Combined Service Connection Ratings

Hello All, Guess who’s back? Back again, guess who’s back, tell a friend… Sorry, Eminem took over for a second. As I was saying, well, as I started to say, I have a math question for you.

Get your pencils out and solve this equation: 50+20+10=?

Did you come up with 80? Congratulations, so did 99% of the world. That 1% happens to include the VA service-connection ratings system. According to the said system, if you have multiple disabilities, one rated at 50%, one rated at 20%, and one rated at 10%, your overall service connection rating is 60%. VA math!

Now, in my best old-school teacher trying to teach “new” math persona, I’m going to try to explain how the VA comes up with their ratings. When there are two or more service-connected disabilities, the combined rating is not the result of adding the percentages (50+20+10=80), but a more complicated formula.

The VA uses a ratings table. Think back to the old multiplication table we all grew up on and loved… before new math took over, but I digress.

To calculate your combined disability rating, you first find your highest rating on the far left-hand column; the example here is 50. Then, you find the next highest rating across the top (20). You find where 50 intersects with 20, which is 60. You take the 60, then repeat with the next rating, which is 10. You end with the final number of 64. The VA then uses rounding, and rounds 64 to 60, which is your final combined service-connected rating of 60%.

Got it? There will be a test on Friday. Like always, if you have any questions about service-connection disability ratings, please contact us at the Veterans Services Office at (559) 713-2880. Remember, it takes more energy to hate than to be nice.

Cecil Webster, the Veterans Services Officer for Tulare County, is a former U.S. Navy Photographer’s Mate 3. Contact him at the Veterans Services Office at 3348 W. Mineral King Ave. in Visalia, by phone at 559-713-2880, or by email at TCVSO@tularecounty.ca.gov.