Report says 60,000 veterans get triple benefits

I'm married to a retired Master Chief ,30 years of service. He saw ALOt of combat , and his body is debilitating beyond belief. All the years of hard rugged extreme training ( jumping out of planes, scuba diving , climbing , etc) has taken it's toll.and is continuing to take it's toll... Simple things like getting up off the couch and his hip locks up, or walking and his knee gives out. At the age of 50 now, I can only imagine what he will be like at the age of 70. ...these vets deserve their compensation for their time and their physical struggles to come in the future. .....I'm sure there are scammers...they're always there....But these Vets in my opinion put their lives on the line so people like me can walk free down a street, drive a car, Vote, and not have to wear a burka on their head. I appreciate all vets!! ........and let's not forget when these vets retire ,they may be also supporting a wife, or kids , so that 50,000 is for the whole family. Granted the wife can work, but keep in mind ...it's very hard for the typical military wife to establish a career when the military moves you around so much. So by the time of retirement, the typical navy wife does not have a retirement plan with any company. ...just my opinion.

I would like to encourage all members and people I know to write to Senator Coburn (who is also supposedly a Doctor) and tell him to BACK OFF!

Click on this link if you want to see hypocrisy at it's finest.

www.coburn.senate.gov...

The guy likes to say stop wasting money, but then goes after the low hanging fruit. Just another RINO.

He'll be getting a nasty gram from me.

originally posted by: TDawgRex
a reply to: marg6043

Here's the kicker. While serving, Servicemembers do pay into the SS system. So why wouldn't they be qualified for it?

here is what the crafty devils might try to claim;

SS = Social Security is no longer a separate System...because social security payments are made into the 'General Fund' but paid out by the SSA as either Disability or as Retirement


I really forget just which recent president used this tactic and spent several months paying SSA benefits out of the Treasury General Fund as an expense...
the whole purpose was to degrade all those past, accumulated IOUs in the SSA ledger/bookkeeping...
and as a means to get the SSA out of any legal 'LOCK BOX' status
thus making SSA benefit payments under the thumb of presidential authority/control

I do not think that SS disability will pay out to an active duty soldier in combat zones... so all those years with the whole USA in active posture as being in a 'war on terror' negates any claim...
but since a 'war on terrorism' is no longer active... there is a replacement status for the USA... any guess that it is connected to AQ or ISIS potential terror attacks on the homeland...

a reply to: Meldionne1

I am there with you, I worked for a while, never a steady job, thanks to my husband moving around, only twice I had jobs that could have been longer term with plenty of benefits, but sadly could not hold to them because the TADs. Tried once to stay behind and let him go by himself, but could not.

So as today I don't have a retirement account and SS is something that will not be enough for me if I get it.

If my husband pass away, I will not receive his military retirement and all I will have if things doesn't go wrong I may get something from his 401K.

Well we do have very good life time policies.

a reply to: St Udio

It sounds to me like the governments want to make it official the double and triple dipping of raiding the SS fund.

Hell doesn't this sound like a take over in legal terms?

You think they would stop with the scammers, everyone would be under scrutiny and many legitimate Vets (which would be the majority) would suffer undue hardships...nope, leave it alone and let the doctors evaluate and classify the disability......after going through this disability stuff for 19 years and loosing the best years of a mans life......I won't cast an eye of disbelief on anyone. a reply to: TDawgRex

originally posted by: marg6043
a reply to: St Udio

It sounds to me like the governments want to make it official the double and triple dipping of raiding the SS fund.

Hell doesn't this sound like a take over in legal terms?

Actually, that is one of the things I am worried about. Social Security is drying up. What about the others who didn't serve but yet paid into the system? I'm not comfortable screwing them over.

a reply to: NorEaster

Government contractors that might be a prime, can get a slot where for example, it bills $150.00 per hour according to GSA schedule, they can then go out and hire someone with skills that may be unemployed, desperate or just happy to have a job, pay them for instance 30-40$ per hour and then the big time contracting company keeps the rest they billed the government for that labor, this is where a great degree of waste is happening...not the vets, like someone mentioned they are small potatoes, you have big time contractors billing the government using my model, pimping individuals for slots, keeping about 130.00 per slot just for providing the labor to fulfill a contract requirement.

This is what causes massive waste in the government, these so call private corporations, that boast they are private sector are nothing more than proxy welfare recipients in some cases, if they paid a guy $3600.00 a month, and they pocketed $19,200 just for being there and providing a capable body for a slot, this is completely wasteful...and also taking great advantage of workers that if the government says the slot pays x amount, they be required to pay the person they hire a certain amount, say 80% of the GSA schedule, but you know what has happened? especially with IT pay, these corporations has scaled back pay to individuals and gotten more greedy, so average pay has dropped slightly on average compared to previous years instead of increased, but those slots more than likely have increased the payout per hour.

The real money wasters are the big contracting firms who get millions just to be there, pay their staff high salaries and take advantage the people that actually provide the skills that make their company even possible.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
a reply to: rockpaperhammock


I have always thought that the va hospitals should be closed down. Give vets free healthcare at any hospital they choose to go to.

I pretty much agree - though, in theory, the VA can maintain specialized treatment centers for service-related injuries. But for routine care, etc - it'd probably be loads cheaper and more efficient to just "buy" them a medical insurance policy that serves their geography. I'd say just put them on Medicaid, but the reimbursement rates suck, so can be hard to find a doctor - so, I don't see a simple solution.

As to the triple-dippers - doesn't sound like a windfall to me, and if someone made retirement, and has a service-related disability, I think we owe them a decent life. More power to 'em.

There are millions of people on "disability", who get that, plus Housing Choice Vouchers, plus Medicaid cards (with their $1 deductible), plus food stamps - and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are young people with disabilities like ADHD, depression, mysterious back pains, Alien Abductee Syndrome, etc - I'm sure many are real, but many, many are fake - there are law firms that specialize in getting people disability ("No fee until you 'win'), often for ridiculous reasons.

The government entitlement system is gushing cash, and the last people we should be worried about taking too much are disabled vets.

If a person got disabled in the military, they should be entitled to some compensation. If they did their twenty years and qualified for a pension, they should get that pension. If they went on to work after getting out of the military after twenty years and earned social security benefits, they should get those benefits since they paid in. You can get twenty years in the military plus still get twenty years of paying in SS benefits. Now, sometimes the disability you get in the army isn't life threatening, most of the disabilities are below twenty five percent. There were some at about fifty percent or more but very few at a hundred percent service connected, they are harder to get.

I don't think anyone actually needs over a hundred grand total retirement though. When you hit a seventy grand, the benefits should be taxable but if the money from the disability is being used to supply services the vet can't do, then that is a different story. We need to examine some of these things and put in some safeguards. Most people who get the veterans disability are not rich at all, they went through turbulent times to get the money, being denied many times and almost living in poverty for a while. But some of those with connections and upper military personell seem to get it right away and never suffered at all. That is an injustice, seems that there is not a fair division going on. I suppose this goes on in regular society too, the ones at the top of business walk away with great benefits while the common workers get enough to live.

I can't make a judgement on this, every situation is different. Some abuse the system while others are glad to get what they get. Many deserve more than they get while a few get way too much. Where do you draw the line though?

I to am retired, from the military, I also collect my Social Security. I do not have a disability. I feel that I earned both my military and SS benefits. I put in 20+ years in the service. So that qualifies me for the two benefits I collect.
If a person needs disability it is because of something that happened to him or her while serving. They should be compensated for that. At least that is my opinion.

a reply to: phinubian

Is one thing about this, you model works for those contractors that hired for menial work like services, but when it comes to logistics maintenance of equipment ect. most of the people that is hire are ex military personnel, mostly retirees.

a reply to: squittles

Well that is where human Tricare comes in, my husband rates VA, but I don't, so we pay for Tricare primus, this a retiree subsidized health care insurance.

Now, is something about it, since the Obamacare started, rates has double so what used to be a health insurance affordable for retirees and families is to be gone by 2016 as predicted or the premiums will be the same as any other insurance offered, so not savings.

When that time comes, my husband will fall on VA services and we will only pay for one insurance, mine.

I was injured in 1986 while I was in the Navy. I broke my right arm in several places, broke my collarbone and cracked the rotor cup for my shoulder. At the time, I healed up quite well, but, due to cut backs, I was discharged because of my injuries and was not eligible for re-enlistment. I was required to go for re-evaluation every year and ten years ago I was awarded a fifty percent disability because of arthritis caused by the injury.

I went back to school and now have a desk job. I make a pretty good living and use my disability payment to pay my mortgage. I have had people tell me that I am cheating the Government by accepting the disability payment while working.

I don't use the VA for anything except my arm and shoulder, because, my insurance won't cover anything to do with it due to it being a pre-existing condition.

As far as Senator Coburn is concerned, when I don't have to wake up two hours early to take an anti-inflammatory so that I can function through out the day. When I don't have to bundle up in two sweatshirts to keep my arm from hurting on a cold damp day. When I can bowl, play softball or basketball again, I'll stop taking the disability payments. Until then how about concentrating on the rampant Medicaid fraud, Welfare fraud and Government workers abusing their disability system.

HELL I'm trying to DOUBLE dip and apparently it takes an EDICT FROM GOD himself to get it done.

Very very touchy subject to say the least.

I draw VA disability myself.

I am retired from the federal government and the amount of people who double dip is astronomical. And it is wrong.

VA disability payments should be offset by earned income, but they are not... that's where the problem lies.

Someone who is drawing 80% from VA and working for the federal government/private sector full time pulling in another 100K a year is wrong no matter how you look at it.

VA disability needs to be more closely modeled after SS disability...where the amount of income you are allowed to have directly affects your disability payments...

It's one or the other but not both....if you are drawing 100% disability and working a full time job on top of that and pulling in two checks... clearly the system is broken and rife with abuse.

I have never figured out how someone can be considered 100% disabled and still work full time as a GS-14 with an annual salary of 100K a year...it just doesn't make sense.

a reply to: RickinVa

It was my understanding that the disability was figured upon what the person's job was while they were in the military.
I was an aircraft mechanic. I was told that since I would have trouble working as an aircraft mechanic because of my disability, I was considered 50% disabled. I now work as an engineer at a desk and my disability doesn't hinder me from doing that.

a reply to: JIMC5499

I never heard of a job skill as a factor in military disability... just the injury/condition itself.

If VA is paying someone 100% disability and that same person works a full time job, then clearly they should not be drawing a 100% disability check.

For instance, the federal employee disability program allows you to earn up to 80% for your former high three salaries without effecting your disability. This is way too lenient as well.

You can make 100,000 a year for the federal government and go out on disability.... the first year you would draw 60%, then every following year, it drops to 40% until that person turns 62 at which time its converted to regular retirement with the years on disability calculated as years worked with the highest of 3 annual salaries used in the final calculations.

So someone who makes 100,000 working for the federal government can go out on disability and still draw 40,000 in disability payments and up to 80,000 a year in earned income.

Technically you could leave that nice cushy 100,000 a year government job and go out on disability, come back as a contractor doing the exact same job for 75,000 a year....75,000 + 40,000 = 115,000 a year for the same job you did previously at 100,000 a year.

The system is broke and desperately needs fixing.

Right, but I used IT workers, those usually have those rates, project manager with MBA etc, 250 an hour, or just an IT engineer, 150.00 per hour, those guys never see that type of income and also in a lot of those instances contrary to what you might be thinking, a lot of IT workers that get hired nowadays are also veterans, there's a lot of us out here...
The menial jobs you mention, to begin with do not have a high margin between the rate that the slot might pay and what a contractor in that slot gets paid.
I am speaking of the big defense contractors, they are in hi tech, R&D, those types of industries or cage codes...
There is a huge amount of over billing and underpay as far as the ratio, you are right there is a lower margin involved and not a higher profit made on the service related slots... so there are vets in service roles and the higher paying roles, so ex-military or not, this is not the factor I was exposing.

a reply to: JIMC5499

Tell those people to go jump into a lake, you can be rated 100% and be deemed employable in certain circumstances, to those that say you cheat, the rules say you are in within proper bounds and they don't see it as cheating, did any of those who call you a cheater think to put their name on the dotted line, wartime or not?
If they didn't they're just jealous and don't understand one iota of how the disability works, is decided or too many things about military life, in garrison, the field or the highest role, in combat, but the VA does not make a distinction, they see you as a Vet that has a connected disability and that served honorably.