Working and VA Disability: Can You Keep 100% Rating and Still Work? - VA Made Easy Podcast (Video)

 Posted on September 26, 2023 in Uncategorized

Ed breaks down the three ways you can potentially still work and keep your 100% disability rating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44jtirWncVQ

Audio only version:

Full Transcript:

Ed Farmer [00:00:00]:

Clients usually ask me, Ed, if you get me a hundred percent rating, can I still work? And the answer is yes. But there's some considerations you should take into account. Let's get into it. Hi, I'm Edward Farmer. I'm a disabled veteran and a VA disability appeals attorney.

Ed Farmer [00:00:17]:

I'm creating this podcast, VA Claims Made Easy, to help veterans navigate their own.

Ed Farmer [00:00:23]:

Way through the VA disability system. So there's several ways you could be 100%. One way is to have one rating at 100% or a combined rating at 100%. In either one of these scenarios, there is no VA rule or regulation against working. You could make a million dollars a year, and you could still keep your 100% from the VA. Something you got to keep in mind is many of these disabilities are rated based on your occupational impairment caused from that disability. For instance, to get 100% rating for PTSD, you need total occupational impairment. Now, you could have 100% rating for PTSD and still go out and work.

Ed Farmer [00:01:13]:

However, if the VA finds out that you're working, that may raise some red flags, and the VA may call you back in to reevaluate that disability. Now, you may be asking, Ed, how's the VA going to find out that I'm working? Many times in the scenario where you have either a combined rating of 100% or one disability at 100%, you provide the VA information that you're still working when you keep filing claims. Guys, if you're 100%, be very careful on continuing to file claims. There's only a handful of times where it benefits you to continue to file in claims when you're 100%. We could do a whole video about what those times are, but talk to your VA accredited representative about what those times are. So, guys, if you're a combined 100% or you have one disability rated at 100%, yes, you could continue to work. Just be careful. It may raise some red flags with the VA.

Ed Farmer [00:02:12]:

Now, the other way to be 100% is through a benefit called Total Disability based on individual unemployability, or TDIU, or just unemployability. It's referred by many different names. What this benefit does, it says if you're unable to maintain substantial gainful employment due to your service connected disabilities, the VA will pay you at the 100% rate. So if you are 70% for PTSD, but you just can't hold on a job because your PTSD symptoms, then the VA will pay you at that 100% rate. Now, you could technically work on TDIU and still receive that benefit, but there are some income caps, so pay attention to the words substantial gainful employment. What that means in a nutshell is you can't earn over the federal poverty rate. The federal poverty rate at the time of this taping for household one in the continental United States is $13,590. So you must earn under that federal poverty rate in order to keep your unemployability.

Ed Farmer [00:03:35]:

Yes, the amounts increase as more people in your household, but it's still not a whole lot of money. And once again, if the VA finds out you're working, that may raise some red flags. When you have unemployability, the IRS and the VA talk to each other. So if you earn some income and you're on unemployability and you file that tax return, guess what? The IRS is going to say, hey, VA, this guy's earning income and he's on unemployability. And the VA may look into your claim to see if you're still eligible for that unemployability. So, yeah, guys, you could work on unemployability, but you may be setting yourself up for some issues down the road if the VA finds out you're still working. Now, there's two exceptions to that substantial gainful employment rule. One is if you're earning passive income.

Ed Farmer [00:04:31]:

Now, passive income means you're not going into a job working and earning a paycheck. You're not actively involved with a business. Usually, passive income is like an investment. So maybe you're a silent investor in business. Maybe you're earning interest off the stock market, even if those amounts exceed the federal poverty rate. That's okay, because it's not employment. You could earn over the federal poverty rate and keep your individual unemployability. The second exception is if you're working in a protected work environment.

Ed Farmer [00:05:11]:

Now, what this means is usually you're working for a family or friends business, and they provide you accommodations for your service connected disabilities that you normally would not find in another business. So, for example, let's say you're working for the family business and you leave work early every day because of your service connected migraines. Normally, a business would not accommodate that, and you wouldn't be able to work anywhere but that family or friend's business. That's called a protected work environment. Technically, you could earn over the federal poverty rate in a protected work environment and keep your TDIU. But again, it may raise some red flags. You may want to get a VA accredited representative to help you prove that that's actually a protected work environment. So, guys, if you're 100% due to unemployability, you technically could still work if you're earning under the federal poverty rate or you have passive income, or you're in a protected work environment.

Ed Farmer [00:06:20]:

That's it for today, guys. Thanks for listening. As always, continue to, like, share, subscribe, and put in the comments what topics you want to see next. As always, you have the power to change your VA claim. I'm Ed Farmer. Thanks for listening.

Ed Farmer [00:06:39]:

Hey, guys, thanks for listening. I hope this was helpful in navigating the VA disability system. Please continue to follow me and listen for further help. If you guys have a particular issue or story you would like to share, it may help others who have a similar problem. Feel free to reach out to me and we can talk about sharing your issue or problem on the next show. If you need some additional help, visit my website vamadeasy.com.