Retropay Vs Comp

[JamesR]

Would it be better, if I am given a large RETRO, to forego the RETRO in the hopes of obtaining a monthly stipend?

Can I forego voluntarily while applying? If the RETRO is large will they be extra diligent about disapproving the claim?

Also, if my claim would embarrass the military by showing exposure SARIN chemicals am I sure to be denied, even if true?

Would it be better just to claim severe pnuemonia and not list a cause when applying. Or will they ask for a primary

cause for the pneumonia?

I am a little confused on what andhow to apply, but anyones help is greatly appreciated. Thank You...

[LarryJ]

Would it be better, if I am given a large RETRO, to forego the RETRO in the hopes of obtaining a monthly stipend?

Can I forego voluntarily while applying? If the RETRO is large will they be extra diligent about disapproving the claim?

Also, if my claim would embarrass the military by showing exposure SARIN chemicals am I sure to be denied, even if true?

Would it be better just to claim severe pnuemonia and not list a cause when applying. Or will they ask for a primary

cause for the pneumonia?

I am a little confused on what andhow to apply, but anyones help is greatly appreciated. Thank You...

I would never advise someone to "get yourself a "service officer""................but, YOU NEED a good service officer.........and, if I knew of one, I'd reccomend one.

But, never fear, here on the Hadit board, we can do anything, with anybody, at anytime or anywhere, RIGHT GANG?

BTW, no need to "forgo the retro"...........I'm gonna e-mail you some direct deposit information and IF you follow the instructions that I'm gonna give you, then you'll not have to worry about that nasty old retro.

I'm, of course, pulling yer leg (I'm the "official leg-puller on hadit).

No, you do NOT need to forego the retro, the retro is money owed you from waaaaaaay back that they are going to send to you. It pays you "up-t-date" on the moneys that they should have been paying you since the date you filed your claim, then you merely start receiving your monthly compensation checks/deposits.

And, PLEASE, PLEASE, NEVER miss a chance to embarrass the military/VA/homeland security/dept of state/county rehab/AARP/NAACP/ACLU/Souther Baptist Convention/Harvard/Yale or your local Service Officer.

[john999]

Never even thing about foregoing any retro you may be owed!

[LarryJ]

Would it be better, if I am given a large RETRO, to forego the RETRO in the hopes of obtaining a monthly stipend?

Can I forego voluntarily while applying? If the RETRO is large will they be extra diligent about disapproving the claim?

Also, if my claim would embarrass the military by showing exposure SARIN chemicals am I sure to be denied, even if true?

Would it be better just to claim severe pnuemonia and not list a cause when applying. Or will they ask for a primary

cause for the pneumonia?

I am a little confused on what andhow to apply, but anyones help is greatly appreciated. Thank You...

Pneumonia?

Is that what you want to file a claim for?

Do you have pneumonia now?

[timetowinarace]

I guess we should start at the very beginning with the first question.

Do you have a current medical condition due to something in the military?

You mentioned pnuemonia. Is it chronic? Or has a prior bout of pnuemonia caused upper repiratory problems?

Retro pay from the VA is from monthly comp. If you are rated for a condition from a claim you will recieve monthly compensation, retro is paid for the months it took to decide the claim. So if it takes 6 months to decide the claim you will get six months of retro AND monthly payments will begin. There is a bit more to it than that but that is the basics of it.

[broncovet]

James R

Another name for "retro" is backpay. Since it takes so long for the VA to process your claim, often several years, if awarded you are supposed to get paid back to the date you applied, then the payments occur monthly, assuming you are eligible. So, if you applied 24 months ago, and were awarded 100%, you would get about $2600 per month, plus a "retro" payment of about $2600 per month times 24 months or about $62000 in retro. Your actual numbers will depend on when you apply, what your disability rating is, if any, and how many dependents you have.

In this example, you would get zero for the first two years until you were approved, then you would get one retro check for about $62,000 plus about $2600 per month for as long as the VA determines you are disabled.

Altho the VA pretends that you will get your benefits about six months after you apply, the reality is for most Veterans it takes at least two years, because most of the time you are turned down the first time and have to appeal, which takes a long time.

Still using your example, if you wanted to take your "retro" of $62,000, you could do what you please with this money including, if you like, the purchase of an annuity through an insurance company. This could create you an additional income. If you purchased an annuity at 4% with your $62000 retro, it could create you an income of about $2480 per year, or about $206 per month. But it is your choice what you do with the retro, and the annuity could be purchased through a private insurance company and have nothing to do with the VA. If you did take the $62000 retro and purchase a 4% annuity, in this example you would get $2806 per month..$2600 from the VA plus another $206 from the insurance company annuity. You would want to do your homework and pick a strong company for your annuity, as insurance companies sometimes do go broke.

[Testvet]

I guess we should start at the very beginning with the first question.

Do you have a current medical condition due to something in the military?

You mentioned pnuemonia. Is it chronic? Or has a prior bout of pnuemonia caused upper repiratory problems?

Retro pay from the VA is from monthly comp. If you are rated for a condition from a claim you will recieve monthly compensation, retro is paid for the months it took to decide the claim. So if it takes 6 months to decide the claim you will get six months of retro AND monthly payments will begin. There is a bit more to it than that but that is the basics of it.

The VA only pays from the month of the claim that you filed it, they do not pay you back to the day you left the military unless it is within the past 12 months if you were exposed to Sarin in the Cold War experiments or even the 1st Gulf War and you haven't filed a claim they will not pay you back to those dates and I don't think pnuemonia is a SC granted condtion