Social Security Hack: Double Up Your Compensation and Collect VA Benefits at the Same Time

Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
Anyone who has waded through federal government bureaucracy probably won’t be surprised to learn that different agencies have vastly different rules — even when those rules involve the same thing. That’s the case when you file claims with both the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the VA and SSDI both pay disability benefits to qualifying people, but their “programs, processes, and criteria for receiving benefits” are different. For example, a VA compensation rating of 100% P&T (permanent and total) disability doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll receive Social Security disability benefits.
The key to getting VA benefits and SSDI benefits for the same condition is following the right procedures — and avoiding the wrong ones. This typically happens after you have already won a VA claim and now want to file an SSDI claim for the same thing.
Get To Know the VA and SSDI Claim Rules
The first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with the rules governing VA and SSDI claims. This topic was addressed in a recent YouTube video posted by Combat Craig, a Desert Storm veteran with 153,000 subscribers.
In commentary accompanying the video, he wrote that to qualify for SSDI benefits, you “must have worked in jobs covered by Social Security; have a medical condition that meets Social Security’s definition of disability; and have enough work credits over the past 10 years to be eligible for SSDI.”
To qualify for VA compensation or pension benefits, you must have a service-connected disability or condition from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, meet certain income and asset thresholds to qualify for pension eligibility, or have had a “compensable service-connected condition” rated at least 10% disabling by the VA.
That disability rating is a key part of getting both VA and SSDI benefits. The VA has various disability ratings, ranging from 0% to 100%, that represent different levels of your ability to work and interact socially. This is not the case with SSDI — it’s either 0% or 100%. So you probably won’t win an SSDI claim if you say you have a 30% or 50% disability.
Another thing to know is that Social Security does not recognize social impairment the way the VA does.
“It’s just not even a factor in Social Security Disability Insurance,” Combat Craig said in the video. “[If deficiencies] in your social life [are] what you used to win your VA claim, then that’s going to be useless in your Social Security claim.”
An important step in winning your SSDI claim is to avoid mentioning a social impairment — even if it helped you win your VA claim. Next, make sure the condition you are filing a claim for is among those listed in the SSDI’s “Blue Book” of impairments, which include musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, skin and other disorders.
“A lot of these things are compensable by the VA and by Social Security, so you want to make sure the disability you’re filing your [SSDI} claim for is actually on this list,” Combat Craig said.
In addition to having an identifiable medical condition recognized by the SSDI, you also must show one of the following: the condition is expected to result in death; the condition has persisted for at least 12 months; or the condition is expected to persist for a minimum of 12 months.
The medical evidence required for VA and SSDI claims is similar, according to Combat Craig. In both cases, you will need to provide your current medical records, current diagnosis and current symptoms.
Finally, he recommends enlisting the help of a vocational expert to help you file your SSDI claim. This way you will ensure that you cover everything needed to be successful in an SSDI hearing.