Total Disability Individual Unemployability    TDIU

Total Disability - Individual Unemployabilty (TDIU or simply IU) is widely misunderstood.

We often refer to Individual Unemployability as IU. The Individual Unemployability Benefit is equal in every way to a 100% Schedular rating. The compensation
is 100% and that dollar amount is equal to both ratings. If the veteran is rated as 100% Schedular, he or she may work at any job they are capable of doing.
The veteran who is rated as IU may not hold "gainful employment".

The IU veteran is required to complete a yearly VA Form 21-4140 to verify that there has been no employment in the previous year. Each Regional Office seems
to have its own way of delivering these forms, all too often they don't deliver them at all. It is the veterans responsibility to ensure that the 4140 is completed
and mailed in on or about the anniversary of the award each year.

The veteran should download the form, print it and mail it in using certified mail, return receipt requested.

Either the 100% Schedular rating or the 100% IU rating may be rated as Permanent and Total (P&T). Either rating may be a temporary one with future
examinations scheduled.

Read more in the M21-1MR here.

TDIU - Total Disability, Individual Unemployability

What Is Individual Unemployability?

Individual Unemployability is a part of VA’s disability compensation program that allows VA to pay certain veterans compensation at the 100% rate, even though VA has not rated their service-connected disabilities at the total level.

What Is the Eligibility Criteria for Individual Unemployability?

A veteran must be unable to maintain substantially gainful employment as a result of his/her service-connected disabilities. Additionally, a veteran must have:

One service-connected disability ratable at 60 percent or more,

OR

Two or more service-connected disabilities, at least one disability ratable at 40 percent or more with a combined rating of 70 percent or more.

How Do I Apply?

Submit VA Form 21-8940, Veteran’s Application for Increased Compensation Based on Unemployability to your nearest VA Regional Office.

Can I Work?

Veterans who are in receipt of Individual Unemployability benefits may work as long as it is not considered substantially gainful employment. The employment must be considered marginal employment.

Substantially gainful employment is defined as employment at which non-disabled individuals earn their livelihood with earnings comparable to the particular occupation in the community where the veteran resides.

Marginal employment is generally deemed to exist when a veteran's earned income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Census Bureau as the poverty level for the veteran only. See the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty thresholds.


What If I Don’t Meet the Percentage Criteria?

Special consideration will be given for veterans when the following criteria is met:

The veteran is considered unemployable due to a service-connected disability(ies) but fails to meet the minimum percentage standards, OR

There is evidence of exceptional or unusual circumstances to impairment of earning capacity due to disabilities (for example, interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization)

Note: Veterans may have to complete an employment questionnaire (VA Form 21-4140) once a year in order for VA to determine continued eligibility to Individual Unemployability.

Jim's Mailbag     

Jim's Mailbag is now hosted at Stateside Legal. Click here to see the long list of topics and questions other veterans have asked.


Jim;

I’m applying for 70% TDIU. Once I’ve received my award, how can I get the TDIU benefit to become a more permanent 100%?

Reply;

You’ve asked a question I receive dozens of time each month. The TDIU benefit is perhaps the least understood of all VA disability compensation benefits.

Total Disability compensation may be achieved on two separate paths at VA. You may be rated as 100% disabled via The Schedule For Rating Disabilities or
you may be rated as 100% disabled via the Individual Unemployability path.

A “schedular” rating might be one where you have a condition that is required to have a 100% rating, for example, you’ve had an AICD implanted to control
erratic beats of your heart. The path to this rating could be that a Vietnam veteran develops DMII.

DMII in the Vietnam veteran is presumptively rated as service connected. If that veteran then develops heart disease, the heart disease can easily be proven
as secondary to the DMII, thus the heart disease becomes a secondary service connected condition.

Should that heart disease then develop into a condition that medically requires the implanting of an AICD device, the veteran is rated as 100% disabled by
the schedule. Notwithstanding the ratings for DMII and heart disease, the implanting of an AICD is rated as a 100% disabling condition.

Interestingly, the schedular rating has nothing to do with a veterans employment. The fact that there is a service connection to the implanting of the AICD device
is the only requirement. That veteran who receives that rating may then become employed with no fear of losing the rating. Some people who receive such
devices do choose to continue to work at gainful employment.

Then there are veterans who have a number of lesser conditions with various ratings but because of the Combined Ratings Table or “VA Math”, their
multiple conditions and ratings don’t add up to 100%.

VA recognizes that many of these veterans, although they are not rated as 100% disabled, aren’t able to seek and keep gainful employment. In VA terms, they
are unemployable due to their service connected disabilities.VA then looks carefully at these individuals as individuals to assess how much of an effect
the combination of service connected disabilities has had on their ability to earn an income and work as productive citizens.

If it is apparent that the service connected disabilities keep the veteran out of the work force, then VA must assign the rating of 100% disabled due to
Individual Unemployability. It’s worth noting at this point that to be rated as 100% unemployable by the VA system, all the disabilities considered must be
service connected.

This is markedly different than the Social Security system and the SSDI benefit. In the SSA system, one must show that he or she can not reasonably
hold employment due to any mix of disabling conditions. To achieve a 100% rating in the VA system, all disabling conditions that are to be considered must
be established as being caused or contributed to by military service.

There are requirements when VA considers the TDIU benefit. The veteran must have a rating of at least 60% with a single condition rated at 60% or greater or
the veteran must have a rating of 70% with at least one of the underlying ratings at 40%.

If those requirements aren’t met precisely the Regional Office may then forward the application for TDIU to VACO for a decision by the C & P Director. If it is
then determined that this individual veteran will not be reasonably able to achieve gainful employment in the future, the Director may assign the TDIU benefit.
Either the schedular or the IU benefit may be temporary or it may be permanent. If permanence is awarded for either a schedular or an IU 100% rating,
the statement, “Basic eligibility under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35 is established from [date].” is required.

It’s worth noting that many decision letters don’t include either this statement or any other hints of the permanence of the award and the veteran is left
wondering. The alternative statement used is “future examinations are scheduled” meaning that the award is temporary or “no future examinations are
scheduled” indication that the award is permanent.

The word “permanent” is a misnomer when used by VA. The VA may elect at any time to review any claim to render a proposal of changes to the claim. There is
no protection of a 100% rating until the rating has been in place, uninterrupted, for 20 years.

Other than the path to achieve the benefit and that the IU rated veteran can not hold gainful employment,  the Schedular 100% rating and the IU 100% rating
are exactly the same. The monthly benefit amount is equal across the board. If the rating is said to be permanent by VA all benefits for dependents are exactly
the same.

I recommend that veterans do not attempt to change an IU rating to a schedular rating, a practice I see a lot of. To achieve the 100% schedular rating does
not change any benefit that the veteran may receive. Any attempt to modify the IU status to a schedular status does open one’s folder for review however. This
can be a hazardous maneuver as any time the folder is opened for review, the VA will first look at opportunities to lower the rating. I’ve communicated with a
number of veterans who have attempted to have their IU switched to schedular and who find themselves staring at a letter proposing to reduce their
benefit significantly because of “improvements” to their conditions.

I’ve also confronted veterans who wish to trade the IU rating to a schedular rating so that they are able to preserve their 100% rating as they return full time
to gainful employment. There are a few of us who would gleefully game the system and milk out dollars by deceiving VA about the extent of their
disabling conditions. I do not condone such activity personally and I’m aware of the many checks and balances that VA has in place to prevent such fraud.

The TDIU Training Letter is one of the best I’ve seen. It is comprehensive and provides a number of good examples of how this works. I’m also including
another explanation of the IU benefit via a link below. While this dates from 2005, it continues to be relevant as Daniel Cooper describes the benefit to members
of Congress.

You are advised to pay close attention to details in this training letter. For example, the requirement to complete VA Form 21-4140 is reinforced here.The VA
Form 21-4192, “Request for Employment Information in Connection with Claim for Disability Benefit” is required but it’s noted that, “A TDIU evaluation should not
be denied solely because an employer failed to return a completed VA Form 21-4192.”Perhaps most significantly, “However, as a result of the Rice decision,
a request for TDIU, whether specifically raised by the Veteran or reasonably raised by the evidence of record, is no longer to be considered as a separate claim
but will be adjudicated as part of the initial disability rating or as part of a claim for increased compensation.”

Jim's Mailbag  


Jim;

my IU has been taken away and the  VA says I did not send in a form. They said they mailed it but it went to my previous address so I never recieved it. The last form before this one I recieved at my current address. The va says the action is already taken. how can I recover from their mistake?

Reply;

Unfortunately, the responsibility to ensure the form is timely completed is yours. If you moved and didn't have mail forwarded or notify VA in writing using certified mail, you made a serious mistake. If you did all that and VA erred anyhow, you should have downloaded a form, completed it and mailed it in. Changing a mailing address isn't easy with VA and one must be aware that some paper may not get to you as it should.

Even before they lower the benefit they will give you advance notice of "adverse action" so that you can get it straight before you've actually lost the benefit.
 
If VA has reduced your benefit your only option now is to appeal. You must write to them using a formal letter and explain that for some reason you didn't receive the 4140 form. Be sure to enclose a 4140 that covers the period in question. It may take time but you'll likely get the IU benefit back with little fuss.

I advise IU veterans to keep it in mind that on or about the anniversary of their IU award they owe the VA a 4140 form. I usually complete 2 each year just to stay safe.

Jim's Mailbag 

Jim,

I hate to bother you with this question but nobody I know seems to know the answer. I am "permanent and total" (their letter to me) by way of IU benefits.  I was reading the site and ran across where you stated that the "form" to verify employment or lack of has been re-started.  I received no such request from the VA at the end of the year and was wondering if I should find out about or do anything about this
Stuff like this always makes me very nervous.  What would be your take on this?  As always, thanks for your time.

Reply,

I'm happy to hear that you're paying attention and thinking about these things. Smart veterans ask questions and learn all they can about the wide range of benefits they've earned. Answering your question is no bother, I enjoy being able to help. I don't always know the answers but this time I do.

A little background seems appropriate...

TDIU or Total Disability, Individual Unemployability ratings are in every way equal to "schedular" ratings of 100% Permanently & Totally disabled. The TDIU rating allows VA to assign a 100% benefit even when the veterans schedular % of disability doesn't add up to 100. It's recognized that some ratings lower than 100% will substantially interfere with the veteran achieving and holding on to gainful employment. Since the VA system is all about employment, if you can't work due to service connected conditions VA sees you as 100% disabled.

Many years ago someone realized that there may be vets who would receive the TDIU benefit and then return to work and game the system. While the 100% schedular benefit doesn't restrict gainful employment, a veteran can't receive an "unemployable" benefit and at the same time be working a steady job.

To keep track of who was or wasn't working, the VA decided to simply ask vets to verify that they hadn't worked in the last year preceding the receipt of the 4140 form. The 4140 is a statement saying that the vet hasn't (or has) worked. Falsifying or not completing and returning the statement carries penalties up to and including loss of the benefit.

The statement should be sent to you and returned by you on or about the anniversary of your benefit award. My own award came about in June so each June I should get the letter.

We realize that we're dealing with VA though so we have learned that whether or not we receive the 4140 on time or at all is anybody's guess. Each regional office has its own way of getting those things out the door and most often that means you won't get it at all or it won't be timely delivered to you. For years Regional Offices had decided that the forms were largely a waste of time and didn't bother with them. Then it was decided that they are required by law so now we do receive them but as always, not efficiently.

It has often happened that a veteran doesn't receive the 4140 but months later will receive a notice of a proposed adverse action...VA will threaten to take the TDIU benefit from the vet because he didn't complete a form he never knew he should have, but didn't, receive.

Yes...VA won't mail you the 4140 but since you didn't timely return it...they will propose to reduce your benefit.

Note that I said "propose". The proposal letter is only a notice of a potential problem, it isn't a decision to modify the benefit. If the vet should ever have that happen, it's usually pretty simple to clear up by completing a 4140 and enclosing it with a letter to the Regional Office explaining that the veteran didn't receive any forms from that RO.

I recommend that every veteran who receives the TDIU benefit should develop his or her own calendar and download and mail in the 4140 the 1st of the month of their award anniversary each year. I do that myself. In fact, I mail in a 4140 at the 1st of each new year and then again in June. I figure that if one is misplaced the other may cover me.

As with all communications to your VA, I strongly recommend that the vet use only certified mail, RRR to send the 4140. Keep the receipt in your personal VA files for future use if it should become necessary.

It's worth mentioning that if you certify to VA that you have not held gainful employment but that isn't true, you're probably going to regret it. While VA accepts your word on the 4140, they also will cross reference the veteran to state and federal tax agencies and if you or an employer are reporting that you have a taxable income, you will be investigated and you may have to return all the payments that VA considers were made in error. If you're one of the few who have an earned income but you don't report it for tax purposes, you have issues far beyond the 4140 forms.

As a final comment I'll tell you that I get a lot of mail asking me how one may take the TDIU benefit over to the 100% schedular benefit and avoid all this? My answer is always the same: You don't want to do that. If you received a TDIU benefit, trying to carry it over to a schedular rating will mean that your file will get a thorough review. Any time that happens VA will first look for a way to reduce the benefit overall. That can open up a can of worms you don't want to deal with.

If the veteran wants to convert TDIU to schedular so that he can return to gainful employment, that veteran is likely gaming the system and I always disagree with that.

The Speech - 2005 

One of the best definitions of the Individual Unemployability benefit (TDIU or 100% IU) is in a speech given by Danial L. Cooper, Undersecretary for Benefits in 2005.

If you'll take the time to carefully read his detailed explanation of the benefit, you'll understand why there is such a thing and how it may be achieved.  This is what he had to say;


October 27, 2005 Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to review with you the issue of Individual Unemployability (IU).  I will discuss what IU is, its history, the criteria used to determine eligibility, the number of veterans receiving IU benefits, the May 2005 study by the Inspector General (IG) of state variances in average annual compensation, and other issues.

I am pleased to be accompanied by Ms. Renée Szybala, Director of VA’s Compensation and Pension Service, and Ms. Judith Caden, Director of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service.

What Is IU?

Individual Unemployability or IU is the basis on which the Department of Veterans Affairs pays service-connected disability compensation at the rate payable for a 100-percent evaluation to qualified veterans with combined evaluations that are less than 100 percent.   Regional office decision-makers assign IU ratings when veterans meet minimum combined evaluation criteria and, in the judgment of the rating official(s), are unemployable due solely to their service-connected conditions.

In exceptional circumstances, regional offices may refer cases that fail to meet the minimum combined evaluation criteria to the Director of the Compensation and Pension Service for consideration of an IU rating. Authority Section 1155 of title 38, United States Code, charges the Secretary with responsibility for developing and applying a disability rating schedule that is based, “as far as practicable,” upon the average impairments of earning capacity resulting from service-connected disabilities.  

Recognizing that the intent of the rating schedule is to fairly compensate veterans for their disabilities to the extent to which they impair earning capacity of the average veteran, the schedule none-the-less cannot always adequately compensate an individual veteran in his or her particular circumstance.  To address the inevitable situations where the schedule does not adequately address a particular fact pattern, the schedule adopted by the Secretary provides both IU and extra-schedular provisions.

Brief History of IU

In 1925, the Schedule for Rating Disabilities provided the first definition of total disability. Total disability was defined as an impairment of mind or body that is sufficient to render it impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation. In 1934, total disability was expanded to provide that total disability ratings may be assigned without regard to the specific provisions of the rating schedule when the veteran is, in the judgment of the rating agency, unable to follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of the veteran’s disabilities.

To be eligible for consideration for IU benefits, the schedule required that a veteran have a single 70 percent evaluation or, if the veteran had multiple service-connected conditions, that the minimum combined evaluation be 80 percent with at least one disability considered 60 percent disabling.

In 1941, the minimum requirements for consideration for IU entitlement were revised to today’s standard of 60 percent for a single disability or a combined 70 percent evaluation with at least one 40 percent disability.

Throughout the rating schedule, a 60 percent evaluation or higher reflects significant disability.  A 40 percent evaluation assigned to a condition generally reflects a serious handicap.  Therefore, when multiple service-connected conditions are involved, the higher 70 percent minimum combined evaluation is reasonable to allow for the interplay of multiple disabilities.

The 1945 rating schedule established that age was not to be considered a factor in evaluating service-connected disability, and that entitlement to IU could not be based on advancing age or additional non-service-connected disability. Under VA regulations, if a veteran’s earned income does not exceed the amount established by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, as the poverty threshold for one person, currently $9,570, the veteran is only marginally employed, and marginal employment does not qualify as substantially gainful employment.

Also, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims held in Faust v. West that employment that provides annual income exceeding the poverty threshold for one person, irrespective of the number of hours or days actually worked and without regard to the veteran’s annual earned income prior to the award of the IU rating, constitutes "actual employability."

Number of IU Beneficiaries

The number of veterans rated totally disabled based on IU has more than doubled in the past six years from 97,275 veterans in 1999 to over 221,000 veterans today (2005). There is no single clear explanation for the increase in IU ratings over the last six years.   However, the rise has occurred concurrent with other significant changes.  Since September 30, 1999, the number of veterans receiving compensation has increased from 2,252,980 to 2,636,979 at the end of fiscal year 2005.  This increase of 383,999 veterans represents a 17 percent rise in the number of veterans receiving compensation.

There has also been an increase in the average combined disability evaluation over the same period.  At the end of 1999, 57 percent of all veterans receiving compensation had combined evaluations of 30 percent or less.  Today it is 46 percent.  The percent of veterans with combined evaluations of 60 percent disability or more has increased from 17 percent at the end of 1999 to the current 29 percent.  An interplay of advancing age, diabetes, and various presumptions of service connection for cancers associated with herbicide and radiation, as well as a significant increase in the number of veterans awarded service-connection for PTSD, account for a substantial portion of the increase. Recent court decisions have also had an impact on IU ratings.  

For example, in 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Norris v. West held that VA must infer a claim for IU if the veteran files a claim for increased disability, meets the schedular minimum combined evaluation criteria, and there is evidence of inability to engage in substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disability.

Interplay with Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)

In its September 1987 report, “Improving the Integrity of VA’s Unemployability Compensation Program,” the then General Accounting Office (GAO) recommended that VA revise its regulations to require that all veterans applying for a total disability rating based on IU be referred for a vocational rehabilitation evaluation. VA does not currently require an employment assessment by VR&E program staff as part of the IU entitlement determination.   If the Secretary decided to require an employment assessment in connection with determining a veteran’s entitlement to IU, VA would first promulgate regulations defining the scope, purpose, and criteria for conducting such an assessment, and the manner in which VA would implement such assessments. A veteran’s participation in a program of rehabilitation, education, or training does not preclude a total disability rating based on IU.

Veterans with compensable service-connected disabilities, including those with IU ratings, may be entitled to receive vocational rehabilitation benefits under the VR&E program (chapter 31, title 38, United States Code).  VA also may not deny a veteran’s IU claim on the basis that he or she is participating in a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) program of therapeutic and rehabilitative services, or consider therapeutic and rehabilitative activities as evidence of a veteran’s ability to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.  Our regulations allow a veteran receiving IU benefits to work 12 consecutive months in substantially gainful employment before any change is made in the IU determination.

Additional Benefits

A total disability rating based on IU can result in eligibility for additional benefits for a veteran’s dependents and survivors.  Educational benefits for the veteran’s spouse and eligible children are available under the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program (title 38, United States Code, Chapter 35).  The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) provides reimbursement to eligible dependents for most medical expenses, provided that they are not also eligible for health care benefits provided by the Department of Defense.  To be eligible for both of these benefits, the veteran’s IU determination must be considered permanent.  Permanency for eligibility to Chapter 35 and CHAMPVA requires that there not be a future examination scheduled.

Application Process

In most cases, to be considered for IU benefits, a veteran must apply.  However, in the Norris case mentioned earlier, the court held that a veteran need not apply for IU for a claim for IU to be inferred.  Thus, VA is required to consider the issue in certain circumstances, even if the veteran did not explicitly apply for an IU rating.  Recent guidance to the field directed that, once an IU claim is inferred, an application must be sent to the veteran for completion in order to obtain the essential information requested on the application form.  The form asks the veteran to furnish an employment history for the five-year period preceding the date on which the veteran became unemployable, as well as from that date to the date of application. As part of the development of IU claims, field stations are also required to solicit information from each employer during the 12-month period preceding the date the veteran last worked.  The employer is asked to provide information concerning the veteran’s employment history including the date of employment, the type of work performed, and if the veteran is not currently working, the reasons for termination of employment.

Role of the Medical Examiner

If the rating official determines that a medical examination is necessary to determine whether a veteran is entitled to a total disability rating based on IU, an appropriate examination or opinion request is submitted to a VHA medical facility or our contract examination provider. Medical examiners follow the appropriate worksheets to perform a complete and adequate examination for rating purposes, answering all questions and providing opinions as requested.   A diagnosis is to be provided for every condition listed on the examination request.  The medical examiner should describe the disability’s effect on the veteran’s daily activities and ability to work.  For IU claims, the examiner should also obtain the veteran’s occupational history (i.e., type of occupation, employment dates, wages for last 12 months, and detail any time that was lost from work in past 12-month period).

Continued IU Eligibility

Once a veteran is awarded IU benefits and until he or she attains age 70, the veteran is required to submit an annual employment certification.   This procedure was resumed in September after having been suspended for approximately six years.  The veteran must list all employment for the preceding 12-month period.  VA uses the certification to verify continued entitlement to IU benefits.  Failure to return the form will cause VA to send the veteran a contemporaneous notice of reduction of the monthly benefit payment to the rate justified by the underlying rating. VA may schedule a reexamination for any veteran when VA determines there is a need to verify the continued existence or current severity of a disability.  

Generally, VA requires reexamination if it is likely that a disability has improved or if evidence indicates that a disability has materially changed or that the current rating may be incorrect.  Periodic future examinations are not requested if the disability is unlikely to improve, if symptoms have persisted without material improvement for a period of five or more years, where the disability is permanent in character, or in cases where the veteran is age 55 or older.

After a veteran has received compensation at any level of disability for 20 years, to include total disability benefits based on IU, that compensation rate is protected.

Veterans receiving IU benefits are subject to VA’s annual income verification match (IVM).   The IVM uses Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) income records to verify that IU beneficiaries remain below the earnings threshold for entitlement to IU benefits.

Reviews of VA Claims Processing Related to IU

Former Secretary Anthony J. Principi, in response to media articles about state-to-state variance in average compensation payments to veterans, requested that the VA Inspector General (IG) study the payment variance issue.  The IG found that payment variance was affected by several factors including demographic factors and representation by veterans service organizations, as well as the incidence of PTSD and the subsequent award of IU benefits for that condition. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) also issued a report in 2004 pointing to a need for increased analysis of the consistency of decision-making across regional offices.  GAO is currently conducting a study of IU benefit decision-making. Based on the preliminary findings from these reviews, as well as a significant increase in the number of IU case referrals received in the latest IVM with IRS and SSA, we have been analyzing our existing IU procedures and regulations to determine if changes are needed.  As discussed earlier, we have reinstated the annual employment certification for veterans receiving IU benefits.

We have also reinforced existing procedural and evidentiary guidelines for IU determinations through conference calls with our field stations and at our recent Veterans Service Center Managers Conference.  We will continue to work to provide additional training for our employees, and to identify ways to strengthen and clarify our long-standing procedural requirements and ensure the integrity of this important benefit.

The IU benefit has a long history.  It fills a critical gap when the rating schedule fails to fully address the impact of disability in a specific veteran’s circumstance.  We believe that during this period of conflict and danger for our country, IU continues to be an essential tool in serving America’s veterans and fulfilling the country’s commitment to them.  We at VBA are fully cognizant of this as we work to ensure those who have served this nation are fully compensated for their injuries and assisted in returning to participation in society to the maximum extent possible permitted by their injuries.

(End of speech)

VA Form 21-4140

VA Form 21-8940   

§ 4.15 — Total disability ratings     

§ 4.16 — Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability of the individual.   

§ 4.17 — Total disability ratings for pension based on unemployability and age of the individual.   

§ 4.18 — Unemployability.