The appellant's benefits from SSA and NSLI policies are considered income for VA death pension purposes, and her annual pension rate was computed properly based on these factors.
The deciding factor: The appellant's benefits from SSA and NSLI policies were counted as income for VA death pension purposes due to the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1503(a) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.271, which require all payments of any kind or from any source (including salary, retirement or annuity payments, or similar income, which has been waived) to be included in countable income for the purpose of determining entitlement to improved pension.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2001
- Citation
- 0113014
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0113014.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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