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Rated 50 to 90 percent

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If you just landed anywhere in the 50 to 90 percent combined range from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), you crossed several real thresholds at once, not just a bigger monthly check. This band is where a lot of federal benefits click on for the first time. Top-priority VA health care, a home loan funding-fee waiver, a real leg up in federal hiring, and, if you are a military retiree, a fix for a pay offset that may be quietly costing you money every month. This guide walks through each one, tells you exactly which ones need 50 percent or higher specifically versus any compensable rating at all, and gives you the actual form, the office that handles it, and the steps to go get it. Nothing here is invented. Every dollar figure and threshold below links back to the official source so you can double-check it yourself before you act.

A couple of terms come up throughout, so let's define them once. Permanent and Total (P&T) means VA has determined your service-connected disability is both total (rated 100 percent) and unlikely to ever improve. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is the Department of Defense agency that pays military retirees. Individual Unemployability, sometimes written Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability, is a VA determination that pays you at the 100 percent rate because your service-connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful work, even when your schedular rating is lower. Keep those in your back pocket, because they show up more than once below.

One more thing before you dive in. This guide is education, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it has no affiliation with the VA or any government agency. If anything here touches your actual disability rating (filing a new claim, appealing a decision, or arguing you deserve a higher percentage), that is claims work, and a free, VA-accredited Veteran Service Officer handles it at no cost. Never pay anyone for basic claims help. More on that in the disclaimer at the end.

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (50 percent or higher, military retirees only)

What it is: If you retired from the military with 20 or more years of service and you also draw VA disability compensation, federal law normally forces you to waive a dollar of retired pay for every dollar of VA compensation you receive (the "VA Waiver" or "VA offset"). Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay restores that waived retired pay. Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay specifically needs a VA combined rating of 50 percent or higher. There is no path to it below that line, no matter how many years you served. DFAS, Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay

Who qualifies: A regular 20-year-or-more retiree (or a Guard/Reserve retiree age 60 and up drawing retired pay, or a qualifying Chapter 61 medical retiree) with a VA combined disability rating of 50 percent or higher, who is currently having retired pay reduced by the VA Waiver.

Step 1 - Confirm you are even subject to the offset. Log in to myPay at myPay.dfas.mil with your military retiree account and pull your latest Retiree Account Statement. Look for a line labeled "VA Waiver" reducing your gross retired pay. If it is not there, you have nothing to restore. If you cannot log in, call DFAS Retired and Annuitant Pay at 1-800-321-1080.

Step 2 - Check whether Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay is already running. It requires no application if you meet the 50 percent rating and 20-year (or qualifying Chapter 61) rules, because DFAS is supposed to turn it on automatically. Look for a "CRDP" line on that same Retiree Account Statement restoring some or all of the waived amount.

Step 3 - If you meet the criteria and don't see it, call DFAS. Contact DFAS Retired and Annuitant Pay at 1-800-321-1080 (or write to the address on your Retiree Account Statement) and ask them to review your Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay eligibility. Have your VA rating decision letter and retiree account number ready.

Step 4 - If you were medically retired under Chapter 61 with fewer than 20 years, don't assume you're covered. Chapter 61 retirees generally need to reach the point of having 20 or more years of service credit (commonly aligned with age 60 under Reserve retirement rules) before Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay applies. If you're not there yet, Combat-Related Special Compensation (covered below) may be your route instead, since it has no 50 percent floor.

Step 5 - Watch every December. If you ever qualify for both Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay and Combat-Related Special Compensation, DFAS runs an annual Open Season each December where you can switch your election for the following year. Read that letter when it arrives and don't let it sit. DFAS, December 2025 Retiree Newsletter, Open Season FAQs

A companion program, not gated to 50 percent: Combat-Related Special Compensation restores the same kind of waived retired pay, but it is tax-free, requires only a 10 percent or higher VA rating for a combat-related disability, and is never automatic. You apply with DD Form 2860 directly to your branch of service (not the VA, not DFAS). If any of your rated conditions trace to armed conflict, hazardous duty, an instrument of war, or war-simulating training, it is worth filing regardless of whether you also get Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay, since you can only be paid under one program at a time and DFAS or your branch will help you compare. File within 6 years of your VA rating decision to preserve full retroactive back pay.

Army: mail to Army Human Resources Command, ATTN: AHRC-PDP-V, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Fort Knox, KY 40122

Air Force and Space Force: HQ AFPC/DPPDC (CRSC), 550 C Street West, Suite 6, Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4708

Coast Guard: Commander (PSC-PSD-MED), 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Washington, DC 20593-7200

Navy and Marine Corps: check current mailing instructions on the DFAS Combat-Related Special Compensation page before mailing, since branch contact details change

Get the current DD Form 2860 at esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/forms/dd/dd2860.pdf and confirm your branch's current submission address on the DFAS Combat-Related Special Compensation overview before mailing, since these addresses do change.

VA health care Priority Group 1 (50 percent or higher)

What it is: VA sorts every health care enrollee into one of 8 Priority Groups, which determines how quickly you get scheduled and whether you owe copays. A service-connected rating of 50 percent or more puts you automatically in Priority Group 1, the top tier, with the broadest copay exemptions VA offers. VA.gov, Priority groups

Who qualifies: Any veteran with a service-connected disability rated 50 percent or more disabling (also Priority Group 1 if you're rated at the 100 percent rate based on Individual Unemployability, or you're a Medal of Honor recipient). Below 50 percent, you can still enroll, but you land in a different priority group with different copay rules. A 10 percent or higher rating already gets you $0 outpatient copays regardless of priority group, so this isn't an all-or-nothing gate, but 50 percent or higher is what gets you Priority Group 1 itself.

Step 1 - Check whether you're already enrolled. Log in at VA.gov, Manage your VA health benefits to see your current enrollment status and priority group. If you've never enrolled, move to Step 2.

Step 2 - Apply with VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits. Apply online at VA.gov, Apply for VA health care, by phone at 1-877-222-8387, by mail, or in person at your local VA medical facility. Online is fastest.

Step 3 - Have these ready before you start: your Social Security number (and your spouse's or dependents' if applicable), your DD-214 or other discharge paperwork, military service history, any hazard or toxin exposure information, current insurance card information, and prior-year gross household income for you and your spouse.

Step 4 - Submit and wait for confirmation. VA typically sends written notice of your enrollment status within 5 to 7 days. If your rating is 50 percent or higher, confirm the notice shows Priority Group 1. If it doesn't, call the Enrollment Coordinator at your local VA medical facility and flag the discrepancy, since priority group placement is based on VA's system data and this occasionally needs a manual fix.

Step 5 - Understand what Priority Group 1 buys you. As of the copay rates effective January 1, 2026: $0 outpatient primary care and specialty care copays for any veteran with a 10 percent or higher rating (this applies regardless of priority group), and Priority Group 1 veterans specifically pay $0 for prescription medications tied to non-service-connected conditions, where Priority Groups 2 through 8 pay a tiered copay. Preventive care, labs, and X-rays are free for everyone. VA.gov, Copay rates

Step 6 - If you're rated 100 percent Permanent and Total (P&T), or entitled to the 100 percent rate via Individual Unemployability, separately check VA dental Class IV. Full VA dental care (any needed treatment) is available at that level, but VA excludes temporary 100 percent ratings from this specific benefit, so confirm your rating is permanent, not temporary, before assuming you qualify. If instead you have a compensable, rated service-connected dental condition (any rating level, not tied to 50 to 90 percent specifically), you likely qualify for Class I dental care for that condition. Either way, apply through the same VA.gov health care application and ask your VA dental clinic which class applies to you.

VA home loan funding-fee waiver (any compensable rating, not specific to 50 to 90 percent)

What it is: The VA funding fee is a one-time percentage-of-loan-amount charge on most VA-backed home loans, meant to offset the cost of a program that requires no down payment and no private mortgage insurance. Any veteran receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability is exempt from paying it, $0 funding fee. This waiver is tied to receiving compensable VA compensation at all, not to hitting 50 percent. Since compensation generally starts at the 10 percent rating level, in practice the exemption functions starting around 10 percent, and it absolutely still applies to you at 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90 percent. VA.gov, Funding fee and closing costs

Who qualifies for the waiver: You're receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability (any compensable rating), or you're eligible for it but instead draw retirement or active-duty pay, or you're a surviving spouse receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, or you have a pre-discharge proposed or memorandum rating showing entitlement before the loan closes, or you're an active-duty member with a documented Purple Heart before closing.

Step 1 - Get your Certificate of Eligibility before you shop for a lender. Apply using VA Form 26-1880, Request for a Certificate of Eligibility. Apply online through VA.gov, Request a Certificate of Eligibility (fastest, often issued immediately if VA's system has your data), or have any VA-approved lender pull it for you, or mail the paper form to the address listed on VA.gov's Certificate of Eligibility page (mail turnaround runs 4 to 6 weeks).

Step 2 - Confirm your Certificate of Eligibility shows funding-fee-exempt status. The certificate should reflect your exemption directly (VA folded this into the certificate back in 2011, so most veterans no longer need a separate form for this). Bring the certificate to every lender you shop, not just the one you pick.

Step 3 - Watch your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure. Before you sign anything, check that the funding fee line shows $0. Lenders pull VA eligibility data automatically, but errors happen, so this is your last checkpoint before closing.

Step 4 - If you already paid the fee and later got a new or increased rating, check for a refund. If your compensation's effective date is retroactive to before your closing date, you may be owed the fee back. Contact your loan servicer or your VA Regional Loan Center and provide your VA award letter (showing the effective date) plus your closing disclosure showing the fee paid. Find your regional loan center contact at VA.gov, Home loans and housing-related assistance. A proposed or memorandum rating issued after closing does not qualify for a refund. Only an effective date before your closing date counts.

Step 5 - If you don't yet have a Certificate of Eligibility and want to buy soon, start Step 1 now. It's a documentation step, not a waiting game, and having it in hand before you're under contract avoids a last-minute scramble.

Federal civil-service hiring preference (10-point, the CP and CPS tiers, at 10 percent and 30 percent or higher specifically)

What it is: In competitive federal government hiring (not private-sector jobs), veterans with a service-connected disability get extra points added to their examination or rating score, administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and applied through USAJOBS. At your 50 to 90 percent rating, you automatically qualify for the strongest tier. OPM, What is 10-point preference and who is eligible

Who qualifies (by tier): The 10-point compensable disability tier (CP) covers a compensable rating of 10 percent up to 30 percent. The 10-point compensable disability tier of 30 percent or more (CPS) adds extra procedural protections on top of the points. That 30-percent-or-more tier is the one you're in anywhere from 50 percent to 90 percent.

Step 1 - Get proof of your rating: your VA disability rating decision letter or your "Benefit summary and service verification letter," downloadable at VA.gov, Download your VA benefit letters. Sign in, and when generating the letter, check the boxes for your combined rating and service-connected status.

Step 2 - Fill out Standard Form 15 (SF-15), Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference. Download it directly at OPM, SF-15. This form, plus your supporting documents, is what agencies use to adjudicate your preference claim.

Step 3 - Assemble your documentation packet: your DD-214 (showing character of service), the completed Standard Form 15, and your VA rating letter showing your percentage of disability.

Step 4 - Submit the packet with each individual federal job application, not to OPM directly. Upload it as part of your application through USAJOBS for each position you apply to. Preference is claimed per application, not registered once centrally.

Step 5 - Know what the 30-percent-or-more tier gets you beyond points. At 30 percent or higher (your tier), if an agency wants to pass over you for someone without preference, or to medically disqualify you, it must notify OPM and you, and you get 15 days to respond to OPM before it rules. This is a real procedural backstop specific to the 30-percent-or-more tier, not just points on a test.

Step 6 - Also look into the Schedule A "30 Percent or More Disabled" appointing authority. This is a separate, non-competitive hiring path that lets a federal hiring manager appoint you directly, skipping the standard USAJOBS competitive process, at any grade you're qualified for. It requires a VA letter documenting your 30-percent-or-higher compensable rating (which you already have), but you still have to find and apply to an eligible position yourself. It removes competition, it doesn't place you in a job. Read more at OPM, Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans.

Veteran Readiness and Employment, Chapter 31 (20 percent with an employment handicap up through 90 percent, if it fits your situation)

What it is: Veteran Readiness and Employment, run by the VA, helps veterans with service-connected disabilities prepare for, find, and keep suitable work, or live more independently if working isn't realistic right now. It pays a monthly living-expense stipend plus tuition, fees, and books while you work a personalized plan with a VA Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. You don't need 50 percent or higher specifically for this one. A 20 percent rating with an "employment handicap" finding (or 10 percent with a more serious finding) already gets you in the door, and everyone from 50 percent to 90 percent clears that bar on rating alone. VA.gov, Veteran Readiness and Employment overview

Who qualifies: A VA service-connected disability rating of at least 10 percent (with a "serious employment handicap" finding) or 20 percent or more (with a standard "employment handicap" finding), an other-than-dishonorable discharge, and, if you were discharged before January 1, 2013, application within a 12-year window from discharge or first rating notice (no time limit if discharged on or after January 1, 2013).

Step 1 - Apply with VA Form 28-1900, Application for Veteran Readiness and Employment. Apply online at VA.gov, Apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment, which is faster than paper.

Step 2 - If mailing instead, send the completed form to: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran Readiness and Employment Intake Center, P.O. Box 5210, Janesville, WI 53547-5210.

Step 3 - Or apply in person at any VA regional office, where a VA employee can walk you through it, or work with a free accredited Veteran Service Officer who can help you apply (they cannot decide your entitlement, but they can help you file cleanly).

Step 4 - Attend your scheduled meeting with a VA Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. This is where VA determines whether you have an "employment handicap" and are entitled to actually use the program. Your rating gets you eligible to apply, but the counselor's finding is what grants entitlement.

Step 5 - Before locking in your monthly stipend rate, compare it against the Post-9/11 GI Bill housing-allowance election. If you're also eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you can elect to be paid the GI Bill's monthly housing-allowance rate instead of the standard Veteran Readiness and Employment subsistence rate. Ask your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor which is higher for your ZIP code and dependent count before defaulting to either one. This doesn't cost you GI Bill months either way. Compare rate tables at Benefits.va.gov, Veteran Readiness and Employment Subsistence Allowance Rates.

Step 6 - Know your time and dollar limits. Veteran Readiness and Employment runs up to 48 months of services (extensions possible in certain circumstances), separate from and not drawing down your GI Bill entitlement.

Special Monthly Compensation (fact-triggered, not tied to a specific percentage band)

What it is: Special Monthly Compensation is an additional tax-free payment layered on top of standard VA compensation for veterans with specific severe losses, such as loss of use of a limb, blindness, being housebound, or needing daily aid and attendance, where the standard 0 to 100 percent schedule alone doesn't capture the real severity. Special Monthly Compensation eligibility turns on the specific medical fact, not your percentage rating, which means a veteran at any point in the 50 to 90 percent band, including alongside other ratings, could already qualify for a Special Monthly Compensation add-on without realizing it. VA.gov, Special Monthly Compensation rates

Who qualifies: It depends on the specific loss or need, not a percentage threshold. One relevant example at this band is the housebound rate (Special Monthly Compensation category S), which applies if you have one disability rated 100 percent plus a separate additional disability (or disabilities) rated 60 percent or more, or if you're permanently housebound due to a service-connected disability. That is a combination some veterans in the 50 to 90 percent combined-rating range can reach depending on how their individual conditions are rated. Remember, VA combines ratings using its own table, not simple addition, so two ratings can combine into a housebound-qualifying pattern even when the combined percentage itself looks lower than 100 percent.

Step 1 - Pull your full VA rating decision letter and look at your individual disability ratings, not just your combined percentage. Download it at VA.gov, Download your VA benefit letters. Special Monthly Compensation triggers are about the specific conditions on file (loss of use of a hand or foot, need for aid and attendance, deafness in both ears, and similar), so review each rated condition individually.

Step 2 - Compare your conditions against the Special Monthly Compensation categories listed at VA.gov, Special Monthly Compensation rates. If anything looks like it might match (loss of use of an extremity, loss of a paired organ, regular need for aid and attendance, housebound status), that's worth raising.

Step 3 - If you think you may already qualify but it's not showing on your award, this specific step is a claims matter, because determining whether your medical facts meet a Special Monthly Compensation trigger is adjudicative, not something you self-certify with a form. Route it to a free accredited Veteran Service Officer, found through VA.gov's accredited representative search. They can review your file and, if warranted, help you file for Special Monthly Compensation recognition at no cost. Do not pay anyone for this.

Step 4 - If VA later adds Special Monthly Compensation to your award, confirm it shows up correctly on your compensation statement at VA.gov under your disability compensation records, and watch for a retroactive or back-pay adjustment if the underlying medical fact existed before the Special Monthly Compensation award date.

Print-and-take checklist

☐ Pull your DFAS Retiree Account Statement at myPay.dfas.mil and check for a "VA Waiver" line (military retirees only)

☐ If 20 or more years and rated 50 percent or higher, confirm Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay is already posted on that statement; call DFAS at 1-800-321-1080 if it's missing

☐ If any condition is combat-related, gather your rating decision, DD-214, and combat evidence, then file DD Form 2860 with your branch (not VA, not DFAS) within 6 years of your rating decision

☐ Log in to VA.gov and check your VA health care enrollment status and priority group

☐ If not enrolled, apply with VA Form 10-10EZ at va.gov/health-care/apply-for-health-care-form-10-10ez

☐ Confirm your enrollment notice shows Priority Group 1; call your local VA Enrollment Coordinator if it doesn't

☐ If rated 100 percent Permanent and Total (P&T), or at the 100 percent rate via Individual Unemployability, ask your VA dental clinic about Class IV dental eligibility; if you have a compensable dental condition, ask about Class I

☐ Request your VA home loan Certificate of Eligibility with VA Form 26-1880 at va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/request-coe-form-26-1880

☐ Confirm the Certificate of Eligibility shows funding-fee-exempt status before you shop lenders

☐ Check every Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure for a $0 funding fee line before signing

☐ If you already paid a funding fee and got a later rating with an earlier effective date, call your servicer or VA Regional Loan Center about a refund

☐ Download your VA rating letter (with the combined-rating box checked) at va.gov/records/download-va-letters

☐ Fill out Standard Form 15 (SF-15) at opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf15.pdf and attach it, your DD-214, and your rating letter to every individual USAJOBS application

☐ Look into the Schedule A "30 Percent or More Disabled" non-competitive federal hiring path

☐ If pursuing employment support, apply for Veteran Readiness and Employment with VA Form 28-1900 at va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/apply-vre-form-28-1900

☐ Before locking in a Veteran Readiness and Employment subsistence rate, ask your Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor to compare it against the Post-9/11 GI Bill housing-allowance election

☐ Review your individual disability ratings (not just your combined percentage) against the Special Monthly Compensation categories at va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-monthly-compensation-rates

☐ If any Special Monthly Compensation trigger looks like it might apply, take your file to a free accredited Veteran Service Officer for review

☐ If you live in a state with a property-tax or other state-run veteran benefit, check Benefits by State for your state's specific rules

This is education, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and this site has no affiliation with the VA or any other government agency. Every program above is free to apply for directly through the official federal agency shown, and no legitimate benefit here ever requires paying a fee. If anything in this guide touches your actual disability rating (filing a new claim, appealing a decision, or arguing for a higher percentage), that is claims work, and a free, VA-accredited Veteran Service Officer handles it at no cost (find one at VA.gov). Never pay anyone, ever, for basic claims preparation or filing help; charging an upfront fee for that is against federal law. Be alert to "benefits planners," pension-poaching schemes, and annuity or insurance salespeople who use free seminars about VA benefits as a lead-in to sell you an annuity, trust, or long-term-care insurance product, sometimes falsely implying VA affiliation or claiming a purchase is required to unlock a benefit. No legitimate program described in this guide ever requires you to buy a financial product, sign over a share of your benefit stream, or pay a "processing fee." If someone approaches you with an offer to buy out your future VA payments for a lump sum today, or pressures you to restructure your finances around a benefit application, treat it as a red flag and report it to the VA Office of Inspector General hotline (https://www.va.gov/oig/hotline).

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