By Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D
More than 6 million Americans receive earned benefits for military service – including disability compensation, education benefits, caregiver assistance, burial benefits and more. It is critical for spouses and caregivers to know how veterans benefits are accessed and what could happen when or if a veteran dies.
Consider this scenario. A veteran has not told his spouse much about his veteran’s benefits. The veteran dies suddenly. His spouse grieves and plans a funeral, which she pays for out of pocket. The $2,500 tax-free payment from the VA for her husband’s disability compensation has stopped being deposited into their bank account, which her spouse managed. Now she struggles to meet her expenses and is afraid she will have to sell their home.
Ultimately, she realizes she must connect with the VA to try to access survivor benefits. As she works her way through the bureaucracy, she struggles to understand what she may be eligible for and knows little about what her husband was receiving. This can be overwhelming during the best of times, but during this period of loss, it adds more stress.
Surviving spouses facing this situation are often approached by agents who offer to help them with VA benefits in return for payment. Faced with what feels like an insurmountable situation, some agree, even though paying for help is not necessary as many free resources are available to assist them.
Here are some tips to help veterans prevent this types of scenario from befalling their loved ones.
- Organize veterans benefits paperwork and information in a binder, and/or in a special digital folder that you share with your family. Carefully organize all the documentation related to your military service, your application for benefits, and the decision letters describing service connection. Store paper copies in a fireproof cabinet or safe. It is ideal to scan or photograph paper documentation and to also store it digitally on a computer or thumb drive.
- Explain your current veterans benefits to your family. Schedule a day and time to talk one-on-one with your family about the benefits you receive. Get out your binder and digital files and explain to them how the information is organized. Help them understand the situation as it is today.
- Discuss what happens to these benefits after you die and what additional benefits the family may receive. Disability compensation payments stop after a veteran dies. Additional survivor and burial benefits may be available after a veteran’s passing. You can learn more by checking online at VA.gov or with a veterans service officer (VSO).
- Plan ahead for possible financial shortfalls. Even if a survivor benefit is awarded to a widow or widower by the VA, the payment for this benefit will typically be lower than the disability compensation the veteran received while alive. One way to address this income shortfall before the veteran dies is to purchase life insurance that will provide additional income for the spouse.
- Give your family contact information for your VSO. Ideally, your spouse should be introduced to the VSO, so the spouse knows who can assist with applying for survivor and burial benefits after the veteran dies. While these conversations can be tough for many, they can better inform and relieve stress for our families in the future. You want for the people you love to be taken care of after you are gone, so do not delay having these conversations.
Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D., served as Under Secretary for Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from May 2018 to January 2021.
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