There are thousands of former members of the United States armed forces living in North Carolina who depend of veterans disability benefits to survive. As years go by though, the costs of certain goods and services increase while benefits payments stay the same.
The North Carolina veterans’ disability lawyers at HensonFuerst point out that this may soon change if a bill is approved. The bill calls for veterans disability benefits payments to be adjusted annually based on inflation rates of certain goods and services—a policy very similar to the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits.
According to the Holland Sentinel, U.S. Senator, Gary Peters, is sponsoring the bill. The law would allow payments to disabled veterans, as well as surviving spouses and children of deceased veterans, to be adjusted each year based on inflation rates.
Similar to the Social Security COLA, certain costs, such as energy, transportation, housing, and food, are plugged into an equation. Depending on changes in those costs, available veterans benefits are either increased or stay the same.
At HensonFuerst, we have seen the financial struggles many veterans and their families face, and our legal staff is hopeful legislators carefully consider this law.