TDIU Benefits and What Form to Complete!

TDIU Requirements:  Schedular Requirements

Many disabilities can leave a veteran unable to maintain employment.  The Department of Veterans Affairs awards 100% disability ratings if they find that the veteran’s service-connected disability inhibits them from being able to work.  But, 100% disability benefits can be rare and hard to achieve. Alternatively, one condition may not render you unable to work, but rather a combination of several conditions.  The VA recognizes that veterans without a 100% rating still may not be able to get any type of work or keep a job. Disabilities differ in the effect and severity of each individual.  Those veterans with a disability rating of less than 100% may need that extra compensation in order to combat the lack of income and stability full-time employment provides. This is where VA Individual Unemployability comes in.

The VA provides an opportunity for those in that category to obtain disability compensation called Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU, also known as IU). If you are granted TDIU, the VA has conceded that your disability makes you unable to get and keep a job, and they will pay you at the 100% rate.

TDIU compensation exists to allow those veterans with disabilities that render them unemployable to be able to support themselves and their families. Unemployable according to the VA standards is to be incapable of maintaining substantial and gainful employment.

How To Apply for Individual Unemployability and what VA Form to use

The VA form used to apply for individual unemployability benefits is VA Form 21-8940 and it is known as one of the hardest VA forms to fill out. That first section can seem like the worst thing to fill out – it seems like the VA is asking for too much information than can possibly fit into the squares.

According to 38 CFR § 4.16, the VA allows veterans with ratings less than 100% can be eligible for TDIU benefits by adhering to the following guidelines:

1. If you have only one service-connected condition, the condition must be rated at least 60% or higher.
2. If you have two or more service-connected conditions, you must have at least one condition rated 40% or higher, with a combined rating of 70% or higher.

What disabilities qualify for TDIU benefits?

The VA does not have any sort of guideline as to what type of disability you must have in order to be eligible for TDIU benefits. Both mental and physical conditions are considered. And while the VA does allow combining ratings, they do have requirements as to what counts as a single disability. The requirements are as follows:

1. Disabilities of one of both upper extremities, or of one or both lower extremities, including the bilateral factor if applicable
2. Disabilities resulting from a common etiology or a single accident
3. Disabilities affecting a single body system (ex: orthopedic, digestive, respiratory, etc.)
4. Multiple injuries occurred in action
5. Multiple disabilities  occurred as a prisoner-of-war

Important Factors for Individual Unemployability Benefits

• The VA only recognizes disabilities that are already service-connected when assessing a TDIU claim. If you have other pending claims, they will not be considered in your TDIU decision.
• Disabilities that are not service-connected will not be considered in your TDIU decision.
• The age of the veteran is not a factor the VA will take into consideration. The decision will be based solely on the service-connected disability.

Receiving TDIU compensation can be life-changing for a veteran. If you are unable to maintain substantially gainful employment but do not meet these requirements, do not fear. The VA provides more exceptions to TDIU requirements that will be outlined below.

What if I don’t meet the TDIU criteria outlined by VA?

To recap, according to 38 CFR § 4.16, the VA allows veterans with ratings less than 100% to be eligible for TDIU by adhering to the following guidelines:

1. If you have only one service-connected condition, the condition must be rated at least 60% or higher.
2. If you have two or more service-connected conditions, you must have at least one condition rated 40% or higher, with a combined rating of 70% or higher.

So, what if you do not meet those requirements but you still cannot work?  All is not lost. The VA can grant TDIU according to outside factors not specified in that statute—these are called “extra-schedular requirements.”

These standards are much broader than the traditional schedular rating. Outlined in 38 CFR § 4.16 (b), in order to be considered for extra-schedular evaluation, two principles must be met:

1. The disability must be exceptional or unusual that cannot be properly evaluated by the established rating schedule
2. The disability must include factors such as marked interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization.

How does extra-schedular TDIU work? 

The path to an extra-schedular TDIU grant is individualized, meaning it will take significantly longer than the traditional process of applying for veterans benefits. Broad standards allow for greater discretion at the hand of the VA.  Veterans who choose to pursue this avenue should specifically request extra-schedular consideration to the Regional Office as soon as possible when working on their veteran’s application for their VA claim. The Regional Office is required to prepare a full statement regarding the veteran’s service-connected disability, education and employment history, etc.  This statement will then be sent to the Direction of the Compensation and Pension Service for review based on the extra-schedular requirements for VA benefits.

Once received, the director will complete a thorough review of your employment and educational history. The VA typically does not like to award TDIU based on the extra-schedular requirement, however, this does not mean that it is impossible. While all evidence is important, it is especially significant in the extra-schedular lane. Getting statements from past employers, buddy statements from family, friends, and coworkers, vocational/occupational assessments, etc. are all vital to your case.

Can I work and get TDIU benefits?

Keep in mind, you can still be granted TDIU if you currently have a job. The VA uses the term, “sheltered employment.” Your employment is considered sheltered when your employer makes special accommodations for you that they typically do not make for other employees.  Does your employer allow you to take a break when your back starts hurting? Or go home when your anxiety flares up? Do they give you a lighter workload than others or create a position specifically for you? Self-employment may also be considered as sheltered. Think about it, if you could not find or ask for those accommodations at any other job, your employment is most likely sheltered.

Also, if you have a job but are making under the poverty threshold, you may still be eligible for TDIU. To clarify, these two job exceptions are not explicit to the extra-schedular lane.  You can still receive TDIU on that basis by if you meet the rating schedule requirements.