VA Disability 20-Year Rule Prevents VA from Reducing Ratings
CCK Law: Our Vital Role in Veterans Law
Veterans who have maintained a disability rating for several years may be eligible for rating protections, which prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from reducing or eliminating a disability rating except in specific circumstances. One of these protections is the so-called VA disability 20-year rule established in 38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b), which prevents VA from reducing ratings that have been in place for 20 years or longer.
This article will explain what this rule entails in more detail, as well as how veterans like you can benefit from it.
Key Takeaways:
- The VA disability 20-year rule applies to veterans who have maintained a specific rating level for 20 years or longer. After 20 years, their rating becomes protected, preventing VA from reducing it for any reason besides fraud.
- VA internal guidelines apply the 20-year rule to combined ratings as well as singular ratings, thereby protecting veterans with multiple service-connected disabilities.
- The timer for the 20-year rule starts on a veteran’s effective date, otherwise known as the day when VA first receives the veteran’s application for disability benefits.
What Is the VA Disability 20-Year Rule?
The VA 20-year rule (38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b)) protects a veteran’s disability rating from reduction after it has been in effect for 20 years or more, unless VA proves fraud or clear and unmistakable error.
The VA disability 20-year rule states that any service-connected conditions that have been rated at or above a specific rating percentage for 20 years or longer will be deemed continuous. A continuous rating means that VA cannot reduce that rating below its lowest rating during the 20-year period, unless the initial rating was based on fraudulent evidence.
For example:
- Say a veteran is service connected for PTSD, for which they have received a 50 percent disability rating.
- Over the next 20 years, that 50 percent rises a few times to 70 percent as the veteran’s condition fluctuates, but it never dips below 50 percent.
- Once those 20 years have passed, the veteran’s 50 percent PTSD rating will now be deemed continuous. VA cannot reduce this rating below 50 percent for the rest of the veteran’s life, even if their PTSD ever appears to have improved. The only way this rating could be reduced is if it were discovered that the veteran’s claim was somehow fraudulent to begin with.
Does the VA Disability 20-Year Rule Apply to Combined Ratings?
Yes, it does.
Under M21-1, Part X, Subpart ii, Chapter 1, Section B – Protected Ratings, VA policy states that if a combined rating has been in effect for 20 years or more, both the individual evaluations and the combined evaluation are protected.
For example:
- Say a veteran has a 30 percent disability rating for sleep apnea, as well as a 40 percent rating for ankylosis of the spine, combining into a 60 percent overall rating.
- Over the next 20 years, each of these ratings remains consistent, none of them dipping below their original rating levels.
- At the 20-year mark, each of these ratings will be declared continuous and therefore protected. VA will not be able to reduce the veteran’s overall rating below 60 percent, even if one or both of their conditions improve.
Legally, the 20-year rule protects each evaluation that has been continuously in effect, not necessarily every component of a combined rating if they have changed.
When Does the 20-Year Timer Start?
“The 20-year period will be computed from the effective date of the evaluation to the effective date of reduction of evaluation.”
Based on this language from 38 C.F.R. § 3.951(b), VA calculates the 20-year period from the effective date of the VA rating. In this case, the effective date is when VA established the rating (as opposed to, e.g., when the veteran filed the claim, which is how VA determines an effective date in other circumstances).
How Do Rating Protections Like the VA Disability 20-Year Rule Help Veterans?
VA’s 20-year rule is intended to provide additional protections to long-term disability ratings on top of other VA other rating protections.
- Under the 5-year rule (38 C.F.R. § 3.344(c)) and 10-year rule (38 C.F.R. § 3.957), a veteran is generally protected from having their rating unfairly terminated or reduced, unless there is clear evidence that their condition has substantially improved.
- The 20-year rule takes this a step further. It prevents VA from eliminating or reducing a veteran’s rating altogether, even if there is evidence of improvement.
Claire Babcock, Accredited Claims Agent at CCK Law, gives VA’s reasoning for creating this rule:
“If you have had a VA rating for many years, that compensation has become part of your family’s financial planning and healthcare,” Babcock says. “It would be very disruptive for a VA mistake to take away that benefit unexpectedly. So, the law protects ratings that you’ve had for a while, and the 20-year rule is one of the most important protections.”
In other words, the 20-year rule is intended to preserve the financial security of eligible veterans and their families. After all, if a veteran has spent decades receiving VA compensation, it may cause significant financial strain for them to suddenly have to adapt to life without it.
The rating protections also protect veterans from unnecessary financial harm due to incorrect VA reductions.
When Can VA Reduce a Rating Even After 20 Years?
The only exception to the VA disability 20-year rule is if VA determines that a veteran’s original rating was somehow based upon fraud. Fraud might take the form of:
- False evidence being submitted for a claim
- A veteran lying about the severity of their condition
- Test results being manipulated to support a certain narrative
Should VA discover that a veteran has committed fraud, the veteran will not qualify for the 20-year rule. Instead, their benefits will likely be terminated, and they will possibly even be fined.
Clear and unmistakable error (CUE) is another limited situation where VA may revise a prior decision.
Aside from fraud or CUE, however, VA cannot reduce a disability rating that is protected by the 20-year rule. This is the case even if the veteran’s condition improves or if VA realizes they somehow made an error during the rating process.
Challenging a VA Benefit Reduction or Termination
Even though VA’s 20-year rule is established law, sometimes VA will mistakenly attempt to reduce or terminate disability benefits that have been in place for 20 years or longer and are therefore protected.
“It’s important for veterans to know when their rating was assigned, what their effective date is, and when their protection applies,” Babcock says. “They should also make sure they have access to their records proving this. So, if VA ever does try to reduce a protected rating, they can respond to that action promptly by drawing VA’s attention to the fact that the rating is protected and ensuring that documentation is available to confirm that.”
VA Reducing Your Disability Rating? Contact CCK Law
If you have had a VA rating for an extended period of time, have received a letter from VA that it proposes to reduce or revoke your rating, and believe the proposal is in error, Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick may be able to assist. Our team of accredited attorneys is highly experienced in the VA appeals process and has secured positive outcomes in 99% of our cases before VA.
Call CCK Law today at (800) 544-9144 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.
