Retirement is a good time to take a hard look at your VA disability rating. Your rating affects your monthly pay, your VA health care priority group, and, at the permanent and total level, benefits your spouse and children can use. Federal rules also protect ratings that have stayed in place for a long time. Under 38 CFR 3.951, a rating held at or above a level for 20 or more years "will not be reduced to less than such evaluation except upon a showing that such rating was based on fraud." This guide explains how to review your rating, when an increase or secondary claim may fit, and what the protection rules actually say.
Key Takeaways
- You can view your individual ratings and your combined rating by signing in at VA.gov, and you can download benefit letters there.
- VA allows an increased claim when a rated condition has gotten worse, and a secondary claim for a new condition linked to one you already have.
- An intent to file gives you 1 year to finish a claim and may set an earlier start date for payments.
- 38 CFR 3.344 gives extra stability to ratings held at the same level for 5 years or more.
- 38 CFR 3.951 protects ratings held for 20 or more years, except for fraud. 38 CFR 3.957 protects service connection in effect for 10 or more years, with limited exceptions.
- Permanent and total (P&T) status can open CHAMPVA and education benefits for eligible family members.
Table of Contents
- Why Review Your Rating Before Retirement
- How to Check What You Have Now
- Increases and Secondary Conditions
- Protected Ratings: The 5-, 10-, and 20-Year Rules
- Permanent and Total (P&T) Status
- Ask the Navigator
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
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Why Review Your Rating Before Retirement
A rating is set at one point in time. Conditions can change, and new ones can appear. VA allows claims for both. Your rating can also shape what your family gets later.
What your rating touches
Your combined rating helps set your VA health care priority group. VA places veterans with a service-connected rating of 50% or more, or found unemployable, in Priority Group 1. Ratings of 30% or 40% go in Priority Group 2. Ratings of 10% or 20% are among the ways to reach Priority Group 3.
Your rating also affects family benefits. VA says you can add dependents to your compensation if your combined rating is at least 30%. A permanent and total rating can make your spouse and children eligible for CHAMPVA health coverage and for VA education help. Some states also tie property tax relief to a VA rating. North Carolina's homestead exclusion, for example, is linked to a service-connected permanent and total disability.
Retirement is a natural checkpoint
Knowing exactly what your rating is, when it started, and whether it is protected helps your family and any estate planner work from facts instead of memory.
How to Check What You Have Now
Start with what VA has on file. Do not guess from memory.
Your ratings and letters
VA says that if you have an assigned rating, "you can sign in to view your individual ratings and your VA combined disability rating." On VA.gov you can also download letters, including a "Benefits and service summary" letter and "Proof of VA income." Your decision letters for disability claims are there too.
How combined ratings work
VA explains that "calculating your combined disability rating involves more than adding up your individual ratings." VA uses a "whole person" method so the total never goes over 100%. VA bases each rating on the evidence you give, like doctor's reports and test results, and on the results of your VA claim exam, also called a C&P exam.
A simple review routine
- Sign in to VA.gov and write down each rated condition and its percentage.
- Download your benefits summary letter and your most recent decision letters.
- Note the effective date of each rating. This matters for the 5-, 10-, and 20-year rules below.
- List any rated condition that has gotten worse, with dates and doctor visits.
- List any new condition that a doctor has linked to a service-connected one.
- Take the list to a VA-accredited VSO, claims agent, or attorney before filing anything.
Increases and Secondary Conditions
VA lists several types of claims. Two matter most for a retirement review.
Increased claims
VA says: "You can file a claim for increased disability compensation if you have a rated service-connected disability that's gotten worse." The form is VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits. VA's form page links to how to file a claim for disability compensation or increased disability compensation.
Secondary claims
VA also says: "You can file a secondary claim to get more disability benefits for a new disability that's linked to a service-connected disability you already have." For example, a veteran might have a new condition that a doctor believes was caused by a rated condition. Medical evidence of that link is what VA looks for.
Use an intent to file
Gathering evidence takes time. An intent to file can protect your start date. VA says, "After you notify us of your intent to file, you have 1 year to complete and file your claim." If VA approves the claim, you may get retroactive payments for the time between your intent to file and the approval. You can submit it online, by phone, in person, or by mail on VA Form 21-0966.
Weigh the whole picture
Any claim leads VA to look at current evidence and may lead to a new exam. The regulations in the next section describe the limits VA must follow before reducing ratings, but those limits depend on how long a rating has been in place. A VSO can help you weigh this before you file.
Protected Ratings: The 5-, 10-, and 20-Year Rules
Many veterans worry that VA will cut their rating as they age. Three federal regulations limit when and how that can happen. Here is what each one says, in plain words.
The 5-year stabilization rule (38 CFR 3.344)
This rule tells VA rating staff to handle changes "so as to produce the greatest degree of stability of disability evaluations." It warns against reducing ratings for some conditions, such as epilepsy and arteriosclerotic heart disease, based on one exam unless "sustained improvement has been demonstrated." Paragraph (c) says these protections "apply to ratings which have continued for long periods at the same level (5 years or more)." This is extra care before a reduction. It is not a promise that a reduction can never happen.
The 10-year service connection rule (38 CFR 3.957)
This rule protects the link between a condition and your service, not the percentage. It says service connection that "has been in effect for 10 or more years will not be severed" except when the original grant was based on fraud, or when military records clearly show the person did not have the required service or character of discharge.
The 20-year rating rule (38 CFR 3.951)
This is the strongest protection. A disability "continuously rated at or above any evaluation of disability for 20 or more years" for compensation "will not be reduced to less than such evaluation except upon a showing that such rating was based on fraud." The 20 years run from the effective date of the original rating to the effective date of any proposed reduction. The same section also says a change to the rating schedule itself is not grounds to reduce a rating unless medical evidence shows the condition actually improved.
Permanent and Total (P&T) Status
A 100% rating and a permanent and total rating are not always the same thing. P&T means VA has found the total disability is expected to last for life.
What the regulation says
Under 38 CFR 3.340, total disability exists when an impairment makes it "impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation." Permanence exists "when such impairment is reasonably certain to continue throughout the life of the disabled person." The same rule adds: "The age of the disabled person may be considered in determining permanence."
Why P&T matters to your family
VA lists the spouse or dependent child of a veteran rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability among those eligible for CHAMPVA. VA's Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) program is open to dependents when the veteran is permanently and totally disabled due to a service-connected disability. To learn more, see how to change a VA beneficiary designation and CHAMPVA vs. TRICARE.
Ask the Navigator
Want help sorting out your rating, your effective dates, or whether you are protected? Ask AVOY Veteran Navigator AI™ your question at avoyvet.com, and take the free Veteran Legacy Checklist to see what your family should have in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can VA lower my rating after I retire?
Retirement itself is not a rule for reducing a rating. Federal regulations limit reductions, especially for ratings held 5 or more years (38 CFR 3.344) and 20 or more years (38 CFR 3.951).
What is the difference between an increased claim and a secondary claim?
An increased claim is for a rated condition that got worse. A secondary claim is for a new condition linked to one that is already service connected.
How long does an intent to file last?
VA says you have 1 year after notifying VA of your intent to file to complete your claim.
Is 100% the same as permanent and total?
Not always. Under 38 CFR 3.340, permanence means the total disability is reasonably certain to continue for life. Your VA decision letters show what VA decided.
Does the 10-year rule protect my percentage?
No. 38 CFR 3.957 protects service connection from being severed after 10 years, with limited exceptions. The 20-year rule in 38 CFR 3.951 is the one that protects the rating level.
Sources
- 38 CFR 3.951 Preservation of disability ratings — eCFR
- 38 CFR 3.344 Stabilization of disability evaluations — eCFR
- 38 CFR 3.957 Service connection — eCFR
- 38 CFR 3.340 Total and permanent total ratings — eCFR
- About VA disability ratings — VA.gov
- When to file your VA disability claim — VA.gov
- About VA Form 21-526EZ — VA.gov
- Your intent to file a VA claim — VA.gov
- Download VA benefit letters — VA.gov
- VA priority groups — VA.gov
- Add dependents to your VA disability benefits — VA.gov
- CHAMPVA benefits — VA.gov
- Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance — VA.gov
- G.S. 105-277.1C Disabled veteran property tax homestead exclusion — North Carolina General Assembly
Educational information only — not legal, tax, financial, or medical advice, and not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Estate and probate rules vary by state; an estate attorney in your state can confirm what applies. For VA benefits help, contact a VA-accredited VSO (often free), claims agent, or attorney.
