Reference
Glossary
The acronyms that carry the most weight, defined once. Every one of these appears somewhere in the checklist attached to a date, a form, or a window that closes — the definition lives here so the chapter does not have to stop and give it.
27 terms12 lettersSorted A–Z. Every entry has its own link.
3 terms
- BDDBenefits Delivery at Discharge
- A VA program that lets you file a disability claim between 180 and 90 days before separation, so a decision can arrive close to your discharge date.
- Bilateral factor
- An extra 10% added under 38 CFR 4.26 when disabilities affect both arms, both legs, or paired skeletal muscles. It is applied to the paired subtotal before combining with anything else, and before rounding.
- BRSBlended Retirement System
- The retirement system that is mandatory for members with a DIEMS date on or after 1 January 2018. It pays a 2.0% per year multiplier and adds TSP automatic and matching contributions plus continuation pay.
6 terms
- C&P ExamCompensation and Pension Examination
- The examination VA schedules to evaluate a claimed condition. VA rates your condition on a typical bad day, so describe your worst typical day rather than the day you happen to be having. Never exaggerate — inconsistency destroys claims.
- COLACost-of-Living Adjustment
- The annual adjustment applied to retired pay. Under 10 U.S.C. 1401a it follows the CPI-W, not the CPI-U quoted in the news and not the CPI-E. The same adjustment carries through to the SBP annuity.
- Combined rating
- Your overall VA percentage. It is not the sum of your individual ratings. Under 38 CFR 4.25 each rating applies to the ability that remains after the previous one, so 50, 30 and 20 combine to 70, not 100.
- CPI-WConsumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
- The index that governs the military retired pay cost-of-living adjustment. It is a different index from the CPI-U, which most inflation reporting uses, and from the experimental CPI-E. Using the wrong one compounds across a long projection.
- CRDPConcurrent Retirement and Disability Pay
- Restores retired pay that was waived because of VA compensation, for 20-year retirees with a VA rating of 50% or more. It is automatic and it is taxable. You cannot receive it at the same time as CRSC.
- CRSCCombat-Related Special Compensation
- Restores waived retired pay attributable to combat-related conditions at a rating of 10% or more. It requires an application to your service, and it is not taxable. A smaller CRSC payment can beat a larger CRDP payment after tax.
3 terms
- DBQDisability Benefits Questionnaire
- The structured form the VA reads rating criteria from. Blank forms are published on VA.gov, and a private treating provider can complete one. It records severity, not whether the condition is connected to service.
- DICDependency and Indemnity Compensation
- A monthly VA payment to the survivor of a member whose death was service connected, including some cases of total disability before death. Its interaction with the SBP annuity has changed under recent legislation, so confirm the current rule with DFAS.
- DIEMSDate of Initial Entry to Military Service
- The date that determines which retirement system applies to you. It is fixed at first entry and cannot be changed by later breaks in service.
1 term
- Effective date
- The date from which a VA award is paid. Back pay runs from it, so it is usually worth more than the rating percentage argument people concentrate on. An Intent to File sets it early, and filing a decision review within one year preserves it.
1 term
- FDCFully Developed Claim
- VA's faster review lane, used when you submit all your evidence with the claim rather than asking VA to gather it. Filed on VA Form 21-526EZ.
2 terms
- High-3
- The average of the highest 36 months of basic pay, used to compute retired pay. Only basic pay counts. Allowances such as BAH and BAS do not.
- HLRHigher-Level Review
- An appeal lane where a more senior reviewer looks at the same evidence with fresh eyes. No new evidence is allowed. Useful when the error was in how the evidence was read rather than in what was submitted.
2 terms
- Intent to File
- VA Form 21-0966. It tells the VA a claim is coming and holds your effective date for up to a year while you gather evidence. It commits you to nothing, and it is the cheapest action in the whole VA process.
- IRMAAIncome-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount
- A surcharge on Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for higher incomes, based on your tax return from two years earlier. It is a cliff rather than a slope, so one dollar over a threshold costs the whole tier.
1 term
- Nexus letter
- A clinician's written opinion that a condition is at least as likely as not related to service, or to an already service-connected condition. It supplies the link that a DBQ does not, and it is what most secondary claims turn on.
1 term
- PEBDPay Entry Base Date
- The date from which time in service is counted for pay and retirement. It is the master clock for longevity pay steps and most time-in-service gates, and it is not always the same as the date you shipped.
3 terms
- SBPSurvivor Benefit Plan
- An annuity that continues a portion of retired pay to a survivor after the retiree's death. Retired pay itself stops at death; SBP is the mechanism that continues an income stream.
- Secondary condition
- A condition caused or made worse by an already service-connected one. It is claimable in its own right. Commonly missed, because people assume only the original injury counts.
- Supplemental Claim
- An appeal lane where you add new and relevant evidence to a decided claim. It reverses many decisions. File within one year to keep the original effective date.
2 terms
- TDIUTotal Disability based on Individual Unemployability
- Payment at the 100% rate without a 100% schedular rating, when service-connected conditions prevent substantially gainful employment. Under 38 CFR 4.16(a) the schedular threshold is one condition at 60%, or one at 40% with a combined 70%.
- TFLTRICARE For Life
- TRICARE coverage from age 65. It is automatic once you hold Medicare Part A and Part B, and there is no separate enrollment fee — your Part B premium is the cost. Without Part B, TRICARE ends.
2 terms
- VA offset
- Retired pay and VA compensation do not simply add together. VA compensation is generally offset against retired pay unless CRDP or CRSC applies. People routinely overestimate retirement income by assuming the two stack.
- VA waiver
- The portion of retired pay you give up in order to receive VA compensation for the same service. It is why retired pay and VA compensation are an offset rather than a sum. CRDP and CRSC are the two programs that give it back.