Incomes Of Male Veterans Receiving Disability Benefits: Statistics

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a variety of benefits for veterans. When a veteran is considered disabled while on active duty,  they can receive compensation if they meet the VA’s strict rules and requirements.

In 2022, the VA spent $125 billion on disability payments for 5.3 million beneficiaries. Those payments are based on VA disability ratings that reflect the severity of veterans’ service-connected conditions. The amount they are paid is meant to compensate veterans for the amount of money they are losing due to their medical conditions.

The Congressional Budget Office created a report that shows various statistics about disability recipients. Their earnings, personal income, and household income of veterans who have a disability rating was compared to veterans who do not have one. The focus was on working-age men between the ages of 22 and 54. Here’s a look at some of those statistics.

Annual Earnings

Men who received VA disability compensation had average annual earnings of $52,200, which is 16% less than the earnings of veterans without a disability rating. Median earnings of veterans with a rating were also less by 12 percent. Statistics show that veterans with a rating of 10-20% earned about the same as similar veterans with no rating. Veterans with a rating of 30- 60% earned slightly less, while veterans with a rating of 70% or higher earned much less.

Annual earnings were substantially lower for veterans with a high disability rating due to lower involvement in the labor force. For veterans who were not in the labor force, it is unclear the reasoning, whether poor health meant that they could not work or whether they left the workforce for other reasons.

The Congressional Budget Office also looked at the earnings of male veterans who were potential workers. This refers to veterans who are not students and do not have any disabilities.

Veterans in that group had the same earnings patterns as all working age veterans. However, there were smaller differences in earnings between those with and without a VA disability.

Interestingly, being disabled may have some benefits. According to statistics, the average personal income (earnings plus other income) of male veterans who received VA disability compensation was 10% higher than that of veterans who did not. This is mainly because VA disability payments were typically greater than any differences in earnings. The annual household income of all veterans was more than $100,000. This was true regardless of disability.

Learn More About Veterans Benefits

It’s interesting to see the incomes of veterans with disabilities versus those who do not have a disability. Hopefully this information can be used to improve programs for veterans.

Need help with claims issues? Get the legal help you need from a White Plains veterans disability benefits lawyer from The Law Office of Michael Lawrence Varon. We have decades of experience handling these types of claims. Fill out the online form or call 914-294-2145 to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

cbo.gov/publication/59380