Service-Connected and Non-service-Connected Benefits for Veterans

For soldiers who have done their duty for their country, the Department of Veteran Affairs offers several types of disability benefits. But each veteran receives different types of benefits-- and not all of these benefits are equally valuable. The VA uses eight "priority groups" to determine which benefits you will receive, with "1" being the highest priority and "8" the lowest (as of 2003, no new veterans are enrolled into group 8). The level of priority you are given will depend entirely on your disability (and whether it is service- or non-service-connected), your situation financially, and the level or intensity of your disability.
Because the fact of a disability originating from service-related or non-service-related sources has a generous impact on your veteran disability benefits, its important to know the qualification requirements for both types of benefits.
The Requirements for Non-service-Connected Benefits
Veterans who suffer from complete and permanent disability are eligible for non-service-connected benefits. Eligibility for non-service-connected benefits also depends on several other factors:
• Income- Eligibility is based on a veteran having both a limited income and a net worth that does not provide sufficient maintenance. For more information please see 38 U.S.C.S. §§1521-22.
• Service - To be eligible for non-service-connected pensions, you must have 90 days of active duty and at least one day in a "period of war." For those enrolled in the military after 1980, however, the requirement is simply a full period of active duty. Specifically, a veteran who was enrolled for the fist time after (or on) Sept. 8, 1980 will need to have completed a minimum service period, which should amount to either twenty-four continuous months of active duty or the entire period that individual was called for to active duty. Additionally, the veteran must have active service that includes a total of ninety days during one or more periods of war; ninety or more consecutive days, one day of which is during a period of war; or at least one day of wartime service that results in a discharge for service-connected disability.
• Discharge- To qualify for VA benefits, you must have been discharged from military duty under non-dishonorable circumstances.
The Requirements for Service Connected Benefits
Eligibility for service-connected benefits, differently from non-service-connected benefits, is not dependant on a veteran having done wartime service or meeting a net worth or income level. Instead, you need to be able to prove the source and current status of your disability with:
• Proof of your current disability- As service-connected disability benefits are only available to those with current disabilities, the first things applicants must do is provide a current diagnosis of their disability using up-to-date medical records.
• Substantiation of the disability or injurys occurrance Veterans applying for service-connected benefits must next provide evidence that their current disability was either incurred during or worsened by military service. Veterans should keep in mind, though, that the VA uses the term "in-service" broadly, also including injuries that occurred during leave.
• Evidence of connection between past injury and current disability- This requires that applicants give evidence of a connection between the injury incurred in service and the current disability.

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