Thoughts on change to IU at retirement age??

[wisconsinwalter]

I am 90% and IU, also P&T, I will be 52 next month. Is the retirement age 65 or 67?

i also got SSDI through wounded warrior program for SSDI. 

Does anyone believe this will go through with the new VA budget?

[john999]

I believe that some decades ago if a vet was so disabled he could not work then he/she became 100%.   Somewhere along the line that was changed to IU probably to give the VA an out to reduce costs of compensation because before about 2007-08 vets who were IU could not get statutory HB.  There is a large gap between 100% and 90% compensation in benefits.   I am 90% using VA math.  Using regular math I am 190%.

[wisconsinwalter]

So my follow up by the call I made to the Trump hotline seems to have been fruitful. I was contacted by senior benefit rep and they had all my comp exams in hand. 

She took the time to look at the ratings and directed me to look at the Bradley v Peake? Case. 

She told me since ptsd is the basis for my IU that the sum total for everything else was 50%. Apparently once at 60% for the total of everything else I qualify for some type of SMC which I stil dont understand. 

I have opened a new claim to get to 100% schedular. I closed my knee claim when I got P&T. So now I can re-present my evidence of injury to my knee while in the Corps. 

I hope I had my new claim flagged so the VA can track results. 

I am pleased they took the time to call me and assist getting SMC and 100

Edited June 14, 2017 by wisconsinwalter

[Berta]

Great- She means SMC and there is plenty of info here on that.

Bradley V Peake is here too under our search feature.

[Guest L]

On 6/2/2017 at 6:22 AM, broncovet said:

Im gonna take a minority opinon, here, which, in a nutshell is "Dont worry about it."  Sure, Write your congressman, but after you do, then stop worrying.  Here is why:

1. As they pointed out this is just a poroposal.  

2.  Its unlikely to pass for multiple reasons.  Mostly its the same reasons it did not pass before, and that is that politicians care more about their own careers than they do Vets.  A politician would be comitting suicide to his career to vote for a bill that cuts Vets benefits.  As Gastone and others pointed out this proposal has been circling around for years or even decades and nothing ever comes of it.  I think it largely goes in the rumor category.  

3.  Even if some part of it passes by dozens of politicians committing career suicide all at once, it faces some real execution problems.  First, it conflicts with 3.344 Stabilization of disability evaluations..  How is VA going to implement a regulation that conflicts with the others?    Too many regulations would need rewritten for it to happen, and thats unlikely.  If there is one thing monster VA is good at it is good at keeping everything the same.  Its hard to do anything with monster VA it reminds one of a glacier.  It moves ultra slowly and is super resistant to change.  VA has nothing in place to enforce any regulations, and you can bet this proposed change would be implimented willy nilly at best.  

     Now before I get attacked by angry Vets, I am not for anything that hurts Vets.  And I agree this sounds bad, and amounts to a cut in Vets benefits.  Due to its conflict with 3.344 and the fact that there is written into the regs the "benefit of the doubt" for Vets when there are differing interpretations, this virtually assures that nothing significant will happen.  For the Vets where this actually resulted in a pay reduction, they could apply for an increase which would lessen its effect.  Already, VA often shuns awarding tdiu, and awards 100 percent instead, and they have the discretion to do just that.  This would no doubt happen for many if the proposal was implemented.  The net effect would be that it reslut in more work for VA, and more backlog as current tdiu'ers would lkikely automatically be considered for an increease, or, at a minimum, most would apply for an increase.  Since many of these increases would likely be granted, since va had an option of rating that vet 100 percent instead of tdiu anyway.  This is precisely what happened to me..I had applied for IU and they rated me 100 percent instead.  

Good perspectives from all: I attended a VA Town Hall meeting yesterday. I spoke with a liaison to a Congressman who I know well and trust.

He specifically told me he has read the entire proposal & made bullet points of the different components for a rebuttal.

He also stated the person/ persons that initiated this proposal did not understand the specific repercussions of just cutting out the IU....( the added property tax waivers et al)  

He is working on this daily, in his estimation in one form or another- a proposal  could pass in say 10 years ( generalized) - this was as other stated ....not a Trump proposal ....but has been on the radar a long time. 

My award was in December 2016 - I am 60 this year ,so I would be under the gun too with only one Dx. of 70% - I also will not ignore that I need to watch my pennies.