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The Department of Veterans Affairs imposed a 2.5 percent increase in VA disability benefits for 2025. Veterans who receive monthly disability payments should understand how this increase affects their benefits.   Understanding COLA and How It Matters The government imposes cost-of-living adjustments to many benefits it pays to citizens. A cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) seeks to adjust…

Veterans who have disabilities caused by injuries or illnesses resulting from their military service may qualify for disability benefit payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs, with those payments based on a veteran’s disability rating. However, veterans who have two or more qualifying conditions will receive a combined rating, which may increase their benefit payments…

The Trump Administration recently announced plans to reorganize the Department of Veterans Affairs, which may include eliminating over 80,000 jobs. The VA’s chief of staff advised department officials that the administration plans to return the VA to its 2019 staffing levels, which would mean terminating tens of thousands of employees hired during the previous presidential…

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides financial benefits to former servicemembers who developed a medical condition or disability due to qualifying military service. However, benefit payments typically increase annually to ensure that benefit rates keep up with inflation. By law, the VA must match the cost-of-living adjustments made to Social Security benefits for VA disability…

The VA has announced an interim final rule (IFR) to establish presumptive service connection for acute and chronic leukemias, multiple myelomas, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and myelofibrosis. This change recognizes the link between these serious health conditions and exposure to Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) – fine particles often present in the air during deployments to regions…

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) handling of claims related to presumptive disabilities under the PACT Act. The report highlights significant processing errors in denied claims from April to September 2023. The errors included unwarranted medical examinations, improper denial of service…

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) processing of reopened Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) claims under the PACT Act. The report revealed significant processing errors, including incorrect effective dates and failures to notify survivors of potential retroactive payments. Of the reviewed claims, approximately 31% were processed incorrectly, causing…

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that establishes presumptive service connection for bladder, ureter, and related genitourinary (GU) cancers linked to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). This critical update expands benefits for Gulf War veterans and those who served in specific regions where exposure to toxic airborne…