Widows of Disabled Vets

[christiane41]

Hi. I am new to this forum. My husband is a disabled vet with a 100% rating. We have been married for 42 years. Unfortunately we were never able to get life insurance and his SS benefits are very low. My question. In the event that my husband would pass before I would, do i understand this correctly that all of his disability payment will go away? Other than his SS I won't have much to live on. So here is my question. Is there possibly some financial help the VA offers for widows in this case? I read some place about DIC payments. But i was not sure if that applied to me. My husband is 64 and I am 59. Thank you in advance. 

 

Christiane

[Berta]

The SSA has excellent info here:

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou.html

." Is there possibly some financial help the VA offers for widows in this case? I read some place about DIC payments"

We have an entire forum here on DIC. 

https://community.hadit.com/forum/85-dic/

The VA criteria on DIC is here:

https://benefits.va.gov/compensation/types-dependency_and_indemnity.asp

They do not put 1151 DIC info there - and I hope it never applies to you because 1151 DIC is awarded for wrongful death due to VA malpractice.

We have plenty of info on 1151 DIC in either DIC forum or the FTCA/1151 forum here.

The DIC monthly rate with the new COLA is 1, 319.04, for spouse DIC with no children.

If a widow is not eligible for DIC they might be eligible for a VA wartime pension- yet that is very income limited.

I received a wartime pension award, very long ago, but the letter said my income was too high- so no VA money.

I subsequently married another veteran and received 1151 DIC up to 2009, and then DIC due directly to his service. 

Is your husband's rating solely for one SC? Is his rating P & T as well ?(Permanent and Total)

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

The wartime pension also depends on wartime service-

as defined in these dates:

https://www.benefits.va.gov/pension/wartimeperiod.asp

We have other pension info searchable here.

[christiane41]

24 minutes ago, Berta said:

The SSA has excellent info here:

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou.html

." Is there possibly some financial help the VA offers for widows in this case? I read some place about DIC payments"

We have an entire forum here on DIC. 

https://community.hadit.com/forum/85-dic/

The VA criteria on DIC is here:

https://benefits.va.gov/compensation/types-dependency_and_indemnity.asp

They do not put 1151 DIC info there - and I hope it never applies to you because 1151 DIC is awarded for wrongful death due to VA malpractice.

We have plenty of info on 1151 DIC in either DIC forum or the FTCA/1151 forum here.

The DIC monthly rate with the new COLA is 1, 319.04, for spouse DIC with no children.

If a widow is not eligible for DIC they might be eligible for a VA wartime pension- yet that is very income limited.

I received a wartime pension award, very long ago, but the letter said my income was too high- so no VA money.

I subsequently married another veteran and received 1151 DIC up to 2009, and then DIC due directly to his service. 

Is your husband's rating solely for one SC? Is his rating P & T as well ?(Permanent and Total)

 

 

 

 

Hello and Thank you for your reply with many links. I will be busy reading. My husband is 100% disabled for multiple reasons. I do not know what you mean by "SC"? I do know with his rating he was unemployable. So he receives SSI. As long as he is alive, we do okay. I stopped working last year due to some mental decline. I would say due to medication more than anything. Heart issues and knee issues. I drive him to all of his appointments. I just got concerned that financially i am not looking good should something happen to him after death. Of course i could be the one going before him. In that case this is a mute point. I do not know about a wartime award pension. Funny thing is, he was in Vietnam for 6 months during the war, however the Army has no record of it??? I do not know that that will help me in any way. I will read about the DIC payment. That would for sure help me. That and his SS should enable me to not totally go to the poorhouse. Thank you so much for your information. I wish we had life insurance, but we missed the boat on that too. God bless you . Have a great day!!!

 

Christiane

[Berta]

Sorry - I used SC acronym-

SC means - Service connected

Does he get a compensation check from the VA every month?

His VA award letter will reveal what service connected conditions he  has and also if he is determined to be Permanent  and Total by the VA.

It sounds like he gets TDIU -Total Disability due to Individual Unemployability.

But you mentioned SSI- does he get SSI and not VA compensation?

Or does he get both?

Or do  you mean he gets a wartime VA pension with a 100 rating?

If by heart condition you mean Ischemic heart disease due to exposure to AO in Vietnam, 

and this condition causes his death-

you said

"Funny thing is, he was in Vietnam for 6 months during the war, however the Army has no record of it??? 

Now is the time to get his SMRs and 201 Personnel file from NARA- as wel as for him to obtain any buddy statement he can from someone who served in his unit same time, same place Vietnamto prove he was actually there,during the Vietnam War.

Many Vietnam vets die from Ischemc heart disease,my husband is one of them) and it is -presumptive to Agent Orange.

Doea he have a SC rating for the heart problems now?

If not what is the NSC rating in his past award letter?

6 months in Vietnam is rare- during the war- was he injured before the one year DEROS was up?

DEROS Date of Estimated Return from Overseas.The DEROS for Vietnam vets is on the DD 214 as dates for overseas service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Berta]

Here is the NARA web site- he can fill out the SF 180 on line there, and then print a copy for himself, than print off the bar coded thing they will need, sign that, , make a copy for himself, and mail it in  with proof of mailing to where the 180 form says to send it.

https://www.archives.gov/research

I regret I am confused already here-

Can you tell us exactly what he gets VA compensation for? the diagnosis and the rating?

I do not know much about SSI, or how it affects widow's benefits. or VA benefits-

 

[christiane41]

Berta

 

He crashed with his parachute. He was a paratrooper.  It did not open completely. Not right away, but down the line it became apparent that the accident caused many back and leg issues. So yes, his 100% from the VA is service connected. I do not understand about the 6 months either and why the Army has no record of his Vietnam tour. He is not aware of AO exposure. He has some heart failure going on. So i do not know if we can say it is service connected. So the DIC is dependent on the cause of death? It is not likely that he will die of a service connected issue due to it being more physical such as knee and back . I just read the award letter. Effective Feb 2002, he was assigned permanent 100% disability for service connected disability.,in addition to being unable to go to work due to service connected disability. The SSDI is Social Security Disability payment he receives apart in addition to the VA benefit. 

 

Unfortunately his memory is very bad and he has no recollection of people who served with him. His DD 214 only show Germany as his overseas tour. That is where he met me and we were married. I am German but now I am a citizen. My husband is not very forthcoming in helping me find all that i need after his leaving. And i often can't do much due to me not being the service member. I am sure you understand. 

 

Can you tell me what "SMR's" stands for? I think my husbands problems with his heart now and of course as we get older made me think of what if. I feel like I am treading in mud due to ignorance. Thank you for listening and helping me. We have some digging to do. 

 

Thank you again

Christiane