What is an Unemployability Rating?
If a veteran receives entitlement to individual unemployability (IU), that means he or she is considered to have a 100% rating. When determining entitlement to IU benefits, Veteran Affairs will first look to see if a veteran’s service-connected condition(s) meet certain ratings. Use this calculator to see if your current disability ratings meet the VA’s rating threshold for IU.
What are the Rating Requirements for Individual Unemployability?
There are two ways a veteran can meet the rating threshold for IU:
- The veteran has one service-connected disability rated 60% or higher (ex. veteran with 60% rating for coronary artery disease)
- The veteran has multiple service-connected disabilities that combine to a rating of at least 70%, and at least one of those disabilities is rated 40% or higher (ex. veteran has combined rating of 70%, and service-connected PTSD rated at 50%)
The combined rating is the rating that the VA uses to determine a veteran’s monthly compensation. If you are unsure what your combined rating is, you can use this calculator from our website. If a veteran has a combined rating of at least 70%, the next question is whether one of his service-connected disabilities is rated at 40% or higher.
Sometimes a veteran might have multiple service-connected conditions that the VA will treat as a single disability for purposes of determining whether a veteran meets the rating threshold for IU. The VA considers the following to be one disability for purposes of determining whether a veteran meets the rating threshold for IU:
- Disabilities of one or both upper extremities, or of one or both lower extremities. For example, the veteran has neuropathy in his right and left arms and/or both his right and left legs.
- Disabilities resulting from a common etiology or a single accident. Examples of these include disabilities that result from the same problem (conditions that are secondary to diabetes), disabilities that are a result of exposure to Agent Orange, or disabilities that happened in an IED blast or a car accident.
- Disabilities affecting a single body system. For example, multiple orthopedic conditions can combine as “one disability.”
- Disabilities incurred in combat
- Disabilities from time as a POW
An example of when multiple disabilities can combine as one disability for IU purposes would be a veteran with a combined rating of 70%, has a service-connected knee disability, neck disability, and low back disability. The knee, neck, and low back ratings combine to 40%. This veteran would meet the rating threshold for IU.
Combined Rating of 60%
If you have multiple service-connected disabilities that combine to a rating of at least 60%, and all of these disabilities fit into one of the five situations described above (i.e. the VA will consider the multiple disabilities as a single disability) you would meet the rating threshold for IU. For example, if a veteran is service-connected for diabetes mellitus type II and for peripheral neuropathy secondary to diabetes and these conditions combine to a rating of 60%, then he has met the rating threshold for IU.
Keep in Mind
Even if you do not meet the above rating requirements, you MAY still be entitled to individual unemployability. If your service-connected condition(s) keep you from working, the VA must consider entitlement to individual unemployability regardless of your ratings. This is referred to as individual unemployability on an extraschedular basis.