{"id":500,"date":"2026-06-10T14:15:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/vba\/?page_id=500"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T18:42:26","slug":"characteristics-claims","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/vba\/performance-analysis-integrity\/characteristics-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Characteristics of Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"background<\/span>
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Characteristics of Claims<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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\"Total<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Back to VBA Reports<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Claims by era<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Total pending claims<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  • Other era claims make up 1% of the total inventory. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Post-9\/11 (Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) claims make up 47% of the total inventory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Gulf War (1990s conflict) claims make up 20% of the total inventory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Peacetime (the end of Vietnam to the Gulf War) claims make up 13% of the total inventory.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Vietnam War claims make up 19% of the total inventory.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Total backlogged claims<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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    • Post-9\/11 (Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) claims make up 44% of the backlog.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Gulf War (1990s conflict) claims make up 19% of the backlog.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Peacetime (the end of Vietnam to the Gulf War) claims make up 14% of the backlog.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Vietnam War claims make up 21% of the backlog.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Other era claims make up less than 2% of the backlog.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
      \n\n
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      Original vs. supplemental claims<\/h2>\n\n\n
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      The current inventory of compensation claims contains two types of claims:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      • Original claims, which are those submitted by Veterans of all eras who are claiming disability compensation or pension from VBA for the first time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Supplemental claims, which are those submitted by Veterans of all eras who have previously filed for disability compensation or pension with VBA. For example, where a Veteran’s condition has worsened, they may file for review to see if they are entitled to greater compensation, and supplemental claims include Veterans already on the rolls who claim a new condition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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        Contentions and claims complexity<\/h2>\n\n\n
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        • The number of claims is magnified by growing complexity. There has been a 200 percent increase over the last 10 years in original claims containing eight or more specific medical issues, or contentions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • The number of individual disabilities claimed has doubled in just the last five years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          <\/div>\n\n\n\n

          More about original and supplemental claims in inventory<\/h2>\n\n\n
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          • 63% of pending claims are supplemental and 37% are original.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 81% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are receiving some level of monetary benefit from VBA.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 10% of Veterans filing supplemental claims already have a 100% disability rating (i.e., they receive $2,800 or more per month) or qualify for Individual Unemployability and are compensated at the 100% disabled rate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 48% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are already rated at 50% disability or higher.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • 34% of supplemental claims are from Vietnam-era Veterans and 26% are from Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            <\/div>\n\n\n\n

            Note:<\/strong> This data is updated on a monthly basis by the 10th of each month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"parent":236,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-500","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/vba\/performance-analysis-integrity\/characteristics-claims\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"WebPage","headline":"Characteristics of Claims","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/vba\/performance-analysis-integrity\/characteristics-claims\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/vba\/performance-analysis-integrity\/characteristics-claims\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Uncategorized","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"evanw"}],"creator":["evanw"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Veterans Benefits Administration","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-06-10T18:15:38Z","datePublished":"2026-06-10T18:15:38Z","dateModified":"2026-09-28T18:42:26Z"},"rendered":"