4.6 Cost-of-living Supplements

• Library: Workers' Compensation Practice in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2020 Ed.)

4.6 COST-OF-LIVING SUPPLEMENTS

4.601 In General. An annual cost-of-living supplement may be paid under certain circumstances. ¹⁹⁹ Eligible claimants include (i) employees and their dependents who are receiving compensation benefits for total incapacity; ²⁰⁰ (ii) claimants suffering permanent and total incapacity; ²⁰¹ (iii) claimants receiving death benefits; ²⁰² and (iv) claimants receiving disability or death benefits due to coal worker's pneumoconiosis. ²⁰³ This supplement is based upon the consumer price index and is not self-executing. The claimant must file a claim before the supplement is payable. ²⁰⁴ The claimant also

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must show eligibility for these benefits by providing the carrier with Social Security benefit information.

The supplement is payable effective October 1 of each year and applies to outstanding awards where the accident occurred or diagnosis was made before July 1 of that same year. The supplement is payable as long as a combined disability benefit entitlement of the claimant or any dependents under the Act and the federal Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, exclusive of prior or proposed cost-of-living supplements, is less than 80 percent of the average monthly earnings. ²⁰⁵ At no time may compensation, plus present or prior supplements, exceed the maximum rate payable under section 65.2-500. ²⁰⁶ As well, section 65.2-709 states that, for the purpose of determining the monthly amount of combined disability entitlement received by a claimant, a deduction may be made for monthly amounts paid for Medicare.

Effective October 1, 2019, the cost-of-living supplement is 1.85%.

The cost-of-living supplement is based on a compounding method and is retroactive to July 1, 1976. ²⁰⁷

4.602 Compounding Calculation. A cost-of-living supplement ²⁰⁸ based on the compounding method is calculated as follows:

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	Base compensation rate:		$500.00
Accident date:		6/23/2018
Increase effective 10/1/2018 (2.15%)
$500.00 × 2.15% = $10.75 + $500.00	=	$510.75
Increase effective 10/1/2019 (1.85%)
$510.75 × 1.85% = $9.49 + $510.75	=	$520.20

Cost-of-living payments are not compensation within the meaning of the Act and as such are not subject to Rule 1.2(B) of the Commission's rules providing that claims for additional compensation due to change of conditions may not be awarded more than 90 days before the filing of the claim. ²⁰⁹

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^[199] Va. Code §...