If you’re an active-duty member that intends to file a compensation claim for a service-connected disability, you don’t need to wait for the separation before filing for your VA benefits. If your separation date is within 90-180 days, the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program may help you get your compensation immediately after discharge. The BBD is a VA program that helps you file your VA disability claim up to 180 days before discharge from the military. The goal of the benefits deliver at discharge is to start paying you the VA disability payments within 90 days after you’re discharged. To become eligible for the BBD program, you need to completely understand it.
How does Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BBD) Work?
If you are between 90 to 180 days of your discharge date from active-duty service, you’re eligible to apply for the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BBD) program by contacting the ACAP program office (Military only) or your Transition Assistance Office and informing them you want to apply for this program.
You will be listed for your out-processing physicals and the VA benefits briefing, where you can learn how to begin and submit your claim. After all your results of the out-processing physicals are ready, you must submit them along with your claim to the Veterans Affairs. The quickest way to apply for VA benefits delivered at discharge is through online sources such as kdvma VA benefits.
Explaining Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BBD) Program
To help active-duty service members get compensation for VA benefits immediately after their discharge, the Department of VA formed the Benefits Delivery at Discharge program. Through this pre-discharge program, an active service member can initiate the claims process while staying on duty, resulting in VA benefits deliver at discharge immediately. A VA disability claim may take months or years to complete, which holds up compensation for VA benefits that help alleviate financial burdens.
To qualify for the Benefits delivery at discharge program, you must submit your claim almost 90-180 days before the discharge date. You have to submit your active-duty service treatment record with your application and attend VA disability evaluation exams before the military discharge. Following these requirements allows the VA to gather all the required information to establish your VA disability rating. Another benefit of these steps is the ideal time to collect all medical documentation. It gets more challenging to find treatment records and other VA disability-related evidence as time goes by.
Although the VA must handle a claim for VA disability benefits in a given timeframe, various factors can hold up this process for months and years. One most common reason for the delay is when the veterans do not have complete medical documents related to their military service-connected disability. If any active-duty service member is not qualified to file a BDD claim, they can file a fully developed or standard claim. The benefits deliver at discharge make this process more efficient for every veteran and claim processor.
