RSS FeedQualifying for Service-Connected and Non-service-Connected Veteran Benefits
For soldiers who have done their duty for their country, the Department of Veteran Affairs offers several types of disability benefits. But each veteran receives different types of benefits-- and not all of these benefits are equally valuable. The Department of Veteran Affairs has 8 "priority groups" which they use to decide which types of benefits a veteran will receive; "1" is the highest and "8" (which as of 2003 is no longer assigned to new veterans) is the lowest. Your priority group depends entirely on your disability and how it first occurred (service-connected or non-service-connected), your financial situation, and your current level of disability.
Since whether or not a disability is service-connected or non-service-connected can have a great effect on the benefits you will receive, it’s important to have a good understanding of the specific requirements for each of these two types of benefits.
The Requirements for Non-service-Connected Benefits
A veteran who suffers from a total and permanent disability qualifies for non-Service-connected benefits. Qualifiying for non-service-connected benefits can also be dependant on a few other issues:
• Income- Being eligible for non-service-connected benefits is based on the recipient having limited earnings and a net worth too low to provide the veteran with adequate maintenance. For more information please see 38 U.S.C.S. §§1521-22.
• Service - To be eligible for non-service-connected pensions, you must have 90 days of active duty and at least one day in a "period of war." However, for a veteran who entered military service after 1980, the service requirement is simply to have completed a full period of active duty. Specifically, an individual who enlisted for the first time on or after September 8, 1980, is required to complete a minimum period of service, either twenty-four months of continuous active duty or the full period for which the veteran was called to active duty. In addition, the active service of the eligible veteran needs to include 90 total days during a period of war or one day of service during a period of war which ended in discharge due to a service-connected disability.
• Discharge- To be eligible for benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs, your discharge from the military needs to have been under non-dishonorable circumstances.
Service-Connected Benefits Requirements
Eligibility for service-connected benefits, differently from non-service-connected benefits, is not dependant on a veteran having done wartime service or meeting a net worth or income level. Rather, you will be required to prove the source and current condition of your disability using:
• Evidence of current disability- As service-connected disability benefits are only available to those with current disabilities, the first things applicants must do is provide a current diagnosis of their disability using up-to-date medical records.
• Substantiation of the disability or injurys occurrance The next thing applicants for service-connected benefits must provide is proof that the disability occurred during or was aggravated by military service. Veterans should keep in mind, though, that the VA uses the term "in-service" broadly, also including injuries that occurred during leave.
• Evidence of connection between past injury and current disability- This requires that applicants give evidence of a connection between the injury incurred in service and the current disability.