Applying for Individual Unemployability Benefit for Disabled Veterans

The Individual Unemployability Benefit, also known as Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability, is a benefit awarded by the Veteran's Administration to disabled veterans that are not able to maintain substantially gainful employment. The benefit has a number of qualifying factors, but the veteran's disability rating does not need to be 100-percent to qualify. This is a benefit that any disabled veteran can apply for, regardless of their rating percentage if they are unable to keep a job because of their disability.

For veterans that are not 100-percent disabled, to qualify they must have one service connected disability rated at 60-percent or higher. For veteran's with more than one service connected disability, the sum of the ratings must be 70-percent with one rating being at least 40-percent.

This benefit is not unemployment insurance. The VA has definitions for unemployability, unemployed and unemployable. Unemployability is not synonymous with unemployed or unemployable. According to the VA, unemployability is "the inability to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation" due to a service connected disability.

Substantially gainful employment is defined by the VA as "employment at which non-disabled individuals earn their livelihood with comparable earnings". This means, if the disabled veteran cannot earn an income comparable to their particular occupation, or an occupation they are trained or educated for, in the community where they live, they are not gainfully employed.

To apply for Individual Unemployability, download or request VA Form 21-8940 , "Veteran's Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability" and forward it to your nearest Veteran's Administration office. When claiming income on the application, note that qualifying income is the income of the veteran only, not of any other household income.

Attach any medical and employment evidence supporting the claim. If the veteran does not have the medical or employment information, it is important to note on the application where the VA can obtain the evidence. If the evidence or contact information is omitted from the form, it can hinder or significantly delay the claim process.

Disabled veterans can still work if they are awarded the unemployability benefit. Veterans can continue to earn income from "marginal employment". Marginal employment is defined by the VA as earning income that is less than that of the U.S. Census Bureau's established poverty level. Again, this is the veteran's income, not household income. The veteran can continue to earn income from marginal employment without affecting their individual unemployability benefit.

America's veterans deserve the best medical treatment and financial benefits possible. The Individual Unemployability benefit enables disabled veterans that cannot maintain the employment they are educated and trained for a way to support themselves. After the sacrifice that these veterans have made, it is one more benefit that they deserve to maintain a lifestyle above the poverty level and retain the dignity that they deserve.

Resources
Veterans Administration Official Website
VA Manual M21-1MR, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section F