By Dr. Sidney Ordway, BVA National Secretary
Editor’s Note: Dr. Ordway’s discussion is the third in his three-part series of Bulletin articles on the subject of VA claims. He has compiled the information in an effort to dispel the ambiguity and misconceptions that often accompany the process. Please see the Spring and Summer 2005 issues for Parts I and II.
Miscellaneous
Disability Benefits
Parts I and II of my series have detailed the most commonly discussed VA benefits for which claims arise. The following constitute the lesser known VA benefits of which many blinded veterans may not be fully aware: priority inpatient and outpatient medical care; prosthetics; sensory and rehabilitative aids; clothing allowances; automobile grants; vocational rehabilitation; disabled veterans life insurance; preference for employment in the federal government; job finding assistance; specially adapted housing grants; burial benefits; dependents educational assistance program; medical care for dependents and survivors (CHAMPVA); and miscellaneous state and local benefits.
DIC Benefits
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a monthly benefit paid to eligible survivors of 1) a military service member who died on active duty, or 2) a veteran whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease, or 3) a veteran whose death resulted from a nonservice-related injury or disease and who was receiving, or was entitled to receive, VA compensation for a service-connected disability that was rated as permanent and totally disabling.
In the aforementioned third case, the disability should have been rated as permanent and totally disabling for at least ten years prior to death, or for at least five years after the veteran’s release from active duty. In an additional scenario, survivors are eligible for DIC benefits if the veteran was disabled for at least one year before death and a former prisoner of war who died after September 30, 1999.
Surviving spouses are eligible survivors for DIC benefits if they meet one of the following four criteria: 1) they validly married the veteran before January 1, 1957, 2) they were married to a service member who died on active duty, 3) they married the veteran within 15 years of discharge from the period of military service in which the disease or injury that caused the veteran’s death began or was aggravated, or 4) they were married to the veteran for at least one year.
Eligibility is also possible if surviving spouses meet all of the following conditions: 1) they had a child with the veteran, 2) they cohabitated with the veteran continuously until the veteran’s death or, if separated, they were not at fault for the separation, and 3) they are not currently remarried. A recent law change allows spouses to retain DIC benefits if their age is 57 or older at the time of remarriage.
Surviving children are eligible for DIC benefits if they are unmarried and under age 18. They may remain eligible between the ages of 18 and 23 if they are attending school. In special cases, surviving parents may be eligible for an income-based benefit. Certain helpless adult children are also entitled to the benefits.
The basic monthly DIC rate is $993 for eligible surviving spouses. In some cases, there can be a larger payout, i.e. dependent children, health of the spouse, etc. When the surviving spouse is eligible for payments under the military’s Survivor Benefit Program (SBP), only the amount of SBP greater than DIC is payable.
To apply for DIC benefits, complete VA Form 21-534 (Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, Death Pension and Accrued Benefits by a Surviving Spouse or Child) and submit it to the VA regional office that serves your area.
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