Your pension ends when you die unless you sign up for a survivor (death) benefit plan when you retire. These benefits and funeral honors pertain to veterans who are buried in a veterans’ cemetery or elsewhere, as well as those who wish to be cremated. Hit enter to expand a main menu option (Health, Benefits, etc). Department of Defense military retiree, report the death to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Coast Guard retiree, contact the Coast Guard Pay & Personnel Center. Funeral Directors know VA benefits and procedures very well and a frank talk about niche placement or in-ground burial at a National Cemetery can, and should be arranged through the Director. The new burial regulations will permit VA to pay, at a flat rate, burial and plot or interment allowances thereby enabling VA to automate payment of burial benefits to most eligible surviving spouses and more efficiently process other burial benefit claims. To enter and activate the submenu links, hit the down arrow. FSGLI: Family Servicemembers Group Life Insurance, Schedule of Payments for Traumatic Losses, S-DVI: Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance, Beneficiary Financial Counseling and Online Will, Lesbian Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Veterans, Claims Adjudication Procedures Manual/Live Manual, Link to subscribe to receive email notice of changes to the Live Manual. Veterans who did not receive a dishonorable discharge are eligible for a fully paid headstone, grave marker, or niche marker. Veteran Funeral Allowances. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide,
See the steps for scheduling a burial at a VA national cemetery. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. There is Office of Accountability & Whistleblower Protection, Training – Exposure – Experience (TEE) Tournament, Staff Appraisal Reviewer (SAR) Information, How to Apply for Nonsupervised Automatic Authority, VALERI (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface). You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. You may wish to make arrangements with a funeral home in advance to ensure that all the costs of a … VA will pay up to $2,000 toward burial expenses for deaths on or after September 11, 2001, or up to $1,500 for deaths prior to September 11, 2001. See the steps for scheduling a burial at a VA national cemetery. Please enable JavaScript in your web browser; otherwise some parts of this site might not work properly. An official website of the United States government. My DH died Dec. 1, 2015 from his AO disabilities. The person who paid for the funeral expenses of a veteran may be eligible for a reimbursement or allowance for a portion of the funeral and burial/cremation expenses. See an interactive map and list of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemeteries. Arlington National Cemetery has stricter eligibility rules than other national cemeteries. A locked padlock This section will give your insight on the benefits and privileges given to passing veterans. The veteran’s family or representative can apply for a veterans burial allowance (or veterans death benefit), in certain cases. They help cover eligible Veterans’ burial and funeral costs. Apply in advance to learn if you qualify for burial in a VA national cemetery. Under the current regulations, VA pays for burial and funeral expenses on a reimbursement basis, which requires survivors to submit receipts for relatively small one-time payments that VA generally pays at the maximum amount permitted by law. Check with your funeral director for burial benefits that may be available for eligible dependents at your local state cemetery and any fees associated with burial. The funds are supposed to be paid automatically to the surviving spouse as soon as the VA is notified about the death. It can't be used for cremation, which is a funeral director service. The Veteran was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The statement of account must show: The name of the deceased Veteran for whom the services and merchandise were furnished. If burial occurs outside a VA cemetery the VA will pay an additional $722 for the plot or interment costs. How Does VGLI Compare to Other Insurance Programs? These benefits can be easily accessed if you know the process. The Veteran died while hospitalized by VA, or while receiving care under VA contract at a non-VA facility. 1. The Veteran died while traveling under proper authorization and at VA expense to or from a specified place for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. The VA does not manage burials at state, territorial, or tribal veterans cemeteries. Dunn, NC 1-910-892-6061. Veteran Death Benefits: Funeral and Burial Expense Allowances. Almost all veterans can receive military funeral honors at no cost.