Record Pay Increase Likely for Disabled Vets and Military Retirees

As reported August 17 by Amy Bushatz for Military.com, military retirees and veterans receiving disability pay from the VA are likely to see record monthly check increases for the second year running, thanks to the pace of inflation, according to new estimates. The annual VA disability pay and military retirement cost-of-living pay adjustment, known as COLA, is typically tied to the Social Security rate change, which will likely be announced in October. An early projection based on national inflation data by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan senior advocacy nonprofit, estimates rates will rise by 9.6 percent. That increase would be the highest veterans and seniors have seen since 1981, when it went up 11.2 percent in response to inflation at the time, according to a TSCL press release.