Bereavement Counseling
VA Vet Centers provide bereavement counseling to all family members including spouses, children, parents and siblings of service members who die while on active duty. This includes federally activated members of the National Guard and reserve components. Bereavement services may be accessed by calling (202) 461-6530.
Death Pension
VA provides pensions to low-income surviving spouses and unmarried children of deceased veterans with wartime service.
Eligibility: To be eligible, spouses must not have remarried and children must be under age 18, or under age 23 if attending a VA-approved school, or have become permanently incapable of self-support because of disability before age 18.
The veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable and must have had 90 days or more of active military service, at least one day of which was during a period of war, or a service-connected disability justifying discharge. Longer periods of service may be required for veterans who entered active duty on or after Sept. 8, 1980, or Oct. 16, 1981, if an officer. If the veteran died in service but not in the line of duty, the death pension may be payable if the veteran completed at least two years of honorable service.
Children who become incapable of self-support because of a disability before age 18 may be eligible for the death pension as long as the condition exists, unless the child marries or the child’s income exceeds the applicable limit.
A surviving spouse may be entitled to a higher income limit if living in a nursing home, in need of the aid and attendance of another person or is permanently housebound.
Payment: The death pension provides a monthly payment to bring an eligible person’s income to a level established by law. The payment is reduced by the annual income from other sources such as Social Security. The payment may be increased if the recipient has unreimbursed medical expenses that can be deducted from countable
income.
Death Pension Rates
| Recipient of Pension | Maximum Annual Rate |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | $7,498 |
| (With dependent child) | $9,815 |
| Permanently housebound | $9,164 |
| (With dependent child) | $11,478 |
| Needs regular aid & attendance | $11,985 |
| (With dependent child) | $14,298 |
| Each additional dependent child | $1,909 |
| Pension for each surviving child | $1,909 |
Death Gratuity Payment
Military services provide payment, called a death gratuity, in the amount of $100,000 to the next of kin of service members who die while on active duty or retirees who die within 120 days of retirement as a result of service-connected injury or illness. Parents, brothers or sisters may be provided the payment, if designated as next of kin by the deceased. The payment is made by the last military command of the deceased. If the beneficiary is not paid automatically, application may be made to the military service concerned.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
Eligibility: For a survivor to be eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), the veteran’s death must have resulted from one of the following causes:
-
1. A disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on active duty or active duty for training.
2. An injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on inactive duty training.
3. A service-connected disability or a condition directly related to a service-connected disability.
DIC also may be paid to survivors of veterans who were totally disabled from service-connected conditions at the time of death, even though their service-connected disabilities did not cause their deaths. The survivor qualifies if the veteran was:
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1. Continuously rated totally disabled for a period of 10 years immediately preceding death.
2. Continuously rated totally disabled from the date of military discharge and for at least 5 years immediately preceding death.
3. Or a former POW who died after Sept. 30, 1999, and who was continuously rated totally disabled for a period of at least one year immediately preceding death.
Payments will be offset by any amount received from judicial proceedings
brought on by the veteran’s death. The discharge must have been under conditions other than dishonorable. Payments for Deaths After Jan. 1, 1993: Surviving spouses of veterans who died on or after Jan. 1, 1993, receive a basic rate, plus additional payments for dependent children, for the aid and attendance of another person if they are patients in a nursing home or require the regular assistance of another person, or if they are permanently housebound.
VA Death Payment Rates for Surviving Spouses*
| Allowances | Monthly Rate |
|---|---|
| Basic Payment Rate | $1,091 |
| Additional Allowances: | |
| Each Dependent Child | $271 |
| Aid and Attendance | $271 |
| Housebound | $128 |
*Veterans who died on or after Jan. 1, 1993.
Special Allowances: Add $233 if the veteran was totally disabled eight continuous years prior to death. Add $250 to the additional allowance for dependent children for the initial two years of entitlement for DIC awards commencing on or after Jan. 1, 2005.
Payments for Deaths Prior to Jan. 1, 1993: Surviving spouses of veterans who died prior to Jan. 1, 1993, receive an amount based on the deceased’s military pay grade.
VA Death Payment Rates for Surviving Spouses*
| Enlisted | Rate | Warrant Officer |
Rate | Officer | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $1,091 | W-1 | $1,153 | O-1 | $1,153 |
| E-2 | $1,091 | W-2 | $1,198 | O-2 | $1,191 |
| E-3 | $1,091 | W-3 | $1,234 | O-3 | $1,274 |
| E-4 | $1,091 | W-4 | $1,305 | O-4 | $1,349 |
| E-5 | $1,091 | O-5 | $1,485 | ||
| E-6 | $1,091 | O-6 | $1,674 | ||
| E-7 | $1,129 | O-7 | $1,808 | ||
| E-8 | $1,191 | O-8 | $1,985 | ||
| E-9 | $1,242 | O-9 | $2,123 | ||
| O-10 | $2,328 |
*Veterans who died prior to Jan. 1, 1993.
Payments to Parents: The monthly payment for parents of deceased veterans depends upon their income.
Restored Entitlement Program for Survivors: Survivors of veterans who died of service-connected causes incurred or aggravated prior to Aug. 13, 1981, may be eligible for a special benefit payable in addition to any other benefits to which the family may be entitled. The amount of the benefit is based on information provided by the Social Security Administration.