Individual Unemployability (IU) is a special Department of Veterans Affairs compensation program that pays veterans who are unable to work at the 100 percent disability rate, even though their combined disabilities are not rated at 100%.
The basic eligibility criteria for IU is that the veteran has one disability rated at 60% or more, or, at least one disability rated at 40% or more with a combined rating of 70% or more. The 40% disability criteria can be a combined rating of associated disabilities, such as bilateral knee disabilities or a lumbar spine disability with secondary lower extremity radiculopathy.
Veterans often have many misconceptions about IU. Some assume that if they meet the percentage criteria IU will be awarded, which is not true. Medical evidence must show that the veteran is physically and/or mentally unable to work in any “substantially gainful employment,” in both a physical and sedentary setting. For example, a veteran may be denied because VA says that while they may not be able to do a physically-demanding type of job, their service-connected disabilities do not preclude them from working in a sedentary setting.
Another example where a veteran may initially be denied IU is if they just got awarded a new, fairly high rating for a condition that has “likelihood of improvement,” such as PTSD at 70% or migraines at 50%. VA says that these conditions can improve with medications or therapy, so they are unlikely to award IU immediately, though every case has individual factors and history in play. However, if such a high rating for these types of conditions does not improve over several years, IU is then more likely to be granted.
Also, veterans often apply for IU if they lose their job or if they can no longer do that particular job. Again, IU is awarded only if medical evidence clearly shows that the veteran is unable to maintain any type of “substantially gainful employment,” as a result of his service-connected disabilities, not that they can no longer do the job they last worked at.
In addition, the VA can consider only service-connected disabilities as the barrier to gainful employment, not other disabilities the veteran may have. Some veterans will be awarded Social Security disability and think this will help their IU claim. It will help if Social Security was granted for only service-connected disabilities, but if it was awarded based on a combination of disabilities that included non-service connected conditions, then being awarded Social Security Disability is not as helpful.
A veteran not meeting the percentage criteria may still be awarded if IU his service-connected disabilities present a unique barrier to gainful employment, but this is rare.
Receiving IU is not a bar to all employment. The veteran can work in part-time “marginal” employment and earn up to a certain amount annually.
It is helpful if a veteran who plans to file for IU first get a medical opinion from his own doctors on why the veteran is unable to work in any type of setting, including a medically-detailed rationale. Otherwise, the opinion on the ability to work will be left up to the VA examiner.
It’s always best to get the advice of a knowledgeable veterans service officer or do research before filing for IU and if denied, to discuss options before filing an appeal, as appeals take several years, though sometimes that is a veteran’s only option.
Sandy Britt is a Montgomery County veterans service officer. If you have a general question or topic you’d like covered in a future column, email sjbritt@mcgtn.net. Questions about a specific claim can be addressed only by calling the MCVSO for an office appointment with a service officer.