8 UCW JUNE 14-20, 2017
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
President Trump has released his
budget plan for the Veteran Affairs.
While it does propose a significant
overall budget increase, there are quite
a few changes individual veterans
need to be aware of. One significant
change will affect veterans currently
receiving benefits under the Individual
Unemployability Program.
e IUP is part of the Veterans
Affairs's disability compensation
program. It allows certain veterans
to be compensated at a 100 percent
disability rate, even if their Veterans
Affairs disability rating is lower than
100 percent.
To qualify for this program, a veteran
must have a disability rating of at least
60 percent or a combined rating of
at least 70 percent. ese disabilities
must prevent the veteran from obtain-
ing full-time work above the poverty
level. Once a veteran enrolls in this
program, they are compensated by
the Veterans Affairs at 100
percent disability.
Under the new Veterans Affairs bud-
get, this program will no longer exist.
is means approximately 225,000 vet-
erans who currently use the program
will need to transition to either Social
Security benefits or find another way
to compensate for this loss of income.
e policy argument behind the
transition is that by doing this, the
Veterans Affairs will save $20 million
in Fiscal Year 2018 and the harm to
veterans is minor given that veterans
can apply for Social Security benefits.
e practicalities of this transition,
however, are a different story.
While veterans can apply for Social
Security benefits, it is unlikely that all
veterans enrolled in the unemploy-
ability program will actually qualify for
Social Security. e qualifications for
the programs are very different, with
the Veterans Affairs program having
less stringent qualifications.
e good news is that for totally
disabled veterans, the average success
rate of a Social Security claim is higher
than the general population.
e issue will be the gap between
what the Veterans Affairs program
rated 100 percent and what Social
Security will consider rated disability.
e truth is, we won't know the reality
of this impact until we see whether
these veterans are actually getting
Social Security.
If you are a veteran currently receiv-
ing benefits under the IUP, seek out
a veterans law or disability lawyer to
help you file a claim. Your Veterans
Affairs benefits may be on a
short timeline.
New VA Budget Decoded
by JENNY VILLALOBOS
LEGALLY SPEAKING
Under the new Veterans Affairs Budget, approximately 225,000 veterans who currently
use the IUP program will need to transition to either Social Security benefits or find
another way to compensate for this loss of income.
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Fri/Sat: 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
JENNY VILLALOBOS, Legal
Analyst at the Richardson Firm.
COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom-
ingweekly.com. 910.484.6200.
