Veterans Benefits Knowledge Base

• At least one service-connected disability rated at 60% or more disabling, OR two or more service-connected disabilities with at least one rated at 40% or more disabling and a Combined rating of 70% or more, AND
  • You cannot hold down a steady job that supports you financially (known as substantially gainful employment) because of your service-connected disabilit(ies). Odd jobs (Marginal employment) do NOT count; or
  • You can hold a steady job which is considered to be a sheltered/protected environment

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• The following ARE considered as ONE DISABILITY:
  • Disabilities of one OR both upper extremities;
  • Disabilities of one OR both lower extremities;
  • Disabilities affecting a single body system (e.g. Digestive, Respiratory,Endocrine , etc.);
  • Disabilities incurred as a prisoner of war; or
  • Disabilities that occurred from one incident (vehicle crash, IED, etc.).
• Veterans may apply for TDIU WITHOUT meeting the minimum rating requirements!
• In certain cases such as the Veteran needing to be in the hospital often it is possible to qualify at a lower disability rating.
• To be considered sheltered/protected environments the job MUST:
  • Be a lower-income job (NOT earning much more than someone who is considered gainfully employed); AND
  • Have work accommodations that are burdensome to an employer.

File a claim online or use a 21-526EZ for disability compensation. You will want to claim Unemployability, as well as increases for the service-connected condition(s) that make you unemployable. When you file, be sure to provide evidence (supporting documents like a doctor’s report or medical test results) showing that your disability prevents you from holding down a steady job.

In addition, you MUST fill out and submit a VA Form 21-8940 with your claim!

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• You CAN claim conditions which are NOT currently service-connected as the basis of your unemployability, so long as they ARE listed on the 21-526EZ and have not been previously denied. If they have been previously denied, then you will need to Appeal those previous denials. But you CAN file that appeal at the same time as your claim for TDIU is running!
• An attorney, claim agent, or VSO/POA CANNOT sign the TDIU application! (M21 I.i.2.A.4.b)
  • The Veteran’s signature does NOT need to be in ink.
• On the VA Form 21-8940 block 16: This would be date you couldn’t work AT ALL anymore.
• If you were still employed after this time but were on leave (paid or not), PLEASE clarify this in the remarks section! Otherwise it may come off as a contradiction that you ‘worked‘ past this date.

"LIST ALL YOUR EMPLOYMENT INCLUDING SELF-EMPLOYMENT FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS YOU WORKED"

That does NOT mean the last 5 years from today! That means the last 5 years of working history. So if your last job was in Jan 2020, you MUST state the jobs you worked at from Jan 2015 to Jan 2020!

If say, you did not have a job from Jan 2015 to Sep 2015, etc. then state you were unemployed during that period of time! If you don't and just leave that period unanswered, you may delay your claim as the VA may have to reach out to you for an explanation.

SPECIAL NOTES:

• If you know a previous employer is out of business, state so on your application.
• Since a claim for TDIU is considered a claim for increase, if you have been previously denied for TDIU - you do NOT need to file aSupplemental claim for TDIU.
• If you served in the National Guard or Reserves (NOT Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)), be sure to list this employment if appropriate!
• If one of your former employers was (as a CIVILIAN) the federal government, the VA needs to send VA Form 21-4192 to the following address NOT some random Office of Personnel Management (OPM) address… The VA OFTEN fails to do this. So you may want to mention this address to them… to help them do their jobs.
  • Civilian Personnel Records
    1411 Boulder Blvd
    Valmeyor, IL 62295-2603

Consider submitting these with your claim to both increase speed the claim is processed as well as increasing changes of a grant:

VA Form 21-4192

It is strongly encouraged that you have YOUR FORMER EMPLOYER(S) complete VA Form 21-4192.

Doing so will speed up your claim greatly. If your former employer(s) do NOT respond, the claim will eventually move forward without their input, but the VA will make 2 attempts to get them to complete the form which could delay the claim several months. Technically… the VA needs to wait at least 15 days between requests before moving on. But is it fairly common unfortunately they they fail to send the 2nd request and the rater then has to kick the claim back.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Do NOT complete the form yourself! UNLESS, you were self-employed!
• If your former employer's business is no longer in business you should note this on your IU application.
• For those serving/served in the National Guard or Reserves your Unit Commander is your ‘employer’.

You can and should submit Personal and Buddy statements attesting to how your service-connected disabilit(ies) prevent you from maintaining gainful employment or how your employment should be considered protected/sheltered.

Recent medical records (within a year) that show the severity of your condition can be very helpful.

• Private Medical andVet Center records can be obtained by the VBA on your behalf, but you MUST provide them with a VA Form 21-4142/21-4142a.
• Veteran Affair Medical Center (VAMC) records can be freely accessed by the VBA, and you do NOT need to upload them.

Once you have submitted your claim the VA WILL:

• If you did not have your former employer(s) complete the VA Form 21-4192, the VA will send that form out twice - to get them to complete it;
• If you ever applied forVeterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) , the VA will request for those records;
• If you ever applied for Social Security Disability, the VA will request these records;
• Request medical records (as appropriate); and
• Evaluate the condition(s) which make up the basis of your claim. Additionally, the examiner will also provide a medical opinion(s) as to your ability to do work.

TDIU has some extra considerations when it comes to assigning an Effective date. Effective dates are important because they determine when your pay starts.

If the Veteran initiates a claim for TDIU within a year of them Statutorily qualifying for TDIU, the effective date can go back up to a year of when they qualified. Also know, if a rater suspects a Veteran may qualify for TDIU they will invite the Veteran to submit a claim for it, though an invitation is not required to file for TDIU.

For more information on effective dates with examples click HERE.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

• The effective date for TDIU CANNOT be earlier than the effective date of service-connection for the underlying disability or disabilities.

So you've been granted TDIU! Know that you ARE allowed to work, so long as you:

• Maintain marginal employment and earn LESS than the Poverty threshold;
• Gainfully employment in a sheltered/protected environment;
• Have service-connected conditions that VA combine to at least 100% and are static AND TDIU does NOT make you entitled to Special Monthly Compensation; or
• The grant of TDIU has been in effect for a continuous period of 20 years.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• The poverty threshold limit considers ONLY the Veteran's earned income and does NOT increase based upon the size of their household!
• Income from sources outside of employment are NOT counted against your income limit.
• Examples of sheltered or protected environments include:
  • Family business; and/li>
  • Sheltered workshops.

If you earn over the poverty threshold the VA will send you a Employment questionnaire and a letter stating that the Social Security Administration has informed the VA that you were over the poverty threshold for the past year.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you filed taxes jointly with a spouse and your household income is greater than poverty threshold limits, then the Social Security Administration MAY alert the VA that you earned over the poverty threshold. Fear not as you will just need to explain to the VA that this is your spouse's income WITH copies of their W2(s). Do NOT be the donkey that ignores the letter or says 'I haven't worked VA!'. This WILL result in the VA removing TDIU!

If you were gainfully employed, for a period of time, but were ultimately unable to maintain this employment, then that is perfectly fine. Unless this employment is in its nature irregular or seasonal.

What to do:

• Complete the Employment questionnaire.
• Submit a Personal statement explaining your employment, why you quit (if applicable), or reasons why you believe the work should be considered protected/sheltered. You can also include evidence in the form of a statement from the employer stating any concessions made that allow you to work there. Generally speaking, to be considered sheltered/protected environments these concessions would need to be extra-ordinary and present a burden to the employer.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

If you are making what would be considered a normal salary for the position and it is above marginal employment consideration then the job is NOT considered to be sheltered/protected!

If you go down this route, the VA MAY ask you attend examinations. These examination, could result in your evaluations being reduced.

Ultimately, the rater will make a judgement call on a case-by-case basis as to if they believe your gainful employment is considered sheltered or protected.

If you no longer want to remain on TDIU then you can ignore the letter and the VA will eventually propose to sever and then sever the grant of TDIU and any other entitlements associated with it.

Veterans CAN be awarded SSDI and TDIU simultaneously!

Veterans who have Enough work credits and meet other Eligibility requirements may Apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Unlike the VA, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is allowed to consider disabilities that are NOT service-connected! However, SSA is allowed to take the Veteran's age into consideration.

As such, Veterans may find it an easier or harder process. It is recommended that the Veteran seek out an experienced SSA disability lawyer to help them through the process, especially if they need to appeal.

The benefit amount the Veteran gets from SSDI varies. The more a Veteran earned during their working years the larger their benefit will be.

NOTES:

• Veterans who are Permanent & Total (P&T) are granted Expedited processing of their SSDI claim.
• Those who do not have enough work credits for SSDI. May be eligible for Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI). However, SSI counts VA disability payments against your eligibility, which makes a Veteran who is granted TDIU ineligible for SSI!

• 38 CFR § 3.343 - Continuance of total disability ratings
• 38 CFR § 4.16 - Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability of the individual
• 38 CFR § 4.18 - Unemployability
• 38 CFR § 4.19 - Age in service-connected claims
• M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 3, Section A - General Information on (IU) Claims
• M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 3, Section B - Individual Unemployability (IU) Claims Development
• M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 3, Section C - Individual Unemployability (IU) Rating and Decision Review
• M21-1, Part VIII, Subpart iv, Chapter 3, Section D - Monitoring Income for Veterans in Receipt of Individual Unemployability (IU)