For those veterans who will be receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), good news is in order on May 31, 2025. As a result of the 2025 2.5% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), some recipients will find a much larger deposit which could be an additional $100 each month. The boosted benefits for veterans will be reflected in payments issued at the end of May and thus May 31, 2025, will be deemed a very good day for those eligible veterans.
The process of calculating VA benefits
Each veteran receives a different VA compensation amount based on two core factors: their VA disability rating as well as their household circumstances. Once a medical evaluation has been conducted and the claims reviewed, the Department of Veterans Affairs assigns each eligible veteran a rating between 0% and 100%, which reflects the severity of their service-connected disabilities. Those veterans with a higher rating tend to receive larger monthly benefits.
The benefits also increase for those veterans who are supporting dependents. Veterans with care for their spouses, children, or dependent parents qualify for higher monthly payments than those veterans without any dependents. Due to this factor, a veteran with a 100% disability rating and a spouse tends to get a higher benefit amount than a single veteran with the same rating.
The reason for these VA payments is to help to offset the impact of service-connected conditions and in turn assist these veterans to maintain a stable quality of life. Due to the annual Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA), the benefits are able to keep pace with inflation and rising living expenses. The 2025 COLA increase of 2.5% was less than the COLA increase if previous years, however, it is still key for many veterans who rely on these payments for daily necessities, especially as the cost of housing, food, and healthcare continues to climb.
Which veterans will receive $100 More?
The veterans who are most likely to benefit from 2025 COLA adjustment are those veterans with a 100% disability rating and no dependents. In 2024, these veterans received $3,737.85 per month. With the 2.5% COLA, that amount increased to $3,831.30 in 2025 which amounts to a monthly boost of $93.45.
Since the COLA adjustments officially took effect in December 2024, payments tend to reflect the change one month later. Thus, the May 1, 2025, deposit included the higher benefit amount for April. And now, as the year continues, many veterans are looking to the May 31 payment, which will again deliver the increased amount making it more beneficial for those veterans receiving VA disability benefits.
While some veterans will see smaller increases based on their disability rating, all veterans who will be receiving compensation from the VA will be benefiting from this adjustment. Another group of citizens have received bad news and are being warned of interrupted SSA benefits as of this May.
Understanding the VA benefits payment schedule for 2025
It is of utmost importance for veterans to understand the VA benefits schedule so they can plan their finances. VA disability compensation is usually issued on the first business day of the month for the previous month’s benefits. However, the schedule changes if the payment day falls on a weekend or holiday. In that case, the payment is made on the last business day of the prior month.
For May’s benefit payment, covering April’s benefit, the payment was made on May 1, 2025. But the June benefit that reflects May’s disability compensation will be paid out on Friday, May 31, 2025.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA disability payment schedule for the rest of 2025 will be as follows:
- May- May 31, 2025
- June- Jule 1, 2025
- July- August 1, 2025
- August- August 30, 2025
- September- October 1, 2025
- October- November 1, 2025
- November- November 29, 2025
- December- December 31, 2025
Veterans should keep an eye out on their bank accounts to ensure they receive their benefits on the stipulated days outlined in the schedule and they should notice their May benefits thanks to the COLA. Citizens should also check their bank accounts as some people will receive $1,700 from the SSA on May 15, 2025.
