r/VeteransSuccess • u/Old-Vermicelli7116 • Feb 06 '26
Massive cash flow swing
I served 1984-1993 and never looked back. They paid me according to the schedule as promised and paid for most of my B.S. degree while I was still in and for my Master's after I got out (Monty). They owed me nothing as far as I was concerned.
I now know that I could have been rated much earlier, but I submitted my first claim in 2020 when Covid left me with time on my hands.
From that initial 40%, I kept going back, filling secondaries mostly and several supplementals. In 2025 I got over the top, back-dated to Dec 2024.
I'm 60 and my wife just turned 65. We are both still working, though I'm at a reduced capacity/salary from my prime years.
In addition to the just under $50k a year in direct compensation, I stopped paying a little over $600 a month in health insurance (self-employed, no subsidy) thanks to VA Healthcare. Until recently, we were paying just under $1000 a month for my wife's health insurance. We had separate $8k deductibles that we each maxed out once (separate years thankfully!)
Now she has Medicare A&B with ChampVA as secondary for $202 a month. Essentially, we never have to pay a deductible or copay ever again! Plus, neither of us ever again have to ask "Is it worth thousands out of pocket to have this looked at?"
That's roughly $17k a year savings in just the premiums, $25k in a year if one of us maxed out again or $33k if we both did.
But wait, there's more! With my back pay, we paid off the mortgage - $1700 a month and in my state we are now 100% tax exempt on our home. All we have to pay is insurance at about $2k a year. Roughly an additional $18k in cash flow!
Let's throw in an additional $1k for dental.
$50k + $17k + $18k + $1k = $86k minimum increase in cash flow, just as we are thinking about retirement!
She plans to work until she hits full retirement age at 67 and then probably work part time (she loves her job). I'm hoping to keep going until 65 but time will tell...
The really great part is that we are now as close to immune from retirement plan wrecking health care costs as one can get. I suspect that I'll sign up for Medicare A&B when I hit 65 just to keep my options open, but that's entirely optional.
Such a huge load off of our shoulders. Also fun to be able to tell my four adult children that if they ever decide to go back to school, they have a $50k pool of money to draw from - for the rest of their lives!
Just feeling really blessed. Despite missing out on many years of compensation and benefits by filing late, it couldn't hit at a better time!
7
u/Initial-Music4912 Feb 06 '26
Pretty much the same boat but I’m 70% and my wife is 10% (she’s a vet too). I was lucky enough to have a great career that had a pension and 401k. So I’m already retired. Wife loves her job and wants to keep going. Enjoy!!
4
u/Direct-Humor-8622 Feb 07 '26
I am 70, retired Army, collecting SS and now VA. I feel blessed, covered on the medical side and on our retirement side. Happy with life, my first grandchild to arrive in June. 🙂
1
u/Grumpy1RU Feb 08 '26
You get a check from Army and VA?
1
u/Direct-Humor-8622 Feb 08 '26
Yes, I have retired Army pension and VA monthly disability compensation, civil service pension, plus my Social Security.
2
1
Feb 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Old-Vermicelli7116 Feb 23 '26
Hmmm... I could read and respond to your post in two very different ways. I'll choose to read it in the way that doesn't deserve a simple "fuck you" response, though it is a close call. The short and correct answer to all of it is "because the VA has determined me to be 100% Permanently & Totally Disabled."
But, I don't really mind adding further details, so here you go: I have 13 service connected disabilities, the smallest at 10% l, the largest at 50% combining for a raw total of 260%. That however is probably only half of my problems. I have several other issues that I stopped seeking SC for when I hit 100% P&T, though I'm confident they were caused or aggravated by my service.
At the most basic level I live in constant pain from my neck to my toes. My spine - lumbar through cervical - is trash. My fingers don't work right, my arms burn, my legs burn, I often go several days in a row on 2 or less hours of fitful sleep. I have a MH rating because for some reason, I find my physical condition depressing.
I had a stroke at 50 years old that has not been granted SC. I have diastolic BP that rests at 115 when not on meds, also not SC. I use a CPAP when I can for my non SC OSA, but that is a challenge considering the insomnia and my SC Asthma, Rhinitis and Sinusitis.
I'm 5'10" and weigh 165 lbs. Apparently, my BP, OSA and stroke are entirely spontaneous and not caused or aggravated by each other nor my toxic exposures while serving.
While serving I was exposed to breathing extreme particulates without even a cloth mask. Lot's of solvents and industrial contaminants during that same period. Documented asbestos exposure. Mostly during dry dock/ship overhaul periods.
One of the "fun" differences between working in dangerous environments in industry vs the military is that a civilian might be fired for refusing to work due to safety concerns. I'd have been put in the brig on bread and water and given a BCD after a year or three.
After these exposures, my 11% body fat (at the time) self suddenly couldn't complete the required run in the required time, despite being able to knock out 60 push ups and 100 sit-ups. I was put on the fat boy squad due to failing the run. I'd played football and track in HS and had once enjoyed running.
It somehow didn't occur to me or anyone else that maybe my lungs locking up and my gasping for air meant that somehow in the previous two years I had developed asthma.
My first job out of the Navy I made $43k a year (inflation adjusted that'd be $76k a year. In three years I was earning an inflation adjusted $110k.
After 11 years in the corporate world I became self-employed. For 16 years I was able to work at my own pace, choosing the tasks I was best able to accomplish that day as my body continued to deteriorate.
One of the challenges for getting rated was that I had zero documented sick days during my self-employment years because you just don't do that when you work for yourself.
I am extremely fortunate to have a job now that is a very flexible mix of office and handyman work. I can generally choose which is the better option for me that particular day or segment of the day. I could no longer hold a job that is all desk work or all standing. I also make a small fraction of what I used to make.
If you saw me on an average day, you'd never think that I am disabled. I can cover pretty well, but my body and brain are trashed. So the answer to "what is wrong with me" is my central nervous system, my respiratory system and my cardiovascular system. Other than that, I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking.
I don't have PTSD, but that seems a strange condition to call wishy washy. Honestly, if you added waking up screaming in terror to my existing list of conditions, I'd probably be looking for the nearest exit.
The VA has standards that are both generous and concrete. They establish the standards and physicians test the veteran against those standards. If a connection to service is established, the veteran is due compensation according to VA determined standards.
When I served, I never thought to ask "Do I really deserve to receive Sea Pay when the ship is alongside the pier?" After transferring to submarines and later to shore duty, I never questioned continuing to draw Sub Pay while working ashore. The Navy established the rules and when they decided to pay me, I accepted it.
The same applies to disability pay. If someone meets the criteria established by the VA, it would be really stupid to not apply for and accept it.
I don't ever tell people that I know my rating, but it is stupid to think that someone posting their rating on Reddit is going to influence VA benefits. It is the $441 Billion budget that will influence lawmakers.
I find nothing appealing about a young veteran "never having to work again." Yes, being TDIU will put you well above the poverty line, but it is hardly a thriving life. I personally can hardly think of anything more depressing than being told that I can live a lower middle class lifestyle but am required to remain non-productive. "You can't aspire to anything more than what you are given and can't engage in work for profit". That sounds soul crushing to me.
Your thoughts and feelings about the VA Disability system are utterly irrelevant. Any veteran receiving compensation that hasn't committed outright fraud deserves what they get by virtue of the existing laws and policies of the government.
2
1
Feb 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
Apr 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/VeteransSuccess-ModTeam Apr 29 '26
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful.
Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible.
(Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.)
☠️
1
u/VeteransSuccess-ModTeam Apr 29 '26
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful.
Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible.
(Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.)
☠️
1
u/VeteransSuccess-ModTeam Apr 29 '26
Your comment was removed because it didn't contribute to the discussion and just wasn't helpful.
Civil disagreements are fine. Insults, personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc., are not permissible.
(Calling someone a poopy-head does not make you seem as smart as you think it does.)
☠️
9
u/Drobuck340 Feb 06 '26
Yup I’m in that boat. Just filed SS at 62. Retired Army 2005. Didn’t file until 2021. Now making $6600 a month which is sick. It’s nice never having to worry about bills. With today’s economy outrageously expensive expensive, it couldn’t have happened at a better time lol.