Life in the military isn’t a job; it’s a vocation. To serve your country is just about the proudest thing you can do. Sadly, to do this you are often sent to conflict zones and engage in combat with the enemy. It’s inevitable in the field of battle there are going to be casualties, and many military personnel find themselves being honourably discharged due to the injuries they received while serving the flag. VA unemployability is at an all-time high but the good news is that there are now benefits in place to help VAs that weren’t available to vets in the past. These can greatly help with the transition back into everyday life by taking away the stress that comes from financial worries.

Individual Unemployability

IU, or individual unemployability, is part of the VA program which lets them pay certain veterans disability compensation. The severity of injuries is on a sliding scale whereas the most serious, loss of limb or eyesight for example, qualify for the highest level of compensation. The full eligibility requirements are listed below as several smaller injuries can be added together to hit the qualifying mark.

Eligibility

In order to qualify for this benefit you must be able to prove that, due to the disabilities which occurred during your service, you are unable to maintain gainful employment. If you do odd jobs for the neighbors etc this does not count, as it’s not a regular paycheck. You must have one or more disabilities rated as being at least 60% or 2 or more service-related disabilities which have a rating of at least 40%. The third criteria is having multiple disabilities which, when added together, come to 70% or more.

How To Prove Individual Unemployability

In order to claim your individual unemployability compensation, you are best off having all the required documentation in advance in order to get your claim processed as quickly as possible. The following are acceptable as proof;

1. A copy of your letter from the VA which states the rating of your disability/ies. If you do not have a copy of the actual letter you can tell them you don’t have it and ask them to check their records. This may take a bit of time so allow for this when you don’t hear back as quickly as you had hoped.
   
2. Any official medical diagnoses or letters from your doctors will help to speed up your decision
   
3. Written notification listing your disability or disabilities and stating why these are preventing you from performing either the mental or physical tasks, or both, which are needed to gain or sustain employment. This can be written on your behalf using your own words if you are not able to do it yourself.

How to Apply

The quickest way to apply is to go online to the Vets.gov website. If this isn’t suitable you can contact an accredited VA agent or representative or if you live near to a VA regional office you can go along and get the assistance of a VA employee.