How Is a VA Disability Claim Different From SSDI or SSI?

If you're a veteran, you may be juggling a VA claim alongside Social Security, and it helps to understand how they're actually different, even though both involve disability.

Here are the key differences to know:

• VA claims are based on a rating system, from 0% to 100%, reflecting how much your service-connected condition affects your life. Social Security works more like an all-or-nothing decision.
• You may be asked to attend a C&P exam (Compensation and Pension exam), similar to Social Security's consultative exam.
• VA claims specifically require your condition to be connected to your military service, even if it wasn't diagnosed until years later.
• You can often qualify for both VA disability and SSDI or SSI at the same time, since they're separate systems that don't cancel each other out.

One more thing worth knowing: a VA disability rating can sometimes actually help support a Social Security claim, because it shows an official government agency has already documented how serious your condition is.

If you're navigating both systems at once, working with an attorney who understands both can help you use each one to strengthen the other.