Published November 4, 2026. The items below were current and checked against primary sources as of that date. This is an archived issue of our weekly email — subscribe here to get new issues first.
Still no 2027 VA table. Plan on your current amount.
Social Security's 2027 COLA of 3.6 percent is set. (Source: ssa.gov/cola.) VA's own rate page, last updated November 2, 2026, still shows compensation rates effective December 1, 2025, with no 2027 table. (Source: va.gov compensation rates.)
Neither 2027 COLA bill has become law. Government bill-status records show S. 4487 still at its May 11, 2026 referral to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and H.R. 8552 last forwarded by a House subcommittee to the full committee on June 30, 2026, with no floor vote recorded. (Source: congress.gov, H.R. 8552 and S. 4487; govinfo.gov bill status.) Until one passes, VA has no 2027 table to publish.
What this means for a CRSC check: eligible retirees' CRSC amounts are tied to VA rates, so they generally move with them, subject to the retired pay cap. Until VA publishes its table we are printing no 2027 dollar estimates. We will watch for it at our 2027 pay chart page.
VA says it will add 2,000+ claims processors
On October 29, VA announced it will hire more than 2,000 claims processors in fiscal year 2027, on top of more than 13,000 employees now processing claims. VA says it processed a record 3.1 million compensation and pension claims in fiscal year 2026 and granted 60.1 percent of claims filed. (Source: VA News, Oct. 29, 2026.)
Why it matters for CRSC: a CRSC packet is built on the ratings VA has already decided. Faster VA decisions can mean new or changed ratings arrive sooner, and each one is something a CRSC packet may need to address. The announcement does not change what CRSC requires.
Listing VA ratings without tying each one to a combat-related event
A VA rating by itself does not show a condition is combat-related. CRSC looks at each disability and asks whether it resulted from armed conflict, hazardous service, an instrumentality of war, or simulated war. A packet that lists conditions and percentages but does not connect each one to a specific, documented event is a common reason packets are denied. Build the link one condition at a time.
This week, pull your most recent VA rating decision, the full document and not the summary letter, and circle each rated condition with the event or deployment you believe it came from.
That one page is the starting outline for a CRSC packet, and it shows quickly which conditions still need documentation.
Want a second set of eyes on it? Book a free 15-minute CRSC review. Education only, not a guarantee of eligibility or payment.
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