The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will hire more than 2,000 employees to process the growing number of veterans’ benefit claims. The announcement came on Oct. 29, and the hiring runs through fiscal 2027. The department already has more than 13,000 people working claims, according to the release.
What the VA announced
In a news release, the VA said the new hires will be claims processors. These employees apply and interpret laws, regulations and policies for disability claims. The job is posted on USAJOBS under job ID 889245400.
VA Secretary Doug Collins said in the release that the department is “putting Veterans first by making major improvements in claims processing volume, speed and accuracy.” The release does not give a city-by-city hiring plan. It points to the VA’s 56 Regional Benefits Offices, which are listed on the department’s locations page.
Will a claim move any faster?
Veterans with a claim pending are the ones who want to know what the hiring means for their wait. The VA has not said it will shorten decision times, and the release does not report a backlog figure. What it does say is that claim volume keeps growing, and the hiring is the VA’s response to that growth.
That leaves the job of staying on top of a claim with the veteran. The VA’s claim and appeal status page shows where a filing stands, and a claim that sits waiting for evidence can stall until the missing paper arrives.
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The claim numbers behind the hiring
The VA processed a record 3.1 million compensation and pension claims in fiscal 2026. It also received more than 3.15 million claim submissions that year, which is an 80% increase from fiscal 2022.
Of the claims filed in fiscal 2026, the VA granted 60.1%. The department reports a 93.88% accuracy rate on its decisions, and 3.2% of decisions were appealed. Those are the department’s own figures, and the release does not break them down by type of claim.
Put another way, about four of every ten claims filed in fiscal 2026 did not end in a grant, going by the 60.1% figure. A veteran who gets a denial can appeal, and the VA reports that 3.2% of its decisions went to appeal. The 80% jump since fiscal 2022 implies the department took in roughly 1.75 million submissions four years ago, against more than 3.15 million now.
The same week, the VA’s press room also announced a record $106.5 million in cemetery grants for fiscal 2026. That item is listed on the VA press room alongside the hiring notice.
Who the VA is hiring, and how to apply
Fiscal 2027 runs from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, so the department has most of a year to fill the positions, and the job posting is open to applicants now. The release does not say how many of the 2,000 jobs are new positions and how many replace people who have left.
Applicants apply for the claims processor job through USAJOBS using job ID 889245400. The VA’s careers website lists other openings. Service members getting ready to leave the military can take the Warrior Training Advancement Course while still on active duty, which the VA says can lead to a job at the department.
The hiring is a federal jobs story as well as a benefits story. Claims processors decide how fast a disability or pension claim moves from filing to payment, and a veteran’s monthly check starts only after a decision.
What a veteran can do while a claim waits
The practical step is to check the claim status online and submit any evidence the file still lacks. Medical records, service records and income details are the kinds of evidence a claim file can be missing. A veteran who files for the VA pension also needs to report income and net worth completely.
The status page is also where a veteran sees whether the VA has requested more evidence. A veteran who ignores a request can wait longer than one who answers it quickly, so checking every week or two is cheap insurance against a stalled file. Veterans who get help from a family member or a county veterans service office can ask that person to check as well.
The stakes for a pension claim are concrete. The VA’s pension rate page lists a maximum annual rate of $29,093 for a veteran with no dependents who qualifies for Aid and Attendance. A claim that takes months longer to decide delays the first payment at whatever rate applies to that household.
Pension claimants file VA Form 21P-527EZ, and filing it costs nothing. Some paid helpers charge to complete it. A tracker with the filing date, the evidence sent and each follow-up call makes it easier to see when a claim has sat too long.
Claim sitting without a decision?
A claim that stalls on a missing record can cost a veteran months of benefit pay, and nothing in the VA’s hiring news changes that. The date a claim is filed and the evidence that goes with it are what protect the start of payment.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit includes a claim tracker and a walkthrough of how to file for free on VA Form 21P-527EZ. Its 75 pages also cover the pension-poacher warning signs, so a veteran can spot a helper who charges for what the VA does at no cost.
Get the VA claim tracker and free-filing walkthrough for a pending claim →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
