In this post, we’ll answer the question: At what age does VA disability stop?
Here’s the deal fellow veterans:
- VA disability benefits do not stop with age
- VA disability is for life!
Your age does not affect your VA disability compensation benefits.
Alright, let’s explore age and VA disability benefits in more detail.
At What Age Does VA Disability Stop?
VA disability does not stop because of a veterans age.
VA disability compensation benefits are for the life of the disabled veteran.
Your VA disability compensation payments do not ever stop with age; however, they can be stopped, lowered, or increased based upon findings of fraud or changes to the veteran’s severity of symptoms as well as impacts to work, life, and social functioning.
Does Age Affect VA Disability Benefits?
No, age does not affect VA disability benefits.
In accordance with CFR Title 38, Part 4 Subpart A § 4.19, “age in service connected VA disability compensation,”
- Age may not be considered as a factor in evaluating service-connected disability
- Unemployability, in service-connected claims, associated with advancing age or intercurrent disability, may notbe used as a basis for a total disability rating
Pro Tip: The VA can consider your age when determining “permanence” of a “total” disability (100% P&T status).
Does VA Disability Stop at Age 65?
No, VA disability does not stop at age 65; nor does it stop at age 67.
VA disability benefits are for the life of the disabled veteran!
And in some instances, the veteran’s VA benefits can pass to the surviving spouse.
At age 65, a disabled veteran may also become eligible for VA pension benefits.
To establish entitlement to Veterans Pension, the veteran must meet the following elements:
- Qualifying active duty service
- A permanent and total (P&T) disability, or age 65 or older
- Countable income is below the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR), and
- Net worth limitations are met
Pro Tip: While age does not affect VA disability, age can absolutely impact eligibility for VA pension.
About the Author
Brian Reese
Brian Reese is one of the top VA disability benefits experts in the world and bestselling author of You Deserve It: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Veteran Benefits You’ve Earned (Second Edition).
Brian’s frustration with the VA claim process led him to create VA Claims Insider, which provides disabled veterans with tips, strategies, and lessons learned to win their VA disability compensation claim, faster, even if they’ve already filed, been denied, gave up, or don’t know where to start.
As the founder of VA Claims Insider and CEO of Military Disability Made Easy, he has helped serve more than 10 million military members and veterans since 2013 through free online educational resources.
He is a former active duty Air Force officer with extensive experience leading hundreds of individuals and multi-functional teams in challenging international environments, including a combat tour to Afghanistan in 2011 supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
Brian is a Distinguished Graduate of Management from the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, and he holds an MBA from Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, Stillwater, OK, where he was a National Honor Scholar (Top 1% of Graduate School class).
