VA Retro-Payments

By: Dan Meyer

The office hours for the Big Stone County Veterans Service Office are 7:30 am – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 839-6398.

As promised in last week’s article, here are the statistics from the Big Stone County Veterans Service Office for the period of 1 November 2009 through 30 June 2010.

Please keep in mind that the information provided is for new/first time or increased VA service-connected disability compensation claims. The retro payment dollars represents the dollars received from the date we submitted the claim until the month the claim was granted by Veterans Affairs. The monthly dollars represent the monthly payments that the veterans will receive over the first 12 months since their claim was granted.

The total number office contacts by walk-ins and/or scheduled appointments for the past seven months was 797. Over the same period of time, the number of home visits and appointments was 114.

The number of new and/or increased VA service-connected disability compensation claims that were granted was 86.

The amount of retro payment dollars received by Big Stone County veterans was $114,745.00.

The amount of retro payment dollars received by all veterans assisted in the office was $181,442.00.

The amount of new month dollars received by Big Stone County veterans over the first 12 months of their monthly payments is $265,044.00.

The amount of new month dollars received by all veterans assisted over the first 12 months of their monthly payments is $421,437.00.

The total dollars (retro payments and first 12 months of monthly payments) that will be received by Big Stone County veterans is $379,789.00.

The total dollars (retro payments and first 12 months of monthly payments) that will be received by all veterans assisted is $602,879.00.

In more news. With respect to the above statistics, we currently have 69 VA disability compensation claims pending. These 69 files represent those veterans who have filed a disability compensation claim(s) with Veterans Affairs and are waiting for compensation exams to be scheduled, a decision to be made on their claim, appealed denied decisions, filed for a Decision Review Officers review of a denied decision, etc.

If you are a veteran and these numbers do not include you, please stop by or call my office for an appointment. My office is your office!

Until next week, take care and “Fair Winds and Following Seas!”