The Board found that the Veteran's daughter’s Social Security income was not reasonably available to or for his use, and thus should be excluded from the calculation of his own countable income. As a result, the November 2010 reduction in nonservice-connected pension benefits was not proper.
The deciding factor: The SSA payments received by the Veteran's daughter were not 'reasonably available' to or for his use as he did not have access to the money for his own use.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disability, Kidney disability, Bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, Diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180837
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headaches, a back disability, heart disability, and residuals of a stroke, as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active service or caused by his service-connected left ear disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, bilateral peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, and skeletal arthritis as there was no evidence to support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence that his death was related to any injury or disease in service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
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