Survivor’s Pension

Also known as a Death Pension, the Survivor’s Pension aims to ease the financial burden carried by the surviving spouse or child of a deceased veteran. To qualify, a spouse must not be remarried and should be considered low income.* In order for a child to be eligible to receive his or her parent’s Survivor’s Pension, the child must be under the age of 18 or under the age of 23 if attending a VA approved school. Additionally, children who are  permanently unable to care for themselves due to a disability prior to age 18 are eligible for benefits without an upper age limit.

What are the service requirements for the veteran?

Above are the requirements for the recipient. What requirements are placed upon the veteran?

The deceased veteran must have met the following criteria:

  • Service on or before 9/7/1980 requires 90 days of active duty with at least one day during an active war period
  • For active duty after 9/7/1980, the veteran must have served for at least 24 months OR the full time for which they were called to duty with at least one day in an active war period
  • The veteran must have been discharged from service under other than dishonorable conditions

Don’t be confused – active duty during an active war period does not mean the veteran must have been involved in any sort of combat operations.  Those who served stateside far from the warzone during a conflict are just as eligible as those who saw combat.

How much money is the Survivor’s Pension?

The amount of pension paid is the difference between declared income/net worth and Congress’s current maximum allowed pension rate (currently $8,485). That difference is then split into 12 monthly payments.

To receive Survivor’s Pension, you’ll need to first determine your income and net worth. Because many applicants have quite a bit of medical expenses, it is important to include these to receive as large of a monthly benefit as possible. As long as the veteran’s service qualifies as above, and your income falls below the federal maximum, you can easily apply using the VA form 21-534EZ.

If you have questions about eligibility or the criteria involved in determinging Survivor’s Pension eligibility, reach out to us for a free consultation.  Simply complete the “Need Help” form or call the phone number on the upper right of this page to set one up.

* The definition of low income varies each year, subject to Congressional guidelines. For a spouse with no dependents, the current years’ maximum income allowed is $8,485. However, there are many deductions which can be used. The calculation can be quite complex. A survivor may apply or reapply any time their income/net worth falls below the maximum.

Travis Studdard is an attorney who focuses on representing veterans in VA disability compensation claims.  He regularly writes about issues that are important to veterans and their families.

You can subscribe to his Veterans Disability channel on YouTube.

I can't express enough how great it was to work with Perkins Studdard. They are extremely knowledgeable, professional and keep you aware of everything happening with your case. Very friendly from the front office to Mr. Perkins. I would HIGHLY recommend Perkins Studdard!James Strickland
I recommend Travis for an Veteran that has been dealing with constant denial with claims. He also , cover cost for my nexus letter when I ran into financial troubles , that helped me win my case.edwin Cook
I highly recommend Travis Studdard to represent anyone looking to help with VA claims. The VA is very difficult to deal with when attempting to get benefits from service connected injuries, at least that's my experience. Travis and his team knows the VA system and the legal procedures to help you get what you deserve. Travis was kind and passionate with me throughout this process and therefore, I highly recommend this law firm to represent DAV's.Terry Hembree
Such an awesome team. They spoke to me like a person and helped me through every decision with knowledge.Kevin Collett
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Amazing staff, very informed along with excellent communication. Within just a few weeks of work, Mr Studdard was able to make things happen that normally take years! Highly recommendJacob Sylvester
Perkins Studdard LLC is the place you need to be if you have a Workers Comp case going on! Mr. Jason Perkins and his staff get the results that you need. They work with you and fight for you.Coming from another lawyer my husband and I were really surprised and appreciated the communication and honesty and understanding throughout the entire process. My husband loves the videos because they held so much information and helped him understand what what was going on. Thank you so much for representing us!!!Deborah Tompkins
I highly recommend Jason Perkins and the Team at Perkins and Studdard. Jason did a wonderful job on my case and actually got me better results than what I was hoping for. He was always so patient with me and made sure I was understanding every process in my case. He never seemed to mind me asking questions and always gave me straightforward answers. My phone calls to him or his staff were promptly answered or returned and everyone was always so helpful, personable, and respectful. He kept me updated on all the details of my case and sent helpful videos for me to review that were very informative.Dru Vaughn
Helped me when I needed after getting hurt at work. Thank you for everything!The Knight Family
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