Social Security Administration decisions and the Veteran Association decisions are separate disability claims. It is important to understand Social Security and the VA have different standards and guidelines for approving disability claims. The VA provides percentages for disability ratings and SSA is you are either disabled or not disabled. One of the major differences between SSA and VA disability is that a person does not need to be totally disabled to be eligible for VA benefits. Many people receive different disability ratings through the VA and veterans are eligible to receive compensation for ratings even as low as 0% to 10%. SSA on the other hand does not compensate disability claims based on “partial” loss of employment. You are either totally disabled or not disabled under the program.
Depending on circumstances, VA disability percentages can help when filing a Social Security disability claim. If a person has 70% or higher benefits through the VA, changes of being approved are that much greater through Social Security. If you have a disability rating through the VA, it is helpful to remember the VA is a federal agency (along with SSA) which essentially found that either you are unable to work or at a level where full time work is difficult. Social Security considers all impairments, whether service connected or not. Because the VA and SSA have similarities of un-employability and what is means to be disabled, VA ratings are helpful.
The regulations at 20 CFR 404.1504 and 416.904 provide that:
A decision by any nongovernmental agency or any other governmental agency about whether you are disabled or blind is based on its rules and is not our decision about whether you are disabled or blind. We must make a disability or blindness determination based on social security law. Therefore, a determination made by another agency [e.g., Workers’ Compensation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or an insurance company] that you are disabled or blind is not binding on us.
In addition, it is stated by SSA these decisions, and the evidence used to make these decisions, may provide insight into the individual’s mental and physical impairment(s) and show the degree of disability determined by these agencies based on their rules. We will evaluate the opinion evidence from medical sources, as well as non-medical sources who have had contact with the individual in their professional capacity, used by other agencies, that are in the case record.
