mind that Arthritis is a separate rating in itself.

Do what you feel is right. With that said, you have over 16 years of service and the VA has already rated you at 100%, yet the "DOD" has you at 20%.....No way in hell I would let the DOD off with that piddly 20% when you have medical that states different......IMO, I would appeal the DOD and hang around as long as possible to get a proper and just rating from DOD and all the benefits that come with it. I think you will leave to much at the table if you take the VA an run.......I also think you will regret doing so after the fact, which you will not be able to turn back from.

Remember one thing about OPM. You do not need to be completely disabled, you just need to medically not be able to do the job you currently held. This in itself is the reason OPM has the 80% work rule, that one can still receive OPM disability and work, making up to 80% of what you did while working. IMO, your 70% PTSD would be an automatic OPM grant, being that you were a sup........I think your OPM claim was not looked at with an open eye.

I'll call BS on the VA letter you got. Unless congress has changed something under the radar, all you would need is 180 days of consecutive service to become a Veteran. You need to start making some noise with your VAMC so you will get the help you need, and to start filing your claim with the VA, make them show you where the 24 month rule apply's........They can't. You are a War-time VET, do not let them deny your earned benefits.

I have sent several Fed employees to him for OWCP cases and have yet to lose one after his report hits, a couple had to go to ECAB, but it was worth it in the end. I have nothing but high regards for him and his staff, cuz OWCP absolutely hates to see his name in a report , it make it almost impossible from them to screw you at that point, maybe the VA will have the same feelings.

Congrats on the P&T status......Now you need to check on property exemption on your Taxes, and thing that your state will give you on the DMV side. Commissary ID's, State park discounts and so on.......There is a long list out there that you can benefit from.

Let's Correct this and state that until you have a 20 year point on any rating, the VA can attack it at anytime, even at 20 the VA can at least question it for IU purpose.....IE, working or some type of fraud. While I am pretty sure the OP here is safe, I would say his age gives more to that than the 14 years on IU. Remember that there exist a 5-10-and 20 year rule on ratings. I will also add that in the 19 years I have had the IU rating, the VA has only ask me one time for a earnings report, I am not sure , but I think they track this with SS earnings report also, maybe that is the reason.

The last line on the letter answered your question.....Now you need to start applying for all the bennies that come with T&P.

This guy is from my neck of the woods. I knew of him as I used to live in Olive Hill. I heard there were many people who said he was faking being totaly blind, personaly I do not see how this got through the system. I know the C&P's rely on a Vet statement to some "very small extent", but this case does not seem plausible given the high Tech machines used today. I am not one to question anyone who has medical issues, here, I question the VA's ability to do a proper exam.