Can I lose my VA disability benefits if I go to jail?

VA disability compensation payments are reduced if a Veteran is convicted of a felony and imprisoned for more than 60 days. Once a Veteran is released from prison, compensation payments may be reinstated based upon the severity of the service connected disability(ies) at that time.

Can you lose your military disability benefits?

VA can stop a veteran’s disability benefits if it severs service connection for the veteran’s disability. However, if VA does find that severance of service connection is warranted, it will discontinue the veteran’s disability payments as the veteran will no longer be service connected for that condition.

When and if VA can stop a veteran’s disability benefits?

So if they receive VA disability compensation, they must pay back the amount of their separation pay, severance pay, etc. According to VA’s M-21 Manual, VA prohibits the payment of disability compensation if the veteran received the following:

How does VA disability compensation work for veterans?

VA disability compensation VA disability compensation (pay) offers a monthly tax-free payment to Veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to Veterans whose service made an existing condition worse.

What’s the difference between a VA pension and a disability?

Disability compensation is for an illness or injury that happens because of or was made worse by your military service. It’s not income-based and war service is not required. A VA pension is for low-income war veterans who may have a disability that is not service-related. Some people confuse military retirement benefits with a VA pension.

Can a VA garnish a veteran’s disability check?

In most cases, if the debt is valid, VA will garnish a portion of the veteran’s monthly disability compensation as a way of slowly recouping the debt. Usually VA will only take a portion of the veteran’s check, but there are instances in which VA will withhold all of the veteran’s benefit in order to repay the overpayment.

What happens if you don’t tell the VA about a warrant?

While the VA might not immediately find out about a warrant, not telling the VA does not solve this problem because then the veteran is creating an overpayment which he or she will be responsible for paying back.

What happens to my VA benefits if I am arrested?

If you’re convicted of a felony, but the felony is later overturned on appeal, the VA will send you a retroactive payment of disability benefits. This will cover the payments that the VA withheld following your initial conviction. Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to pension payments.