Will Being A Veteran Affect Your Eligibility And Chances For Social Security Disability?

How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

Being a veteran has no bearing upon your eligibility for Social Security disability, nor does it increase your chances of being approved for disability benefits. Individuals who are actually receiving disability benefits from the Veterans Administration are routinely denied for Social Security benefits.

Why? The answer is simple. The definition of disability is different for the two programs.

The Social Security definition of disability involves an impairment that prevents an individual from performing any of their past work, or any other work at a substantial level for at least twelve continuous months. Social Security disability is a total disability program, whereas VA disability is based upon a percentage system that allows for partial disability.

Additionally, work plays no part in VA disability determinations. This means that veterans can receive full 100% rated disability benefits while working a full time job if they are able. Considering these differences it is easy to see how being a veteran or receiving disability from the VA may or may not have an affect upon a person’s chance of being approved for Social Security disability.

If a veteran files for disability, they are evaluated under Social Security medical and vocational criteria whether they are receiving disability from the VA or not. If it is determined that their medical or mental impairment meets or medically equals the severity requirements of an impairment listing, or the limitations imposed by their impairment cause their residual functional capacity (what they are able to do in spite of their limitations) to be so restrictive that it precludes the performance of any past work or even other work at a SGA level, then veterans,like any other disability applicants, may be approved for disability benefits.

The only advantage a veteran might have over another person is the fact that they have most likely been able to receive medical treatment for their impairments. Since Social Security likes to have at least a twelve-month longitudinal medical history that includes current treatment notes (three months old or less) to make their disability determinations, it does stand to reason that a more thorough evaluation of an individual’s impairment and limitations could help their chances of receiving a Social Security disability medical allowance.

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Topics and Questions

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SSD and SSI are Federal Programs

The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here:

Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state

Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials