Rated 50 to 90 Percent? What You Just Unlocked

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%) and unlikely to ever improve. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is the Department of Defense agency that pays military retirees. Individual Unemployability (IU), sometimes written Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU), is a VA determination that pays you at the 100% rate because your service-connected conditions keep you from holding substantially gainful work, even if your schedular rating is lower. Keep those three in your back pocket; they show up more than once below.

Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) — 50% 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"). CRDP restores that waived retired pay. This one specifically needs a VA combined rating of 50% or higher — there is no path to CRDP 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+ drawing retired pay, or a qualifying Chapter 61 medical retiree) with a VA combined disability rating of 50% 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 (RAS). 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 & Annuitant Pay at 1-800-321-1080.
Step 2 — Check whether CRDP is already running. CRDP requires no application if you meet the 50%+ rating and 20-year (or qualifying Chapter 61) rules — DFAS is supposed to turn it on automatically. Look for a "CRDP" line on the same RAS 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 & Annuitant Pay, 1-800-321-1080 (or write to the address on your RAS) and ask them to review your CRDP 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. By statute, CRDP never applies to Chapter 61 retirees with less than 20 years of creditable service, with one exception: Guard/Reserve medical retirees who have 20 qualifying (points-based) years become eligible when they reach their reserve retirement age (usually 60). If that's not you, Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) below may be your route instead — it has no 50% floor. 10 U.S.C. 1414(b)
Step 5 — Watch every January. If you ever qualify for both CRDP and CRSC, DFAS runs an annual Open Season each January (the 2026 window was January 1-31) where you can switch your election for the coming year. The election letter usually lands in your mailbox around the turn of the year. Read it when it arrives; don't let it sit. DFAS — December 2025 Retiree Newsletter, CRDP/CRSC Open Season FAQs

A companion program, not gated to 50%: Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) restores the same kind of waived retired pay, but it's tax-free, requires only a 10% 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, war-simulating training, or a Purple Heart injury, it's worth filing regardless of whether you also get CRDP, since you can only be paid under one program at a time and DFAS/your branch will help you compare. One big recent change: you may still see a "6-year deadline" for CRSC back pay on older pages (including, as of this writing, VA's own CRSC page). That cap is gone. In June 2025 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Soto v. United States that the 6-year limit never complied with the CRSC law, and DoD guidance issued May 14, 2026 now directs each branch to pay retroactive CRSC back to the effective date the statute itself sets (generally the latest of your retirement date, the effective date of the VA rating for the combat-related condition, or the program's start: June 1, 2003, or January 2008 for Chapter 61 medical retirees). If a past CRSC award of yours was cut off at 6 years, DoD says the branches are reviewing those records and issuing corrected decisions on their own. Watch your DFAS statements over the coming months, and if nothing appears, write your branch's CRSC board and ask for a Soto review (a free, VA-accredited VSO can help at no cost; never pay anyone for this). Filing sooner is still smart, since you can't be paid for months you haven't applied for, but a late application no longer forfeits back pay.

Army: mail to Department of the Army, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, ATTN: AHRC-PDP-C (CRSC), 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Dept. 480, Fort Knox, KY 40122-5408, or email your claim packet to [email protected]
Air Force/Space Force: United States Air Force, Disability Division (CRSC), HQ AFPC/DPPDC, 550 C Street West, Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4708 (Air Force members can also file online through the myFSS portal)
Coast Guard: Commander (PSC-PSD-MED), Personnel Service Center, Attn: CRSC, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Washington, DC 20593-7200, or email [email protected]
Navy/Marine Corps: Secretary of the Navy, Council of Review Boards, Attn: Combat Related Special Compensation Branch, 720 Kennon Street SE, Suite 309, Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5023, or email [email protected]
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 CRSC overview before mailing, since these addresses do change.

VA health care Priority Group 1 — 50% or higher

What it is: VA sorts every health care enrollee into one of 8 Priority Groups, which affects whether (and how much) you owe in copays. A service-connected rating of 50% 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% or more disabling (also Priority Group 1 if you're rated Individual Unemployable, or you're a Medal of Honor recipient). Below 50%, you can still enroll, but you land in a different priority group with different copay rules — a 10%+ rating already gets you $0 outpatient copays regardless of priority group, so this isn't an all-or-nothing gate, but 50%+ 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/dependents' if applicable), your DD-214 or other discharge paperwork, military service history, any hazard/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 says you should hear back about your application in less than a week; if more than a week passes, don't submit a second application, call 1-877-222-8387 and ask them to check your status. If your rating is 50%+, 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 — 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%+ 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 2-8 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% for service-connected conditions with a standing (non-temporary) rating, or you're paid at the 100% rate through IU, separately check VA dental Class IV. Full VA dental care (any needed treatment) is available at that level — VA excludes temporary 100% ratings (like a post-surgery convalescence rating) from this specific benefit, but a formal Permanent-and-Total designation is not required. If instead you have a compensable, rated service-connected dental condition (any rating level, not tied to 50-90% specifically), you likely qualify for Class I dental care, which covers any needed dental care on an ongoing basis, not just the rated tooth or condition. Either way, apply through the same VA.gov health care application and ask your VA dental clinic which class applies to you. VA.gov — Dental care

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

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%. Since compensation generally starts at the 10% rating level, in practice the exemption functions starting around 10%, 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 (DIC), or you have a pre-discharge proposed/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 (COE) 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 COE (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 regional loan center address printed on the form itself (mail takes longer than the online or lender routes, which often process in minutes to a few business days).
Step 2 — Confirm your COE shows funding-fee-exempt status. The COE should reflect your exemption directly (VA folded this into the COE back in 2011, so most veterans no longer need a separate form for this). Bring the COE 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 — 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/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 COE 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, "CP"/"CPS" tiers) — 10% and 30%+ 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/rating score, administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and applied through USAJOBS. At your 50-90% rating, you automatically qualify for the strongest tier. OPM — What is 10-point preference and who is eligible

Who qualifies (by tier) (full definitions in the OPM Vet Guide):

CP — 10-point preference: compensable rating of at least 10% but less than 30%
CPS — 10-point preference plus extra procedural protections: compensable rating of 30% or more — this is the tier you're in anywhere from 50% to 90%

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. The SF-15's instructions ask for VA documentation dated within the last 12 months, so pull a fresh letter rather than reusing an old one.
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 SF-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 CPS gets you beyond points. At 30%+ (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; you get 15 days to respond to OPM before it rules. This is a real procedural backstop specific to the 30%+ CPS tier, not just points on a test.
Step 6 — Also look into the "30 Percent or More Disabled Veteran" hiring 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. The initial appointment is time-limited (a temporary appointment of more than 60 days, or a term appointment), but the agency can convert you to permanent status at any time during it. It requires a VA letter documenting your 30%+ 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. (This is different from the "Schedule A" authority for people with disabilities, which is its own separate path.) Read more at OPM — Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans.

Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E, Chapter 31) — 20% (with an employment handicap) up through 90%, if it fits your situation

What it is: VR&E, 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 (VRC). You don't need 50%+ specifically for this one — a 20% rating with an "employment handicap" finding (or 10% with a more serious finding) already gets you in the door, and everyone from 50% to 90% clears that bar on rating alone. VA.gov — VR&E overview

Who qualifies: A VA service-connected disability rating of at least 10% (with a "serious employment handicap" finding) or 20% or more (with a standard "employment handicap" finding), an other-than-dishonorable discharge, and — if you were discharged before January 1, 2013 — 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 VR&E, which is faster than paper.
Step 2 — If mailing instead, send the completed form to: Department of Veterans Affairs, Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) 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 VSO 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 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC). 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 VRC's finding is what grants entitlement.
Step 5 — Before locking in your monthly stipend rate, compare it against the Post-9/11 GI Bill BAH-equivalent election. If you're also eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you can elect to be paid the GI Bill's housing-allowance rate instead of VR&E's standard subsistence rate — ask your VRC 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 — VR&E Subsistence Allowance Rates.
Step 6 — Know your time and dollar limits. VR&E runs up to 48 months of services (extensions possible in certain circumstances). Using VR&E does not draw down your GI Bill entitlement — but the reverse is not true: GI Bill months you've already used DO count against VR&E's 48, so if you're weighing which benefit to use first, raise it with your VRC before you start.

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

What it is: SMC is an additional tax-free payment layered on top of standard VA compensation for veterans with specific severe losses — loss of use of a limb, blindness, being housebound, or needing daily aid and attendance — where the standard 0-100% schedule alone doesn't capture the real severity. SMC eligibility mostly turns on the specific medical fact, not your percentage rating (the housebound level, SMC-S, is the one exception that instead turns on a specific pattern in how your individual conditions are rated), which means a veteran at any point in the 50-90% band, including alongside other ratings, could already qualify for an SMC add-on without realizing it. VA.gov — Special Monthly Compensation rates

Who qualifies: Depends on the specific loss or need, not a percentage threshold. One relevant example at this band: SMC-S ("housebound") requires one service-connected disability rated as total (100%), PLUS one of two things: separate, additional service-connected disability or disabilities independently ratable at 60% or more, or being permanently housebound in fact because of service-connected disability. A veteran whose combined rating sits in the 50-90% band can still reach this in one specific way: if VA grants you Individual Unemployability (TDIU) based on one single disability, that TDIU counts as the "rated as total" disability (a rule from the court case Bradley v. Peake), and separate additional conditions independently ratable at 60% or more then complete the SMC-S pattern. Simply adding your ratings together never gets you there; the "total" element has to come from a single 100%-rated disability or single-disability TDIU, not from your combined percentage. Whether your file fits this pattern is exactly the kind of question a free accredited VSO can screen.

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. SMC 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 SMC 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 with a VSO.
Step 3 — If you think you may already qualify but it's not showing on your award, this is a claims matter — route it to a free accredited VSO, found through VA.gov's accredited representative search. They can review your file and, if warranted, help you file for SMC recognition at no cost. This step is the one exception in this guide where the next move is "talk to a VSO," because determining whether your medical facts meet an SMC trigger is adjudicative, not something you self-certify with a form.
Step 4 — If VA later adds SMC to your award, confirm it shows up correctly on your compensation statement at VA.gov — View your VA payment history under your disability compensation records, and watch for a retroactive/back-pay adjustment if the underlying medical fact existed before the SMC 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+ years and 50%+ rated, confirm CRDP 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) — the old 6-year back-pay cap was struck down in June 2025 (Soto v. United States); if a past CRSC award of yours was capped at 6 years, watch your DFAS statements for an automatic correction
☐ 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 you hold a standing (non-temporary) 100% rating or are paid at the 100% rate through IU, 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 COE shows funding-fee-exempt status before you shop lenders
☐ Check every Loan Estimate/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 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 "30 Percent or More Disabled Veteran" non-competitive federal hiring path
☐ If pursuing employment support, apply for VR&E with VA Form 28-1900 at va.gov/careers-employment/vocational-rehabilitation/apply-vre-form-28-1900
☐ Before locking in a VR&E subsistence rate, ask your VRC to compare it against the Post-9/11 GI Bill BAH-equivalent election
☐ Review your individual disability ratings (not just your combined percentage) against the SMC categories at va.gov/disability/compensation-rates/special-monthly-compensation-rates
☐ If any SMC trigger looks like it might apply, take your file to a free accredited VSO 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

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.