Need a VA benefits number you can stand behind?
The Veteran Benefit Desk runs always-on data pipelines against VBA workload reports, the Federal Register, and BLS releases. Everything below is free to cite and republish with attribution and a link. Methodology is public for every figure.
Right now
- VA claims backlog: 74,448 (as of 2026-09-26)
- 2027 COLA projection: 3.4% (CPI-W formula, data to date)
What we publish
Every dataset lists its primary sources on the page, so you can verify any figure independently.
Quarterly data report: backlog movement, rules finalized and proposed, COLA outlook. Figures frozen at publication, with a PDF.
VBA claims backlog and pending inventory, charted from the weekly workload reports.
Next year's COLA projection computed from official CPI-W releases using the statutory formula.
The full VA disability payment calendar, computed from the payment rules and federal holidays.
Every proposed and final VA rule touching benefits, from the Federal Register, with comment deadlines.
Current presumptive conditions and eligibility windows under the PACT Act.
Raw datasets
The series behind our trackers, downloadable as CSV or JSON. Every row is compiled directly from the primary source listed; we add no derived or editorial values. CC BY 4.0: free for research and reporting with attribution.
Weekly VBA workload snapshots: total pending, backlog (over 125 days), average days pending, appeals inventory.
Every VA proposed and final rule from the Federal Register with comment deadlines, effective dates, and a benefits-relevance flag.
We comment on VA rules
Before the VA can change a benefits regulation, federal law requires it to publish the proposal in the Federal Register and open a public comment period, usually 30 to 60 days. The agency must read the comments and address the significant ones in the final rule. The Veteran Benefit Desk files formal comments during those windows. Every comment we file is published in full with its docket number, so you can verify it on the federal record.
See the comments we have filed or follow open comment windows on the VA Rule Changes Tracker. Our complete engagement record, including FOIA requests and published research, lives on the Public Policy Participation page.
Citing us
Attribute figures to The Veteran Benefit Desk with a link to the page you pulled from. Example: "according to The Veteran Benefit Desk's Claims Backlog Tracker." That is the whole license. Screenshots of our charts are fine with the same attribution.
About us: The Veteran Benefit Desk is an independent, veteran-founded educational publisher covering VA disability benefits. Our work is published under a desk byline with public methodology, editorial policy, and corrections policy rather than personal bylines. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and we are not a law firm or claims agency. See how we review and cite sources and our methodology.
On deadline?
Need a specific cut of the data, a comment on a benefits change, or an embeddable chart? Reach us through the contact desk and mention you are press; those go to the top of the pile. Free live widgets are on the widgets page.