In addition to getting payments going back to your application date, you can get up to 12 months of retroactive payments for the year prior to your application date (or your protective filing date, discussed below) -- if you were disabled that long ago.
Characters will receive one specialization point at level 7 and another at level 14. Specialization points can be saved for later levels or used mid-level (the Level Up button on the stats sheet will be active if there are unspent specialization points).
Fallout: New Vegas Edit. Skill points are earned when reaching a new level of experience. Intelligence is the determining factor on how many points you receive. Points = 10 + (INT/2) . Note that 0.5's on odd intelligence level gains are saved for the next level. Example: You have 9 intelligence.