Military Disability/Pension Penalties

[Deamie]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

Hello All,

I posted this on the disability forum but realized there might be someone here who could help me. My fiance is a veteran of the coast guard, he was in for 12 years and would have been a lifer if not for the desease that caused him to be honorably discharged. He receives or rather received a pension/disability from the VA which with cost of living increasing has not been enough to support his two daughters from a previous marriage (whom live half the time with us) and our family. He took a job to compensate and now his pension has been stopped completely until his case is reviewed. I was just curious as to what kind of penalties we will be subject to. Will we have to pay back on the pension for the months he worked? Will it just be withheld until what he owes is cleared? We havent been told much by the VA and are going seek legal aid. I would just like to know a little more going into this. I'd like to have a better understanding of the proccess. I've been all over the net trying to find information but haven't really found anything that seems to pertain to our situation. We were in the process of moving to an apartment big enough for our combined families and now that has been put to a hault. We'd like to resolve the issue as soon as possible, I'm stuck out of state living with my parents until I obtain a job that can get us something smaller in the apt market. Just need to hear from some one who might understand a little of what we need to do.

Thank you so much to whom ever responds.

 

[fozzy2]

Under the system used by the VA, a person is entitled to cash disability payments "whether or not employed and regardless of the amount earned." In this respect, the VA disability system is different from those administered by the Social Security Administration. The VA doesn't compensate based on individual findings but rather on the basis of averages from similarly disabled individuals. (Thus, things like "if you lose a leg, 40%" even though a computer programmer might not miss a dime in employment because of it, but if a construction worker you may lose your whole career.). Generally speaking, while the VA might review your husbands condition and either raise or lower his disability rating, you shouldn't owe any back (apart from exceptional situations like fraud, etc.).

However, this applies to "disability payments." If your husband is 'medically retired' or get 'pension benefits' or gets benefits for being 'catastrophically disabled' --- then different rules might apply. It can be a complicated area of law, and you are wise to get expert counsel. The following is a web page that explain a little about the pension, where some money might be owed back to the government:

http://www1.va.gov/opa/IS1/3.asp

 

[Deamie]

Thank You Fozzy

Just wanted to say thank you. The site did give me some helpful information and pointed me in the right direction for further research. Seems your a wellspring of information for people who come to this forum. Thanks again.