The Department of Defense disability system (MEB/PEB) and the VA disability compensation system are separate processes governed by different rules, even though both may reference the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD). Going through an MEB/PEB does not automatically change, lower, or raise a VA rating you already have. The VA rating reflects the current severity of conditions under 38 CFR Part 4, and it can only change through a VA re-examination or a new claim for increase, not because a service branch conducted its own medical board.
The PEB, on the other hand, decides two separate things: whether a condition makes a service member unfit for continued duty, and what percentage rating DoD assigns to that unfitting condition for purposes of retirement or separation pay. Under 10 USC Chapter 61, a service member needs a combined DoD disability rating of at least 30 percent, along with other eligibility criteria, to qualify for medical retirement rather than separation with severance pay. DoD ratings are often narrower than VA ratings because DoD only rates the specific condition(s) that make someone unfit for duty, not every service-connected condition, and DoD does not have to follow VASRD bilateral or combined-rating rules the same way VA does. This is why it is common for someone with a high VA rating to receive a much lower DoD/PEB rating, and why the two numbers frequently do not match.
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Analyze my claim free →Medical retirement (as opposed to separation with severance pay or an honorable discharge without retirement) generally provides military retired pay and access to standard TRICARE benefits as a retiree, along with eligibility for concurrent receipt considerations under CRDP or CRSC depending on rating and circumstances. These are financially significant differences, so it is reasonable to want a lawyer or a Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officer (PEBLO) to walk through the specific unfitting conditions before deciding whether to contest a proposed rating or accept it.
Throughout this process, a service member typically retains rights to submit rebuttal evidence to the PEB, request a formal board hearing, and later appeal to the Physical Disability Board of Review or Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records if the DoD rating seems incorrect. None of this changes the VA rating already on file, which remains under VA's separate jurisdiction.
The concrete next step is to ask the assigned PEBLO or attorney specifically which conditions DoD is proposing to rate as unfitting and what percentage is being offered, since that determines eligibility for medical retirement rather than separation, and to request time to review or rebut the findings before signing off.
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