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You will find these articles helpful in understanding employment when you are rated 100% and wondering If you can work 100% VA Disability Benefits and Employment: Your Guide to Success - Hill & Ponton As a veteran with a 100% VA disability rating, you have earned the highest level of disability compensation for your service-connected disabilities. However, it’s important to understand the impact of this rating on your employment options. In this article, we will explore the different ways to achieve a 100% VA disability rating, discuss the challenges and considerations veterans may face when seeking employment with a 100% disability rating, and highlight the need for veterans to be informed and aware of their options to make informed decisions about employment and VA disability benefits. Whether you are considering returning to work or seeking new employment, understanding your rights, benefits, and limitations is crucial to navigating the complexities of working with 100% VA disability benefits. Read the full Article from Hill & Ponton Here. Can you get 100% VA disability and still work? Veterans seeking VA disability benefits due to difficulties from their service-connected conditions may still be interested in working to bring in extra income. Veterans with a 100% VA disability rating can work and still receive their monthly benefits. However, veterans receiving 100% compensation through total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) have restrictions on working for income. It is important to understand the difference between TDIU and a 100% disability rating. In this article, Woods Law explains how veterans can receive 100% disability compensation from the VA and how and when work restrictions apply. Read the full Article from Woods Law Here. Proving "Substantially Gainful Occupation" in a VA TDIU Claim. - Veterans Law Blog® So for over a decade, the VA has refused to define the term “Substantially Gainful Occupation.” Your first question might be…”Well, Chris, who cares? I can define a word too and nobody will write a blog post about it.” Well, if you are trying to win a VA TDIU claim or appeal, you should care. Because the Veterans Court, after nearly three decades of deferring to the Agency to make the first definition of the term “substantially gainful occupation,” just went ahead and defined it for them. Why is the term substantially gainful occupation important in the context of a VA claim for individual unemployability? Because it is one of the critical elements in the VA definition of TDIU. Here’s that definition again – or how a veteran proves entitlement to TDIU: Read the full Article from the Veterans Law Blog Here VA Unemployability: Can You Work With TDIU? Working While on TDIU: What You Need to Know You can work while on TDIU, but your job must not be considered “substantially gainful employment.” You can work while receiving Total Disability Individual Unemployability (TDIU) benefits, but there are certain rules you need to follow. For those who might be new to this, TDIU is a benefit for veterans who can’t work fully due to their service-connected disabilities. Read the full Article from Hill and Ponton Related View full record

For example: a veteran with PTSD works for a family friend’s business. The family friend provides the veteran with an office and duties that afford limited interaction with other people. The veteran’s salary pays his bills, and is over the current poverty threshold. Because the veteran’s job has been tailored to his individual needs (limited interaction with other people), his job is considered to be sheltered, and therefore falls under “marginal employment.” The VA cannot consider this job as being substantially gainful employment, and must not use it against him in determining IU. https://www.hillandponton.com/unemployability-iu-guide/ Marginal employment shall not be considered substantially gainful employment. Marginal employment generally shall be deemed to exist when a veteran's earned annual income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, as the poverty threshold for one person. Significantly, however, marginal employment may also be held to exist, on a facts found basis, based on employment in a protected environment such as a family business or sheltered workshop even when earned income exceeds the poverty threshold. Consideration shall be given to all claims as to the nature of the employment and the reason for the termination. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a).

BVA granted 100% Dec 20, 2018. Filed my claim Feb 2012. It's been a long hard road. Now I am just curious how long before I here from the regional office, and back pay.