tdiu Va Holding Me Employable From Marginal Job?

[BoonDoc 0]

I have been researching the law on extra-schedular ratings 100% TDIU for my claim that was denied.

I see that according to 38 CFR 4.16 (a), veterans awarded 100% TDIU can only earn up to the MAPR (Maximum Annual Pension Rate) which was $846 in 2005, or $10,152. and still be eligable to receive their 100% TDIU monthly VA compensation check.

The VA is (trying) to holdi me employable due to a marginal part time job.

Anyone else been held employable due to a marginal job that was below the poverty level, and MAPC level?

I am trying to find out if they can do that. I never made over $375 per month, or $4500 in any year from this piss poor job!

Boondoc

[Guest jangrin]

I have been researching the law on extra-schedular ratings 100% TDIU for my claim that was denied.

I see that according to 38 CFR 4.16 (a), veterans awarded 100% TDIU can only earn up to the MAPR (Maximum Annual Pension Rate) which was $846 in 2005, or $10,152. and still be eligable to receive their 100% TDIU monthly VA compensation check.

The VA is (trying) to holdi me employable due to a marginal part time job.

Anyone else been held employable due to a marginal job that was below the poverty level, and MAPC level?

I am trying to find out if they can do that. I never made over $375 per month, or $4500 in any year from this piss poor job!

Boondoc

BoonDoc,

I'm not sure if they (VA) are looking at the amount of money you made or if they are looking at the type of work it is,that you are able to do even if limited. Can this work be a full time job? And are you able to do it? And is this type of work available throughout most areas? There are alot of variables. TDIU doesn't mean you can't work at all I understand iit to mean you are not employable because of your condition, no one would hire you.

When you start working even a part time job it seems you may be opening up the fact that you can do a certain type of work and someone is willing to hire you, thus making yourself employable.

I'm not positive but just my take on TDIU.

I'm certainly open to correction by a more informed forum member.

Jangrin

[Guest terrysturgis]

BoonDoc, I am TDIU and I earn about $750.00 a month. I am an elected township official, have been it for over 10 years. My schedular rating is 94.6% so I think that helped me get TDIU. Others on this board have suggested not to work at all but in my case it was hard to survive on 30% VA disability pay therefore the money was needed. Now the fine folks at Social Security are using the (below poverty) wages to deny me my SSD benifits. SS says that if I can work, even though it is below poverty guidelines, I can work. This time I am letting the Attorney handle it. The battle goes on. Good Luck! Terry Sturgis

[Pete53 0]

The truth be known and that is any kind of employment can hurt you. Its been discussed here many times and I think the choice basically is that if you want to have 100% you better not est them. I know that some do but that is the way it is.

You can earn while trying to rehab and that does not count against you. Social Security is also very strict.

Volunteer work is best after all you are getting a pay check if you think about it.

[BoonDoc 0]

BoonDoc,

I'm not sure if they (VA) are looking at the amount of money you made or if they are looking at the type of work it is,that you are able to do even if limited. Can this work be a full time job? And are you able to do it? And is this type of work available throughout most areas? There are alot of variables. TDIU doesn't mean you can't work at all I understand iit to mean you are not employable because of your condition, no one would hire you.

When you start working even a part time job it seems you may be opening up the fact that you can do a certain type of work and someone is willing to hire you, thus making yourself employable.

I'm not positive but just my take on TDIU.

I'm certainly open to correction by a more informed forum member.

Jangrin

Hey Jangrin,

The job was part time working 2 hours a day waiting for the phone to ring, give out applications for low income housing.these housing complexes are not everywhere, but are spread out all over rural areas.

I had to quit, and my wife took over for me, as agreed to by my boss. My wife worked until she quit because we moved.

I have the IRS income tax returns showing both of us on 1996, and only her on their payroll for 1997.

I read the law to say that they are looking to see if the vet was able to work a job that the average person would be working. I only took this job because of my SC disability not letting me get a better one, and then couldn't work it (twice...I quit 2 times because of SCD)

The questions they denied are:

The old employer listed the folowing on the form about my employment:

1.) I quit because I moved.

2).No record of lost time due to SCD

3.) The date that I put as last working was 1995, and my old boss put 1996.

I lived in the apartment while I was in vocrehab and after I failed the rehab I thought I could do the 2 hours, but couldn't. My records of being a tenant came up missing, and it cost the company a bifg fine, and my old boss a "black eye",with the big boss, and owner. I'm not their favorit person!

I didn't see any "clear" guidline for the ratings reviewer to go by, that's on desogn I'm sure.

Boondoc

[BoonDoc 0]

The truth be known and that is any kind of employment can hurt you. Its been discussed here many times and I think the choice basically is that if you want to have 100% you better not est them. I know that some do but that is the way it is.

You can earn while trying to rehab and that does not count against you. Social Security is also very strict.

Volunteer work is best after all you are getting a pay check if you think about it.

I have thought about signing up for SS work therepy, or whatever you call the program, and I have no doubt that I won't be able to complete the program. I haven't been able to even pick up my children from the bus stop...that is 15 mins 5 days a wekk. I have also considered asking about VA CH31 again. I think that there may be time limits from the date that you were awarded SC, that would be a problem.

I would suggest anyone 100%, or anyone even thinking about applying for 100% to have your boss sign something as to why your quiting, and of course not work. I haven't been able to work for 10 years now, but they are denying me for 100% because of my old boss lied on the VA form about to why I quit, time off due to SCD, and the date I put as last working.

I am questioning the law that says that you can make under poverty, and still get a 100% scech every month. I f it's allowed while a vet is 100% why would they hold someone who is applying for it to a different standard; this is not income from therepy, or rehab. from what I have read...I may be wrong, and I know that the ratings office will read it the way they want too!

I met SSD requirments. I found that for me Social security wasn't this difficult, but I had a lawer.

boondoc

Edited September 17, 2006 by BoonDoc

[Vike17 3]

The earnings threshhols are just a guideline for VA. A veteran on IU could earn $10,000.00 a year and still retain his unemployability where as another veteran earning $1,000.00 could have thier IU taken away.

It all depends if the VA thinks you are able to maintain a gainful occupation according to your records. It looks like in your case the VA has determined that, even though you're only working a couple of hours a day, they think you could work this job on a full time basis.

Remember, Individual Unemployability is just that, Unemployable due to service-connected disabilities. I guess I'm trying to say this in a nice way, if your unemployable, then you can not work!

Vike 17

[Guest rickb54]

I agree with Vike,

If your unemployable then you cant' work!

But it doesn't hurt if you help out a friend and he wants to give you a "tax free gift".

[BoonDoc 0]

The earnings threshhols are just a guideline for VA. A veteran on IU could earn $10,000.00 a year and still retain his unemployability where as another veteran earning $1,000.00 could have thier IU taken away.

It all depends if the VA thinks you are able to maintain a gainful occupation according to your records. It looks like in your case the VA has determined that, even though you're only working a couple of hours a day, they think you could work this job on a full time basis.

Remember, Individual Unemployability is just that, Unemployable due to service-connected disabilities. I guess I'm trying to say this in a nice way, if your unemployable, then you can not work!

Vike 17

[/quote

Post for Steve,

]

He does not wok now, and hasn't since the Summer of 1996.

He took the marginal job only because he couldn't work a regular job, and the VA is holding him employable because the boss put that he quit due to moving....I took over for him and worked the job after working a full time job while pregnant. WE have tax records showing that only Steve worked in 1995, and both of us are on the 1996 when I took over, and then the 1997 returns show only me on the payroll when Steve stepped down. So He can prove that He didn't just quit because of a move...we stayed in our same apartment.

He was researching if the VA could hold him employable from a marginal job, that he took only because of his SC disabilities anyway.

Thanks for the input!

[Guest jangrin]

BoonDoc,

I was thinking about this a bit more. Are we talking about this happening in 1995-1996 (ten years ago)? I think you need to write a statement and your wife writes a statement and you supply the tax returns and your apartment rental and address showing you remained living there,and exactly what happened. I'd be very specific about the job and why you couldn't do it.

Also, in 10 years time has your SC condition worsened? I'd include that and why that job made your condition worse.

Even SS allows people to try to work when they find something that they may be able to do. I don't know the particulars but I know you are allowed to try but are limited on the amount of money you can make and the length of time you can actually work the job.If you can't do it you just stop doing that job and try another if something comes up. They are strict but they would like it better if you found something you could do rather than draw on the system. They WANT you to pay into the system. So they have made some provisions. The VA it seems is not so flexible. Good luck.

Just my thoughts on this,

Jangrin

[evandc 1]

Something I've never understood & this may or may not apply to this post. Why a vet with TDIU & SSD

that totals close to $4,000 a month want or need to work. This subject comes up at HADIT & in Vet Groups all the time. If you want to work go ahead & work, but don't apply for TDIU & then worry that the VA will find about the money. Does your part time job pay $48,000 a year, tax free? Don't know if I am mean or hard headed or what my problem could be. When I went out on sick leave pending Disability Retirement & filed for SSD & TDIU, I never looked back. I've have not worked a day since then & just have to adjust my

life to the change.

Just my ideas,

Don Evans

[Guest rickb54]

Don Evans,

In defense of veterans who really want to work:

I must say that I have learned that I was a much nicer person when I worked. I was a happier as well and I enjoyed life more. I had worked since I was 16, and enlisted in the Army when I was 17. I had a good military career,when it was cut short and I was forced to medically retire at age 32. I went on to yet another career in civil service when at age 45 my service connected back disability was seen as cause to medically retiree me from civil service. I had given the best years of my life to my country and for that I was put on to pasture. It was hard to go from a full time job to doing nothing, so I volunteered at the local DAV 6-8 hours a day five days a week. But that did not last. I even worked under the table for awile as a convience store clerk where all I did was run the register. This was not for the money, it was to have sanity and a reason to get up in the morning. That did not last either because my wife was concerned for my safety due to all the crooks killing store clerks. I have moved twice since I was 45, my children and grandchildren are no longer close to home, (one is married to a soldier, the other is a soldier) and my wife spends her time at school or church so I now spend about 80% of my time home alone. Since I am in a new area, I do not know anyone, and I am isolated from the rest of the world. I often wonder what my family would think if I was no longer here. You see Don unless a person has a reason to get up each day there is no reason to carry on. For most veterans who draw 100% or TDIU wanting to work is not about money, it is about finding a place that needs ones talents (no matter how little the talent might be), and haveing a life that allows contact with other people and gives one a sense of usefullness and well being. Most people on TDIU or SS disability would be better off mentally if they were allowed to showcase their talents even one day a week. Untill then a lot of us will wonder if it is really worth it...... Life sucks when you have nothing to look foward too, and you are confined to the house because you share nothing in common with your old friends. So you see Don it is not normal for people to sit and wait to die, but that is what we are really doing now isn't it.

Edited September 17, 2006 by rickb54

[john999 978]

I don't know why anyone with a decent job that they are able to do would want to get TDIU. Who wants to be on disability? I had a good paying job before I was disabled. I could also enjoy a lot of my leisure time doing things I can no longer do. One thing to look forward to is that as you get older all your friends will be retired also and you will be in the same boat. They probably won't have as much money unless they work till age 70 and have saved their dough. I get over $4900 a month in disability benefits but some of it I paid for through disability insurance. The bulk of it is VA money however. The only good thing is that we get money from the VA. Most disabled live on SSDI or SSI. That is poverty.

[evandc 1]

I have to agree that I would rather be working & racing motorcycles on weekends like the years gone by.

I am not able to work at all. So guess I have a little different slant on this issue. I've started collecting coins & playing on EBAY. Not a chance for me to make any money, since I probably pay too much for my coins. I still belong to a Vet Group & do some research for members of the group (usually with Stressors for PTSD).

Vietnam Claims most of the time, since I have more experience with those sites. With PTSD, even simple task of doing research gets to be too much. I take months at a time off, because I get stressed by having to deal with more than one vet at a time. I have people at Vet Center, people coming to my house, people calling long distance & it gets crazy at times. Thank God for Caller ID. I even had a call few months ago from vet that wants to write a book & wanted info from me. That all seemed strange, so I took couple of call & decided that I didn't want anything to do with his book.

Also, I have a 7 month old Grandson & I see him everyday. Like someone has said (speaking of Grandchildren) "If I had known they were this much fun, I would have had them first." My Daugther is a Single Mom, going to college & working, so we keep my Grandson often.

Good luck on your claim.

Don Evans

USAF

Vietnam Vet

100 % (PTSD, TDIU)

100% Prostate Cancer (Agent Orange)

[BoonDoc 0]

BoonDoc,

I was thinking about this a bit more. Are we talking about this happening in 1995-1996 (ten years ago)? I think you need to write a statement and your wife writes a statement and you supply the tax returns and your apartment rental and address showing you remained living there,and exactly what happened. I'd be very specific about the job and why you couldn't do it.

Also, in 10 years time has your SC condition worsened? I'd include that and why that job made your condition worse.

Even SS allows people to try to work when they find something that they may be able to do. I don't know the particulars but I know you are allowed to try but are limited on the amount of money you can make and the length of time you can actually work the job.If you can't do it you just stop doing that job and try another if something comes up. They are strict but they would like it better if you found something you could do rather than draw on the system. They WANT you to pay into the system. So they have made some provisions. The VA it seems is not so flexible. Good luck.

Just my thoughts on this,

Yes this was from working in 1996. whoever filled out the employment questions that the VA requested wrote that I quit because I moved. I had no lost time, and that the date of last working was wrong.

I had this job 2 times. 1st time I had to quit after what they thought was a stroke, bbit the MRI was neg. My neurologist told me that it was probally due to the vascular headaches at my C&P exam, he's

my reg. VA doctor.

I have made copies of my tax records showing that my wife took over forme, and that I didn't move for well over a year later. The job was independent of anyother emploees, and the main office was 100 miles awway. There wasn't a time clock, time sheet, or anyone to take a visual record of time lost. If any records were kept, it would have been me keeping them. The office phone rang into the managers apartment ( what a nightmare!!! I still screen all of my calls through "Thirsten" my answering machine to this day.

My parents have written me a statement, as well as my wife. I have never sent in any statements from friends or relatives in the past because I figured that they would not give them the consideration that would be needed. I believe that I was wrong. I am going to do my best to go by laws now and not what I think, heard, or want. The law will be the only thiing to get me TDIU

I just found my ist appeal SOC. My old boss used the address where I worked with th name of the apartments with the dates of hire they put in the dates that I was hired the second time. Then they submitted a 2nd 21-4192 with the name of the parent company, and listed the entire time that I worked both times leaving out the three months that I had to leave due to right hemiphresis, so it made it look like I had worked for two years, and had two jobs!! Those mud suckers!

Edited September 19, 2006 by BoonDoc