The Board found that the termination and reduction of nonservice-connected death pension benefits were proper, as the Appellant's income exceeded the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for a surviving spouse with no dependents.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the Appellant's income exceeding the MAPR due to receipt of Social Security Administration (SSA) income and not counting caregiver expenses paid to her brother as a medical expense.
- Claimed conditions
- nonservice-connected death pension benefits
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19127427
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Board determined that the appellant's substantive appeal was untimely filed, and thus lacks jurisdiction to consider the claims for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, accrued benefits, and nonservice-connected death pension benefits.
- Granted
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- Remanded (sent back)
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