To be eligible for public housing, a family must have “low income.” However, 40 percent of public housing units newly rented each year must go to “extremely low income” families. Project-Based Section 8 Rental Subsidies Section 8 rental subsidies make housing affordable in privately owned and operated housing projects. The subsidy applies to a specific unit in the project, so if the family moves, they usually lose the subsidy. A family must have “very low income” to be eligible for a project-based Section 8 subsidy, although projects that began receiving rental assistance before October 1, 1981 may admit families with “low income”. Forty percent of new admissions each year to project-based Section 8 subsidies must go to “extremely low income” families. Housing Choice Voucher (also known as “Tenant-Based Section 8”) Housing Choice Vouchers subsidize rent in privately housing units other than housing projects. Generally, a family may use a Housing Choice Voucher to rent an apartment or house if the landlord is willing to participate in the program. Housing Choice Vouchers are portable. This means that a family may move and bring the subsidy with them, and can live anywhere in the United States. Only families with “very low income” may qualify for Housing Choice Vouchers. Each year, “extremely low income” families must receive 75 percent of the vouchers. PHAs can use up to 20 percent of their Housing Choice Voucher funding to provide Project-Based Vouchers, which apply to particular units in privately owned housing projects. A family that receives a Project-Based Voucher must live in the unit for at least a year, or else they will lose their subsidy. If the family moves out of the unit after a year, they may request a tenant- based rent subsidy in the unit to which they move. HUD Income Definitions: Low income: At or below 80 percent of the median income for a family of a given size in the local area.
Marginal Employment Low levels of employment, which the VA describes as “marginal employment,” wouldn’t be sufficient to reduce the disability rating. Marginal employment exists when a veteran’s earned annual income doesn’t exceed the amount the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, established as the poverty threshold for one person. Even when earned annual income does exceed the poverty threshold, it may still not represent substantially gainful employment if the employment occurred in a protected environment, such as a family business, or a sheltered workshop, or when the veteran is receiving supported employment services. Substantially Gainful Employment The VA defines substantially gainful employment as employment at which non-disabled individuals earn their livelihood with earnings comparable to the particular occupation in the community where the veteran resides” (M21-1MR Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section f). The VA may not reduce a veteran’s total disability rating based on IU solely on the basis of the veteran having secured substantially gainful employment unless the veteran maintains that employment for a period of 12 consecutive months. Temporary interruptions in employment that are of short duration the VA doesn’t consider breaks in otherwise continuous employment. Evaluating Employability VA regulations at 38 CFR 3.343(c)(1) and (2) provide that the veteran’s actual employability must be shown by clear and convincing evidence before the VA can discontinue this benefit. The VA won’t consider vocational rehabilitation activities or other therapeutic or rehabilitative pursuits as evidence of renewed employability unless the veteran’s medical condition shows marked improvement. Additionally, if the evidence shows that the veteran actually is engaged in a substantially gainful occupation, the VA can’t discontinue IU unless the veteran maintains the gainful occupation for a period of 12 consecutive months. If the VA conducts a reexamination of disability or employability status and the lower evaluation would result in a reduction or discontinuance of disability payments the VA is currently making to a veteran, the VA prepares a rating proposing the reduction or discontinuance, which sets forth all material facts and reasons. The VA must provide the veteran with due process before the VA discontinues the IU benefit, as stated at