New London — About 15 percent of all veterans living in New London County are receiving disability compensation, and less than 1 percent are receiving disability pension benefits, according to a recent report from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Last week the VA released a report providing county-level estimates of the number of veterans who received disability compensation or pension benefits for the 2014 fiscal year. Nationally, the number receiving disability compensation has increased by more than 6 percent to 3.9 million. The number receiving disability pension benefits has increased by less than 1 percent to about 304,000, according to the VA.

The report came in the same week that the VA announced it was ending its informal claims process and is now requiring veterans seeking disability and other benefits to use standardized claims and appeals forms. The agency says using these forms will make the process easier and speed up backlog. Previously, veterans could send a letter to the VA indicating their desire to file a claim.

Disability compensation is paid to veterans whom the VA determines to have a service-connected disability. If the VA determines that a veteran is disabled, the monthly compensation varies depending on the degree of disability and the number of eligible dependents, according to the VA's website.

Census data shows that there are about 25,000 veterans living in New London County. About 3,900 receive disability compensation, while about 150 receive disability pension, according to the VA report.

Veterans can receive a disability rating from zero percent to 100 percent, and the amount of monthly compensation is tied to that rating. In 2014, a veteran who had a 10 percent disability rating received $130.94 per month, and a veteran who had a 100 percent disability rating received $2,858.24 per month, according to the VA.

The majority of New London County veterans receiving disability compensation are either at the beginning of the rating scale or at the end. About 1,200 receiving disability compensation have a zero to 20 percent disability rating, and about 1,100 have a 70 to 100 percent rating. These totals represent 60 percent of those receiving disability compensation in the county.

Of the eight Connecticut counties, New London County ranks third behind Hartford and New Haven, in terms of the number of veterans receiving disability compensation. Fairfield County is a close fourth. In terms of the number of veterans receiving disability pension benefits, New London County ranks fourth of the eight counties. Litchfield County is a close fifth.

For Connecticut, as a whole, around 25,000 veterans living in the state are receiving disability compensation, and about 2,000 are receiving disability pension benefits. Census estimates show a few more than 215,000 veterans living in the state in total although the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs website lists its area of responsibility as "310,000 Connecticut Veterans."

The number of Connecticut veterans receiving disability compensation or disability pension benefits is less than 1 percent of all U.S. veterans receiving such compensation or benefits.

j.bergman@theday.com

@JuliaSBergman