Does VA Consider Age as a Factor for TDIU?
The VA is not supposed to consider age when making decisions on TDIU. Its regulation regarding age and service-connected benefits (38 C.F.R. § 4.19) for Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) is as follows:
Age may not be considered as a factor in evaluating service-connected disability; and unemployability, in service-connected claims, associated with advancing age or intercurrent disability, may not be used as a basis for a total disability rating. Age, as such, is a factor only in evaluations of disability not resulting from service, i.e., for the purposes of pension.
Is it difficult to be granted TDIU benefits?
Winning TDIU benefits can be difficult, but with enough evidence, you can show VA that your service-connected disabilities impact your ability to work such that you are unable to acquire and maintain substantially gainful employment.
How Do I Qualify for TDIU?
There are two ways to meet VA’s eligibility requirements for TDIU benefits.
Receiving Schedular TDIU Benefits
The first is to qualify based on your disability rating(s). When reviewing disability claims, the VA assigns disabling conditions a rating on a scale from 0 to 100 percent in increments of 10 percent. The higher your condition rates on that scale, the more money you receive in disability compensation each month.
The highest schedular disability rating is 100 percent. TDIU enables you to receive monthly benefits at the 100 percent rate even if your condition itself is not rated 100 percent.
To qualify for TDIU, you must:
- Demonstrate an inability to maintain substantially gainful employment due to your service-connected disability(s); and
- Have a single service-connected condition rated 60 percent or higher; or
- Have multiple service-connected disabilities that combine to 70 percent or higher, with one of those conditions rated at least 40 percent disabling.
Receiving Extraschedular Benefits
If you do not qualify for TDIU on a schedular basis, you may apply for extra-schedular TDIU. VA grants extraschedular TDIU when the schedular eligibility requirements above are not met, but the veteran’s service-connected condition(s) impact his or her ability to obtain and follow substantially gainful employment.
To win extraschedular TDIU, we must show that even though your condition or conditions do not meet the rating requirements for TDIU, the functional limitations they cause you impact your ability to work.
To Schedule a Free VA Disability Case Evaluation With a Member of the Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick Legal Team, Call 800-544-9144 Today
At Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick, our team focuses on veterans disability law and wants to help you receive the benefits to which you are rightfully entitled. To learn more about how one of our veterans lawyers can help you, call 800-544-9144 for a free consultation.
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