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Skyler0311

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Posts posted by Skyler0311

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    Okay, new question. So suppose I am doing my job search thing, looking at jobs on Indeed, and I find one that I want to apply to. How does the 9 month SSDI trial thing work? Do I need to give SSA several weeks notice? If I get a sudden job offer that I want to accept, can I notify SSA the the day I start? Do I need to notify them beforehand? Can I notify them after I've started? How much coordination do I need to do with SSA beforehand? Will they need to contact my employers? That could be weird. 

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

     

    What this means is that you are P&T at 100% for PTSD and a Bipolar condition. Same as me, except you don't have psychotic elements.

    P&T has a high barrier for VA to overcome

    I would like you to read these two links from CCK-law.com

    https://cck-law.com/news/newsfaq-friday-permanent-and-total-pt-disability/

    https://cck-law.com/news/rating-reductions/

    As explained elsewhere there is a high barrier for VA to reduce a P&T rating. There has to be such a dramatic improvement in your daily life that it counts as a "material change" to your existence.

    38 CFR DOES NOT BAR 100% P&T  MH VETS FROM WORKING.

    That means income alone cannot be used as a justification for reduction of your rating. Don't get me wrong, some VA rater may try to do that, but how will they find out you are making more money? you won't be telling them. As a P&T there should NOT be any more C&P reviews planned for PTSD. (get your letters to know for sure!)

    100% MH does NOT mean you are housebound. It does not mean you are so non-functional you cannot speak, walk, talk or make sense.

     

     

    no

    So then I am safe in telling the SSA I want to try 9 months of work trial, get a job, without risking my VA benefits? 
    This sounds like a win-win, no?

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    1 minute ago, GeekySquid said:

    @Skyler0311

    That is a bad assumption. Go look at your letters on Ebenefits or if you have the rating letter there with you read it. It will specifically say the words Permanent and Total but maybe not in that order.

    You have not given us a complete list of your conditions and rating percentages so the bold section of my long post may not apply.

    It is only and specifically for a 100% rating related to Mental Health.

    Combined ratings each have their own criteria for the level you have been rated.

    For example you might be 70% MH, 60% Sleep Apnea and a bunch of 10% ratings for other stuff. each has its own rating sheet.

     

    Stupid question. How do I access them? Is there an online account I can look at? I do have my awards letters, but they are in a box somewhere. 

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Buck52 said:

    I don't see a problem if you want to work and cancel your SSDI then do so,  there's no law that says you can't...

    As for as the VA Compensation  the VA Don't care if your on SSDI or not....

    IF YOU GO BACK TO WORK AND CANCEL YOUR SSDI

    THAT JUST SHOWS YOUR GOOD CHARACTER AND HONESTY..

    When you say cancel, do you mean do the 9 month trial, or cancel outright? Because people here seem to be suggesting I should do the 9 month option, which I do feel like is being honest. Trust me, I have no interest in being dishonest. I do want to work and be productive, but I don't want to screw myself over in the end. Especially since I have no safety net or family to go to. 

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, GeekySquid said:

    @Skyler0311

    The short answer is yes, most of the time.

    To focus this another way, until you have been rated for 20 years, are P&T and over age 55, the VA "can" reduce your rating if they prove you have had a significant and permanent improvement in your rated conditions, or you committed fraud, or go to jail.

    Since you didn't provide each of your rated disabilities it is imprecise to give a blanket yes or no.

    What you do say is you are in your 30's and have a combined 100% rating.  You further state you are not TD/IU which means your rating is schedular. You do not say if your conditions are rated as Permanent and Total (P&T).

    A person with a VA 100% Schedular rating can work and earn whatever income you can, even with Mental Health problems, though there is some confusion over this and different raters might have a different decision.

    The challenge comes in with MH because of the wording found in 38 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 4, Subpart B,  §4.130 Schedule of ratings—Mental disorders.

    There is a table called General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

    This is used for all MH including PTSD ratings.

    for a 100% rating for MH (including PTSD) the top entry which says

    Total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as: gross impairment in thought processes or communication; persistent delusions or hallucinations; grossly inappropriate behavior; persistent danger of hurting self or others; intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene); disorientation to time or place; memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name.

    The bold words cause the confusion and disagreement.

    The way the rating system is designed to work for MH ratings is that you don't have to have every listed condition, they are just examples. You may have some or even none of the conditions but instead have others that are in the approximate level of severity.

    Further if you have conditions that say fit in the 70% definition and conditions that fit in the 100% definition the rater is supposed to decide which one your C&P results, med record and history combined fits more closely and assign that one. So you might have 1 or 2 of the 100% items but 6 of the 70% items and you will likely get a 70% rating. Complicating in more is that any benefit of the doubt is supposed to go to the veterans benefit.

    To be clear, if you are 100% schedular there is NOTHING in the law that says you cannot work, even if you are rated for Mental Health conditions. What it says is that for a 100% MH rating you have to meet the criteria listed in that section of the table or a close approximation of them.

    Take an agoraphobic. They cannot leave their home without severe trauma and reaction and get a 100% MH rating. But say they can work over the internet, on the phone or have sewing delivered to their home. Their social harm is still strongly in the 100% category and the VA will be unlikely to reduce their rating.

    Agoraphobia is one of those MH conditions that can and does improve so they may be static but not be P&T. If they are static it is easier to reduce their rating if they are P&T the VA has to do a lot of work to "prove" a materially significant decrease in their condition and money is not a criteria for Agoraphobia. In fact income is not a factor in schedular ratings at all. They only come in when extra-schedular ratings come into play like for TDIU.

    If you read that linked page and table you will not see the words income, salary or money anywhere.

     

    As for SS and VA talking. There is data changing hands, but VA ratings and SS ratings are not the same thing and are not based on the same criteria. The VA does not and can not assume that a change in SS status means you are better and it is unlikely to trigger a Review C&P exam, even for mental health. Unless something extraordinary happens you will just get your planned Reviews  on the normal schedule.

    If the Review shows significant and material improvement then you might get a reduction.

    Look at your letters in Ebenefits, particularly the AB8 and Commissary letters. Both will say explicitly if your rating is P&T. If you have a Review date scheduled it will show that date.

    Good luck.

     

     

     

     

    This is very helpful. Thank you.  

    Yes, so getting a job and taking the 9 month work trial option won't trigger an immediate VA review? Great. 

    I know I am not TDIU. I simply have a 100% overall rating. I don't think I am P & T, or if I were, I would assume I would know.  
    From your long text, it sounds like there is an expectation that my conditions have symptoms that make it overall hard to function, Total occupational and social impairment, but not necessarily just for employment. If my personal life also has issues, that is also taken into account. 
    I understand that there is always risk that they might reduce my rating if they think I'm doing better based on my life, but my personal life is genuinely difficult enough that I think I could make an honest case that I am definitely still suffering alot due to my injuries. 

    In the event that they decide to reduce my rating down the road, that's a risk I am willing to take. I don't want to spend my life sitting on the sofa eating jelly beans. That's such a depressing existence that I don't want to consider having. I want to be productive. I want to attempt to have as normal a life as possible, job, marriage, kids one day, etc. 

    The 9 month option sounds like a good one. And you guys are right. I don't know how well I will be able to hold down a job. I honestly don't know. I still have severe issues, including those affecting my sleep. I see a therapist. And if I fall on my butt, I don't want to get screwed from canceling my SSDI. But I need to try, at the very least. 

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    I'm not TDUI, I just have an overall 100% rating. It is partially due to things like hearing loss (tinittis) and partially due to PTSD/depression, etc. So it's not entirely mental health. I called my buddy from the Marines who now works disability claims for the VA, and he said there is no reason I should not be allowed to work, even though much of my disability comes from mental health though, as my personal life is also affected.  

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    I understand that the VA might have me reevaluated from time to time, and I accept that. My question is whether cutting off my SSDI will call for an immediate reevaluation by the VA. 

    Also, my friend who works VA disability claims told me that while employability is a point of consideration for VA disability, the primary thing they look at is how your disability affects your life on the whole, not just the employment part. For example, you might have a full time job, but if your personal life is in shambles (whatever the case may be), then your rating might not be affected. It's a judgement call. Like I said, my disability does affect my personal life every day, but I still want to work. If my disability rating gets reduced by 10 percent, then so be it. I'd rather that not happen, but I don't think SSDI and VA are intrinsically connected. But I want to know if the SSDI people talk to the VA people and say, "Hey, this guy just discontinued his SSDI benefits, you guys might want to check him out right quick" or if there is any sort of automatic connection of sorts. 

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    4 hours ago, pwrslm said:

    SSDI will let you do a trial thing for work and still keep benefits. Talk to an SSDI rep on this. Dont know what your disabilities are so I cant recommend much but VA disability does not restrict your ability to work unless they awarded you 100% IU (individual unemployability). If you have IU, when they find out that you are working (usually through SS and taxes) they will re-evaluate you, or you can notify them that you need a re-evaluation after you get a solid job. VA will also give you some room for a trial before they pull an IU award, but then your disability compensation will drop back to whatever it should be without IU.

     

    You should check into CH 31 VR&E also. It will get you a degree if you are over 30% disabled and cannot work. You could get a 4 yr BA and be much better off in the long run with a degree of your choice. I did this, 59 Y/O in school, graduate next May. They pay everything including books, computers, pens, the whole shot plus you get a living stipend of 750+/- every month on top of your disability pay. If you already have a degree, they can get you the PhD also. Explore your options.

    I do have a VA disability rating, but it is not IU. I have a friend who works VA disability claims and he told me that I can have a full time job, and still keep my VA benefits since they are not IU. I am hoping this will be the case. 

    As far as SSDI goes, I am willing to just cut the whole thing off. I know they send letters stating that they will let you work on a trial basis. From my knowledge, basically if you are doing well enough to work on the trial period with no issues, it probably means they will eventually reduce or cut your SSDI benefits, which I don't mind since even a full time job at McDonalds would earn me more than my SSDI payments. With the minimum wage being higher where I live, even a basic part time job would probably net me more. So why not just call SSDI and tell them to cut me off outright instead of going through a lengthy process? I'm only concerned that if I do this, my VA Disability would be affected. My friend gave me a long spiel basically saying that my VA Disability isn't a reflection on my ability to work, but how much my disability impacts my life. My personal disability deeply affects me in every aspect of my life and it has messed up alot of things in my life, so I don't see that being an issue of losing my VA disability. But if I DID lose my VA disability, it would make it impossible for me to live my life as it is right now. 

    Dropping SSDI, but retaining VA Disability?

    in VA Disability Claims Research

    Posted

    So I will try to make this short. I am on VA disability and on SSDI.  I want to start working soon, and am considering stopping my SSDI in order to do so. Is this possible, and if I do so, can I continue to get my VA Disability? While I will never be fully recovered from my injuries overseas, I feel that I can atleast have a job. I don't want to spend the rest of my days doing nothing. I'm still in my 30's and want to have a life. 

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