I am not sure where to post this so I will post it here. I found out yesterday through the DAV that my proposed ratings were going to be 10% DoD and 80% VA. As far as I know none of it was connected to combat operations so I know that the VA will recoup the severance pay if I go that route. My question is how much will they recoup??
Will they only recoup 10% of my monthly payments until the severance pay is paid in full or will they recoup my entire monthly payments until the severance pay is paid in full?? I am trying to decide which route to go as far as accepting or not accepting the severance pay.
I have looked online and try to do as much research as I can but all of the documents I found just seem to confuse me more. If anyone has any good information it would be greatly appreciated so that I can try and make a decision on which way to go. I doesn't look like I have much to work with to try and get my 30% for medical retirement so I am trying to decide the best route for severance pay.
I am not sure where to post this so I will post it here. I found out yesterday through the DAV that my proposed ratings were going to be 10% DoD and 80% VA. As far as I know none of it was connected to combat operations so I know that the VA will recoup the severance pay if I go that route. My question is how much will they recoup??
Will they only recoup 10% of my monthly payments until the severance pay is paid in full or will they recoup my entire monthly payments until the severance pay is paid in full?? I am trying to decide which route to go as far as accepting or not accepting the severance pay.
I have looked online and try to do as much research as I can but all of the documents I found just seem to confuse me more. If anyone has any good information it would be greatly appreciated so that I can try and make a decision on which way to go. I doesn't look like I have much to work with to try and get my 30% for medical retirement so I am trying to decide the best route for severance pay.
-You can't get compensation from the VA for what the DOD has compensated you for(unless combat-related of course). You will only have the 10% recupped from your VA combined rating. So the $127 or whatever it is we get for 10% from VA will be the only thing recupped until the severance is paid back in full to the DOD. You will get the rest of your rating.
-Remember that it is taxed too but if it's a service connected disability (which is your case) you can reclaim the taxes taken out with DFAS before DEC 31st of the year that you receive the severance but if it's after DEC 31st you have to reclaim it through the IRS. I know that in order for you reclaim the taxes with DFAS you have to send them your (1)final ratings(not proposed) showing that you were rating by the VA for that disability you got the severance for and (2)your DD214. With the IRS you have to supply those two documents (final rating and DD214) on top of some statement about your situation. I know there's a template floating on the internet somewhere on one of these vet forum sites.
TGV,
Thanks for the quick response. I was hoping that was the case because it will be nice to get a severance check since I am more than likely not going to get retirement and still receive a monthly check of 70% from the VA. It definitely puts my mind at ease and also being able to reclaim the taxes is good to know as well. I am really hoping that more people say the same thing and it will definitely be good news.
I am just bumping this one time to hopefully get a couple more responses. I am pretty sure that the VA will on recoup the 10% on month since that is what I am getting from the VA like TGV stated but never hurts to make sure.
TGV is correct, the VA will recoup the 10% for quite a long time depending upon how big your severance check is. You will then receive the 80% check minus the 129$ until it's paid back. I'm pretty much in the same situation and expecting the same percentages.
Well, I can definitely live with that then. I was hearing horror stories about the recoupment but it is nice to hear that they can only recoup what the DoD has given you severance for. This is definitely information that I am going to pass along to people when they have questions about the severance pay. I will also inform them about being able to reclaim the taxes if it is a service connected disability (which thankfully mine is).
How did you approach DAV about your ratings? The one DAV office I called referred me back to my PEBLO and wasn't able to give me any information. Do they have more access to the VA's system?
At first I attempted to have the local office here at Ft. Knox upload the VA Form 21-22. I waited about a month and called DAV and they told me that it still wasn't uploaded. I ended up calling the Seattle DAV office and they sent me a 21-22 that was already filled out and all I had to do was sign it and send it back to them. Once I did that I got a phone call the very next day from the Seattle office telling me that my POA was in the system and they told me about my case. I recommend going through the Seattle office because they were extremely helpful and plus I think that they deal with more personnel going through the IDES process than most places do. Once I saw my ebenefits had changed I called the Seattle office again and they told me my proposed ratings right then. I didn't have to bug, beg, or anything like that. Their number is 206-341-8267. I hope this helps you out.
What is DAV and how do you contact them, I have been using the 1-800 number, no good updates, PEBLO still hasn't answer my e-mail from 3 weeks ago, and the MSC Coordinator hasn't answered my email from 2 weeks ago. I even tried calling the PEB office in Crystal City VA.
How did you approach DAV about your ratings? The one DAV office I called referred me back to my PEBLO and wasn't able to give me any information. Do they have more access to the VA's system?
Every DAV rep reads that system differently. It could be a couple reasons you couldn't get your ratings. Your approach probably isnt one of them (unless you we're being a jerk lol). One reason could have been that the rep couldnt pull up one of the screens. Another reason can be that VA didn't have preliminary ratings yet, but if your ebenefits has gone to "pending decision approval" at some point then preliminary were done. We have to remember that these DAV reps are awesome for when we are seeking status on a claim putting a claim together after we have already separated. They can give us good info while we're going through the IDES but that's not the purpose of the DAV it just happens to be a perk. All in all these guys can't always translate between IDES and already being a veteran. Not says the they don't understand the IDES its just that some do and some don't.
In my experience I call the DAV and they were able to give me ratings in early September (My preliminary ratings were done back May). Now the Rep told me that they were "proposed" and that the VA was waiting on the Army to make a decision (fit/unfit)and get my DD214(my ebenefits still was at "review of evidence"). So I assumed my claim was back at the PEB and asked to confirm and he confirmed it was. I called early Oct to get an update and another Rep looked into it and said the same thing, he even told me the date it went back to the PEB(18 Sep) but my ebenefits still said "review of evidence". I called my peblso to see if he saw anything and he said VA didn't have ratings for me. On 17 Oct my ebenefits went "pending decision approval". I called the DAV back to see what was going on and the same guy that told me the first time that VA finished the proposed rating and that VA was waiting on my DD214 told me that VA had just finished proposed rating and I should hopefully be hearing something from the PEB in the next 30 days. So in the end the DAV can be just like the VA with the famous IDES saying- "eveerybody's situation is different". Just want to give you my long opinion
