After you receive your rating decision and are awarded service connection by the VA, you may think you’re finally done with your fight. For many, that may be just be the case. However, there are other types of compensation available if you meet certain criteria. These are Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU), Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC), and Special Monthly Compensation (SMC). Each of these requires specific criteria to qualify and each are routinely overlooked.
With that in mind, a brief overview of each of these is warranted. TDIU, much like your standard VA compensation, is based on the veteran’s ability to work. The VA rates disabilities based on how they affect a veteran’s earning capacity. TDIU (or IU) is also based on this, but is similar to “gap insurance” that you would purchase for your car. When rating TDIU, the VA must review if the veteran is capable of holding “substantially gainful employment.” If his disability prevents this, he can receive 100 percent compensation even though his disabilities are not rated as such. This is discussed in much further detail in the links above.
CRSC is another additional benefit that is available to veterans. CRSC was created for veterans with “combat-related” disabilities. It is a tax free entitlement that is paid along with any other retired pay or disability that you may already be receiving. (It is important to note that CRSC is not a VA benefit, but is instead provided by the Department of Defense). If a veteran qualifies for CRSC, DFAS will audit his account to determine if he is due retroactive benefits. To qualify for CRSC, a veteran must:
- Be entitled to and/or receiving military retired pay
- Be rated at least 10 percent by the VA
- Waive your VA from retired pay
- File a CRSC application with you Branch of Service.
The third type of compensation mentioned above, and the focus of this post, is SMC. SMC is meant to provide additional compensation to veterans for their impairments in daily life. Whereas the other compensations are based on the veteran’s earning capacity, SMC is meant to compensate for non-economic factors such as personal inconvenience, social inadaptability, or the profound nature of the disability. SMC comes in a variety of flavors, and each is identified by a letter between (k) and (s), and each of these letters relate to a different monthly compensation rate.
SMC monthly rates start at an addition $99 per month for SMC(k) and increase from there. One type. A type of SMC that is especially helpful for veterans is SMC(s). SMC(s) is available when a veteran (1) has a 100 percent disability rating and another disability at or combing to 60 percent or more, or (2) who is substantially confined to his dwelling or immediate premises as a result of a service connected disability. It is important to note here that the VA has a tendency to add the housebound requirement to (1) which is the wrong way to interpret the statute.
In regard to the 100 percent rating mentioned, it is important to note that TDIU mentioned above also counts as 100 percent for purposes of SMC(s). As stated in the discussion of TDIU, it is a gap filler can elevate a lower percentage to a higher percentage for compensation purposes. However, because that disability has been used to get to 100 percent, it cannot be used for the additional 60 percent requirement. An example would be, a veteran can be rated at 60 percent for his PTSD and be granted TDIU based on his PTSD. The PTSD is then, for SMC purposes, considered to be a 100 percent rating. The veteran must have another disability at or totaling to 60 percent to qualify for SMC(s). The “totaling to” language follow because multiple disabilities can be combined to a single percentage because of a common core. An example of this would be a limp on the left leg causing problems with the right leg, these can be combined for rating purposes because there is a common etymology.
The third type of SMC to discuss today is Aid and Attendance (A&A). To qualify for A&A benefits, a veteran must show that he requires regular assistance and not necessarily constant assistance of another. A&A is meant for a veteran that needs help performing everyday living activities, or protecting himself from hazards of his daily environment. The VA must consider a veteran’s personal functions and connection with the veteran’s condition as a whole. A veteran should also receive A&A when he is bedridden because of his service connected disability or disabilities, he is a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity, or is blind (or nearly blind to have 5/200 vision in both eyes).
The VA is supposed to consider whether a veteran is entitled to both SMC and TDIU whenever the evidence before them shows potential entitlement, however, it has tended to overlook these issues on a regular basis. Therefore it is important to know if you qualify for SMC or TDIU to get the benefits owed to you. It is likewise important to ask questions regarding this of your representative or the VA.
Author Nicholas Simpson, Hill & Ponton, P.A. Attorney