Members who have any number of years of service may apply for a Service-Connected Retirement benefit. They do not need to be vested (have 5 years of service) or be eligible for Service Retirement.
The disability must be job-related and must involve at least one of the following 13 impairments:
- Loss of both hands or both feet
- Loss of one hand and one foot
- Loss of one hand and the sight of one eye
- Loss of one foot and the sight of one eye
- Loss of the sight of both eyes
- Paralysis, either paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Cancers determined to be compensable by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission which were caused by documented contact with a toxic substance, pursuant to Section 65.2- 402(c) of the Virginia Code
- Loss of speech
- Loss of hearing
- A mental incapacity that meets the criteria for disability benefits under the Federal Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance Act (Social Security) - See Links Below
- Chronic Hepatitis C determined to be compensable by the Workers' Compensation Commission which was caused by documented exposure to HCV-positive blood or other potentially infectious material (OPIM) in the workplace or during work-related activities, as described in Section 65.2- 402.1.(a) of the Virginia Code
- Occupational Asthma, Occupational Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) determined to be compensable by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission which was caused by documented exposure to a toxic substance in the workplace or during work-related activities, as described in Section 65.2-402(c) of the Virginia Code, or otherwise determined to be compensable as an injury by accident by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. This condition, added on {date} is to be applied retroactively to any service-connected disability applications submitted on or after June 1, 2019
- Persistent burn injuries caused by documented exposure/injury in the workplace or during work related activities, as described in section 65.2-402(c) of the Virginia Code which render an employee unable to do meaningful work, including those which involve (1) 3rd degree or higher burns over more than 30% of body surface area, and/or (2) extensive and debilitating skin lesions, and/or (3) burns which result in the loss of meaningful use of more than one limb, and/or (4) multisystem injuries (e.g., severe pulmonary burns with loss of diffusion capacity) and/or (5) conditions that may not meet the precise definitions of above clauses 1-5 but are accompanied by one or more of the following: substantial disfigurement, chronic debilitating pain, or other symptoms of a severity which would substantially limit an employee's ability to routinely and efficiently perform community-based work