VA Disability and a FERS Pension: You Get Both, In Full

No offset, no reduction — plus the two decisions that can cost you real money

First — make sure you're reading the right page

Three different things get called "disability and a federal pension," and searching for one turns up answers about the others. Google's top results for this question are mostly about the second and third.

Regular FERS retirement + VA disability compensation — this page. You retire normally (62+5, 60+20, MRA+30, or MRA+10). Separately, the VA pays you compensation for a service-connected condition. The two have nothing to do with each other, and you receive both in full.
FERS disability retirement. A benefit from OPM for a federal employee who can no longer render useful and efficient service in their position. It requires 18 months of creditable civilian service, a condition expected to last at least a year, and agency certification that you can't be accommodated or reassigned. It is computed differently and it is not automatically better — see the comparison further down. Your VA rating does not establish eligibility. OPM applies its own standard, focused on your current federal position.
VA Pension. A needs-based benefit for low-income wartime veterans. It has no connection to FERS whatsoever. If you have read that you "can't receive both a pension and VA disability," that advice was about VA Pension. It does not apply to your FERS annuity.

If you are a federal employee planning a normal retirement who happens to have a VA rating, you're in the right place — and the answer is straightforward.

Written by: FedVetRetirement Editorial TeamLast reviewed: September 1, 2026

Many federal employees are also veterans — and one of the biggest advantages available to them is that you can receive both VA disability compensation and a FERS pension at the same time, with no reduction to either. Combined with Social Security, veterans with meaningful VA ratings often have the strongest retirement income of any federal employees. Most people don't realize how powerful this combination truly is.

The Key Rule: No Offset

VA disability compensation is:

✓ Tax-free — not counted as income by the IRS
✓ Not reduced by your FERS pension amount
✓ Not reduced by Social Security income
✓ Not reduced by TSP withdrawals
✓ Paid separately by the VA, not OPM
✓ COLA-adjusted annually at the same rate as Social Security

This is a major advantage compared to other retirement systems. Under the old CSRS system, some offsets existed. Under FERS with concurrent receipt rules, federal employees who are veterans generally receive both income streams in full — and the VA amount doesn't count toward any income threshold that affects your other benefits.

2026 VA Disability Monthly Rates by Rating

VA compensation rates are adjusted each December 1 by the same COLA as Social Security. The amounts below are the confirmed 2026 rates (effective December 1, 2025) sourced directly from VA.gov:

VA Rating	Monthly (No Dependents)	Monthly (With Spouse)
10%	$180.42	$180.42
20%	$356.66	$356.66
30%	$552.47	$617.47
40%	$795.84	$882.84
50%	$1,132.90	$1,241.90
60%	$1,435.02	$1,566.02
70%	$1,808.45	$1,961.45
80%	$2,102.15	$2,277.15
90%	$2,362.30	$2,559.30
100%	$3,938.58	$4,158.17

Confirmed 2026 rates, effective December 1, 2025. Note: for ratings of 10% and 20%, the VA pays the same rate regardless of dependent status. "With spouse" rates shown are for a veteran with a spouse only (no children). Source: va.gov/disability/compensation-rates.

Combined Income Scenarios by VA Rating

Using a GS-12 federal employee with 25 years of service, $85,000 High-3 salary, and Social Security at FRA of $1,800/month:

VA Rating	FERS Pension	VA Comp.	Social Sec.	Gross Total	Est. Net
0% (no VA)	$1,771	$0	$1,800	$3,571	~$2,800
30%	$1,771	$552	$1,800	$4,123	~$3,450
50%	$1,771	$1,133	$1,800	$4,704	~$4,060
70%	$1,771	$1,808	$1,800	$5,379	~$4,700
100%	$1,771	$3,939	$1,800	$7,510	~$6,900

Net estimates reflect approximate taxes on taxable income only (FERS pension + taxable portion of SS). VA compensation is not taxed.

The same math across different career profiles

The GS-12 example above is only one household. To show how the same methodology scales, these illustrations use a $60,000 High-3 and 20 years for the GS-9 profile, and a $110,000 High-3 and 30 years for the GS-13 profile. The FERS column uses 1% × High-3 × service; the VA column uses the confirmed 70% rate; Social Security is an illustrative FRA estimate. Actual results depend on your record, survivor election, taxes, deductions, and household.

Profile	FERS Pension	VA at 70%	Social Security	Gross Total	Est. Net
GS-9 · 20 years · $60K High-3	$1,000	$1,808	$1,400	$4,208	~$3,650
GS-13 · 30 years · $110K High-3	$2,750	$1,808	$2,300	$6,858	~$5,800

Illustrative estimates only. The VA amount is tax-free; the FERS and Social Security amounts are subject to the same approximate tax treatment used in the table above.

If you also have military retired pay, read this before you buy back time

Everything above applies to VA compensation and your FERS annuity: no offset, no interaction. Military retired pay is a different animal, and this is where real money gets lost.

The baseline

DFAS: the law requires a military retiree to waive gross retired pay dollar-for-dollar by the amount of VA disability compensation. Two programs restore that offset:

CRDP (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay) — automatic, no application.

Requires a VA rating of at least 50% and entitlement to both retired pay and VA compensation in the same month. Chapter 61 medical retirees additionally need 20+ years creditable under 10 U.S.C. §1405. CRDP is taxable.

CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation) — you must apply through your branch of service.

Requires a VA rating of at least 10% and a combat-related disability: Purple Heart, armed conflict, hazardous service, conditions simulating war, or an instrumentality of war. CRSC is tax-free.

You cannot receive both. DFAS runs an annual open season to switch.

The mistake that costs the most

Buying back military service time for FERS credit requires waiving military retired pay. Most veterans have nothing to waive — they separated without a retirement, so the deposit is straightforward and their VA compensation is untouched either way.

But if you receive CRSC, waiving retired pay for civil service credit ends it. DoD's CRSC Program Guidance is explicit: a member who waives military retired pay in order to credit military service toward a civil service retirement "is not eligible for CRSC."

Read that again if you're a combat-disabled retiree considering buyback. You would be trading a tax-free lifetime payment for FERS credit worth 1% of your high-3 per year — which is fully taxable. For most people that math is badly negative, and it is not reversible.

CRDP appears to be exposed the same way: the statute grants it to a member "entitled for any month to retired pay," so waiving the retired pay should end the entitlement CRDP restores. DFAS does not address the civil-service-waiver case as directly as DoD does for CRSC, so confirm your specific situation with DFAS before you file the waiver.

Two exceptions where you keep everything

Under 5 U.S.C. §8332(c)(1), you get FERS credit without waiving retired pay if it was awarded:

for a service-connected disability incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States, or caused by an instrumentality of war in the line of duty during a period of war; or
under 10 U.S.C. chapter 1223 — Reserve retirement at age 60.

You still owe the deposit. But you keep the retired pay. If you fall in either category, waiving would be pure loss.

One thing that never changes

VA disability compensation is never waived. DoD's Financial Management Regulation is direct: individuals whose civilian retirement is not based on disability "need not renounce VA benefits to receive credit for military service if they waive their military retired pay for civil service annuity computation purposes." OPM's own handbook puts it plainly — VA benefits are not military retired pay.

Whatever you decide about buyback, your VA check is not at risk.

Deposit mechanics

3% of your military basic pay (3.25% for 1999 service, 3.4% for 2000)
Two-year interest-free grace period, then interest compounds annually at a variable rate
Must be paid before you separate — if you were first hired on or after 10/1/1982 and don't pay, you get no credit at all, for eligibility or computation
Waiver letter goes to DFAS at least 90 days before retirement
Watch your SBP: premiums stop coming out of retired pay and become an out-of-pocket bill

Effects of a retired-pay waiver on TRICARE, commissary and exchange privileges are outside what DoD's regulation addresses. Confirm those separately with DFAS and DEERS.

Read the military service buyback guide →

VA compensation and the FERS supplement

If you retire before 62 under MRA+30, 60+20, or a special provision, you receive the FERS Special Retirement Supplement until 62. It's subject to an earnings test — $1 withheld for every $2 you earn above the annual limit.

VA disability compensation is not counted. The test uses the Social Security definition of earned income: wages and net self-employment earnings. SSA is explicit that it does not count "pensions, annuities, investment income, interest, veterans benefits, or other government or military retirement benefits."

So you can draw the supplement and full VA compensation with no interaction at all. Only a paycheck reduces it.

Two details people miss: the reduction is based on the previous year's earnings, so a 2026 reduction reflects what you earned in 2025. And the supplement gets no COLA — it's frozen from the day it starts until it ends at 62.

The exempt amount is set by SSA annually: $23,400 for 2025, rising to $24,480 for 2026.

You are not eligible for the supplement if you take FERS disability retirement, retire under MRA+10, take a deferred annuity, or retire at 62 or later.

Use the FERS supplement calculator →

If you're pursuing TDIU, retirement timing matters — but not the way you might think

Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability pays at the 100% rate where service-connected disabilities prevent a veteran from securing or following substantially gainful employment. The usual rating thresholds are one disability at 60%, or a combined 70% with at least one disability at 40%, though extraschedular referral can matter below those levels.

Retiring voluntarily does not prevent a TDIU award. You can pursue TDIU after a voluntary or regular retirement, and retirement itself is not disqualifying. Do not stay in a job that is medically unsustainable, or pass up a retirement that makes financial sense, out of fear of losing eligibility.

What changes is the evidence, not the law. VA has to decide whether service-connected conditions — not age, not an elective retirement decision, not non-service-connected conditions, not the labor market — made you unable to maintain substantially gainful work. When someone retires at their MRA with their years in, that question gets harder to answer from the record alone.

VA Form 21-8940 asks for your employment history, when you became too disabled to work, your education and training, and why your employment ended. VA may also request employer information on Form 21-4192 and later verify employment on Form 21-4140. Those forms are where a voluntary retirement invites questions:

Did you retire because you were eligible and wanted to, or because service-connected symptoms made continuing untenable?
Were you still performing full-time, substantially gainful work successfully right up to retirement?
Is the claimed inability to work tied to service-connected limitations rather than age, retirement plans, economic conditions, or non-service-connected conditions?
Could your service-connected conditions realistically permit another substantially gainful occupation, given your education, skills, and work history?

That last question matters most for federal employees. Being unable to perform a particular federal position is not automatically the same as being unable to secure or follow any substantially gainful occupation. It can cut the other way too: the physical, cognitive, attendance, concentration, safety, interpersonal, or stress demands of a career may make transferable employment genuinely unrealistic. The record has to show that bridge. It rarely builds itself.

What to actually do

Don't delay a medically appropriate retirement out of fear. Voluntary retirement does not automatically defeat a claim.
Preserve the work-impact evidence before you separate. This is the part people skip, and it is far harder to reconstruct afterward. Accommodation requests. Leave and attendance records. Performance or disciplinary documentation tied to symptoms. Supervisor statements. Medical restrictions. Vocational evidence. A treating clinician's opinion on your functional limitations.
Make the narrative consistent and truthful. If both things are true — you were eligible to retire, and your service-connected disabilities had made continuing work unsustainable — say both. Avoid an oversimplified application statement like "I retired because I was eligible" when it omits the disability-driven limitations that were also real.

The short version

Retiring voluntarily does not prevent a TDIU award. But VA will examine whether service-connected disabilities — not retirement eligibility, age, or other causes — prevented substantially gainful employment. If you're considering retirement, document how those disabilities affected your attendance, productivity, need for accommodation, safety, and ability to keep working or move to other work.

One more distinction worth holding onto: OPM disability retirement and VA TDIU apply different standards. OPM asks whether you can render useful and efficient service in your current federal position, with accommodation and reassignment in the picture. TDIU asks whether service-connected disabilities preclude substantially gainful employment more broadly. A favorable decision in one system can be useful evidence in the other, but it is never automatic proof.

"I'm rated 100% P&T — should I take FERS disability retirement instead?"

There is no universal answer here, and the label on the benefit tells you nothing. The right way to decide depends on whether you already qualify for an immediate, unreduced FERS retirement.

Start with the one thing that is not in dispute: your VA rating is not evidence for OPM. They are separate systems with separate standards. OPM asks whether you can render useful and efficient service in your specific position, with accommodation and reassignment considered. A veteran rated 100% P&T who performs their federal job well does not qualify. A veteran rated 30% whose condition genuinely prevents them from doing their particular job may.

If you already qualify for an immediate unreduced retirement

— MRA+30, 60+20, or 62+5 —

Regular retirement is often the baseline to evaluate first, but it is not automatic. Two reasons it frequently wins:

The FERS supplement. It is payable to eligible retirees under 62 and is not payable under FERS disability provisions. If you're retiring before 62, that is real money the disability route does not pay.
The earned rate. When a FERS employee is eligible for both, disability retirement may be paid at the "earned" rate — essentially the same foundational annuity calculation as an immediate optional retirement. The word "disability" does not automatically produce a larger check.

Regular retirement is frequently the better starting presumption for someone who already has a solid immediate unreduced annuity, expects earnings before 62, values the supplement, doesn't expect to qualify for Social Security disability, or wants flexibility to work after retiring.

OPM recognizes this directly. Where an employee applies for disability retirement while also qualifying for an immediate unreduced optional retirement, OPM's procedure is to compute both benefits and give the employee an election. That is not a technicality — it is the agency telling you the comparison has to be run.

If you do not yet qualify for an immediate unreduced retirement

Do not default to regular retirement. This is where disability retirement can be the benefit that prevents a serious income and insurance gap, and treating it as a fallback is a costly mistake.

FERS disability retirement generally requires at least 18 months of creditable civilian service; the condition must have arisen while you were in a FERS-covered position, must prevent useful and efficient service in your current position, and must be expected to last at least a year.

The computation

First 12 months: 60% of high-3, less 100% of any applicable Social Security disability benefit
After 12 months until 62: 40% of high-3, less 60% of any applicable SSA disability benefit
If the earned annuity is higher than the disability formula, the earned rate applies
At 62 it is recomputed as though you had continued working to 62, with credit for the time spent on disability retirement

That age-62 recomputation is the feature most people overlook, and it matters enormously for someone who has to leave federal service well before reaching regular eligibility.

Disability retirement deserves serious consideration when you do not yet qualify for an immediate unreduced annuity, face an MRA+10 reduction or a long deferred-retirement gap, have a compelling medical inability to render useful and efficient service that cannot be accommodated, would receive a materially higher near-term annuity under the disability formula, or need to preserve an annuity and continued federal health insurance rather than resigning and waiting on a deferred benefit.

What "run both" actually means

Not a monthly-annuity comparison. Get estimates under both elections and compare:

Income timing	First-year income and later-year income, separately
Social Security	Any SSDI offset, and whether you would qualify
FERS supplement	Payable under regular; not under disability
Survivor election	Cost and the protection it buys
FEHB and FEGLI	Continuation under each route
Taxes	Treatment of each income stream
Future work	What you plan or need to earn
Age 62	The disability recomputation

The two errors to avoid: assuming disability retirement is better because it is called disability, and assuming regular retirement is better simply because you're eligible for it.

Compare FERS disability retirement rules →

Why This Combination Matters for Planning

VA disability acts as a tax-free income floor

Because it's not taxed, VA compensation provides a stable, inflation-indexed income stream that does not push you into higher tax brackets. This reduces your overall effective tax rate on combined income — sometimes dramatically for veterans with 50%+ ratings.

It reduces how much you need to draw from TSP

With VA disability covering a portion of living expenses, you can leave more in your TSP longer — allowing more tax-deferred growth and better withdrawal flexibility in later years when required minimum distributions become mandatory.

It significantly improves retirement security

Veterans with 70%+ ratings receiving both FERS and VA compensation often have more stable total income than higher-earning federal employees who are not veterans. The combination of guaranteed pension + tax-free VA + Social Security creates extraordinary income stability.

CHAMPVA may reduce FEHB cost

Veterans rated 100% Permanent & Total (P&T) may be eligible for CHAMPVA for dependents, potentially allowing a switch to a less expensive FEHB plan or supplementing your healthcare coverage at minimal cost.

VA compensation does not affect Social Security

There is no offset between VA disability and Social Security. You receive both in full. This is different from active-duty military retirement, where concurrent receipt rules are more complex.

How to model the income streams without double-counting

The fact that the benefits do not offset each other does not mean they should be dropped into one gross-income number and treated alike. Each stream starts at a different time, receives different inflation treatment, and has different tax and survivor rules. Build the projection in layers so a strong headline total does not hide a weak year, an avoidable deduction, or a benefit that ends.

Start with the FERS annuity you will actually elect

Use your High-3, creditable service, retirement age, and applicable multiplier. Then apply the election-level reductions that belong to your case: an MRA+10 age reduction, a survivor election, or other OPM deductions. Do not reduce that result because of a VA rating. If you are comparing regular and disability retirement, keep them as separate scenarios rather than blending the formulas. The FERS pension calculator can provide the base annuity structure for the regular-retirement side.

Add VA compensation as its own tax-free line

Use the rating and dependent status that apply to the household, and keep VA compensation outside taxable income. If a claim, increase, dependency change, or TDIU decision is pending, model a conservative case without the increase and a separate case with it. That keeps a hoped-for award from quietly becoming part of the household's required spending plan. If military retired pay is also present, model retired pay, the VA waiver, CRDP, or CRSC separately; the military-pay interaction is not a reduction to the FERS annuity.

Place Social Security and the supplement on the right timeline

Social Security may begin at 62, full retirement age, 70, or another chosen month. The FERS supplement is a different OPM benefit that can bridge qualifying retirements to age 62 and then stops. Never show both for the same post-62 period. Apply the supplement earnings test only to wages and net self-employment earnings, not VA compensation, pension income, or withdrawals. Compare claiming dates with the Social Security 62-versus-70 guide rather than assuming the earliest date produces the strongest lifetime plan.

Finish with deductions, healthcare, and the survivor case

Gross income is not spendable income. Deduct estimated federal and state tax from taxable sources, FEHB premiums, Medicare premiums when applicable, life insurance, and any out-of-pocket SBP payment created by a military retired-pay waiver. Keep VA compensation tax-free in the calculation. Then rerun the household after the first death: remove the income streams that stop, add only survivor benefits the spouse is likely to receive, and preserve FEHB only where the required survivor election exists. The healthcare-cost guide and survivor-benefit guide cover those two layers.

The useful answer is not simply “you get both.” It is the year-by-year after-tax amount the household can spend, the decisions that could permanently change it, and what remains for a surviving spouse.

CHAMPVA vs. FEHB: Healthcare for 100% P&T Veterans

Veterans rated 100% Permanent and Total (P&T) can provide CHAMPVA coverage to their dependents. This can significantly reduce household healthcare costs when combined with FEHB:

CHAMPVA covers your family, not you. Eligibility requires that the veteran be rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or have died from one. If a family member is eligible for TRICARE, they cannot have CHAMPVA.

You can suspend FEHB for CHAMPVA or TRICARE — both are on OPM's suspension list, and suspending preserves your right to re-enroll later. You cannot suspend FEHB for VA health care. VA care is not on that list. Suspend rather than cancel; cancelling is generally irreversible.

Factor	FEHB Only	FEHB + CHAMPVA
Monthly premiums (couple)	~$450–$600	FEHB Self Only (~$175) + CHAMPVA ($0 for dependent)
Out-of-pocket maximum	FEHB limit applies	CHAMPVA covers much of the FEHB remainder
Nationwide coverage	Yes (varies by plan)	Yes (both programs)
Cost of premium reduction	—	Could save $200–$400/month

Common Planning Mistake

Many veterans underestimate how powerful this combination is.

They plan as if all income is taxable, model their retirement budget too conservatively, or don't account for the VA's annual COLA adjustments. The result is overly cautious planning, delayed retirements, and missed opportunities to optimize TSP withdrawal and Social Security strategy. A 70% VA rating combined with a FERS pension and Social Security produces over $5,300 per month in combined income for a GS-12 (approximately $4,700 after taxes and deductions) — significantly more than most veterans realize.

Step-by-Step: Getting Your VA Rating Right Before Retirement

File or update your VA claim before you retire

VA claims processing can take months or longer. File well before your retirement date — your rating does not need to be finalized before you retire, but you want it in process.

Document all service-connected conditions

Review your service treatment records (STRs). Include every condition that may be related to your military service, even conditions that seem minor. Ratings are cumulative — multiple lower ratings can add up to a significant combined rating.

Understand the combined ratings formula

VA ratings are not simply added together. The VA uses a "whole person" formula. A 50% rating and a 30% rating results in a combined rating of 65%, rounded to 70%. Ask your VSO (Veterans Service Organization) to run the math.

Consider Permanent & Total (P&T) status

If your conditions are permanent and not expected to improve, request P&T designation. This protects you from future rating reductions and makes your dependents eligible for CHAMPVA and Dependents' Educational Assistance.

Don't waive military retirement pay for VA comp without advice

If you are both a military retiree AND a FERS federal employee, the rules around concurrent receipt (CRDP vs. CRSC) are complex. Consult a VSO or federal benefits counselor before making any waiver decisions.

What your spouse receives

Two separate survivor benefits, and they don't offset each other:

FERS survivor annuity — elected at retirement. A full survivor benefit (50%) reduces your annuity by 10%; a partial benefit (25%) reduces it by 5%. Electing it is also what preserves your spouse's FEHB coverage after your death, which is often the deciding factor rather than the cash.

VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) — paid to a surviving spouse when the veteran's death was service-connected, or under certain conditions when the veteran was rated totally disabled for a qualifying period before death.

A tax-free VA income floor can make a smaller survivor election defensible — but only if the DIC entitlement is actually there, and DIC is never guaranteed in advance. Model it before you reduce your election.

Compare FERS survivor benefit options →

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I receive VA disability and FERS pension at the same time?

Yes. FERS employees who are also veterans can receive VA disability compensation and their FERS pension simultaneously with no offset or reduction to either benefit. This is one of the most significant financial advantages available to federal employees who are veterans.

Is VA disability compensation taxable?

No. VA disability compensation is completely exempt from federal income tax and most state income taxes. It does not count toward your adjusted gross income (AGI), does not affect your Social Security taxation threshold, and does not trigger IRMAA Medicare surcharges.

Does my VA rating reduce my FERS annuity?

No. OPM's list of possible reductions to a FERS basic annuity covers the survivor election, the MRA+10 age reduction, unpaid CSRS deposits, and the alternative annuity election. VA compensation appears nowhere in it.

What's the difference between VA Pension and VA disability compensation?

VA Pension is a needs-based benefit for low-income wartime veterans. Disability compensation is paid for a service-connected condition regardless of income. Advice that you "can't receive both a pension and VA disability" refers to VA Pension and has nothing to do with your FERS annuity.

Does buying back military time affect my VA disability?

No. VA compensation is never waived for civil service credit. What you may waive is military retired pay — and if you receive CRSC, that waiver ends it permanently.

Does VA disability count against the FERS supplement earnings test?

No. The test counts only wages and net self-employment income. Veterans benefits are expressly excluded.

Does a 100% P&T rating make FERS disability retirement easier to get?

No. OPM applies its own standard: whether you can render useful and efficient service in your current position, with accommodation and reassignment considered. A VA rating does not establish eligibility, though medical evidence developed for a VA claim may still be useful.

Does VA disability reduce my Social Security?

No, for either retirement or SSDI. SSA states that eligibility and benefit amount under the two programs are unaffected by each other.

Can I keep FEHB and use VA health care?

Yes. VA states you can use VA health care alongside other coverage. Note you cannot suspend FEHB to use VA health care — unlike TRICARE and CHAMPVA, VA care is not on OPM's suspension list.

Will retiring hurt my TDIU claim?

Voluntary retirement does not prevent a TDIU award. But VA must find that service-connected disabilities, rather than retirement eligibility or age, prevented substantially gainful employment. Document how your conditions affected attendance, productivity, accommodations, and your ability to keep working — before you separate.

Should I take FERS disability retirement instead of regular retirement?

It depends on whether you already qualify for an immediate unreduced annuity. If you do, regular retirement is often the baseline, partly because the FERS supplement is not payable under disability provisions. If you don't, disability retirement may be the benefit that prevents a major income and insurance gap. OPM computes both where you qualify for both and gives you an election — take it seriously and compare the full package, not just the monthly figure.

Can I increase my VA rating after retirement?

Yes. You can file for an increase at any time if your service-connected condition has worsened. You can also file new claims for conditions you didn't previously claim. Retirement from federal service does not affect your right to pursue VA claims or appeals.

How does the VA COLA compare to the FERS COLA?

VA disability compensation receives the same COLA as Social Security — the full CPI-W adjustment each year. The FERS pension COLA is capped at the CPI rate minus 1% in high-inflation years. This means VA compensation often outpaces the FERS pension in high-inflation environments, making a strong VA rating increasingly valuable over a long retirement.

Primary sources

This guide was reviewed against the governing agency guidance and statutes below. Benefit rules and annual dollar amounts can change; use the linked primary source when making an election or filing a claim.

Want to Model Your Combined Income?

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✓ Plan TSP withdrawals around your VA income floor

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Informational only — not legal or financial advice. Verify your situation with your agency benefits officer, and with a VSO or accredited representative for VA claims.