John Plahovinsak
Created in 1993, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a monthly benefit paid to eligible survivors of service members who died in the line of duty or their death is a result of service-related injuries.
The DIC, paid by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides surviving families with the means to maintain some semblance of economic stability after loss of their loved ones.
Under the Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, survivors with previously denied claims may be newly eligible for DIC related to toxic exposures.
These survivors may reapply for DIC benefits and might receive retroactive payments dating back to the original date of entitlement.
On December 3, 2024, the VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an analysis of two (2) statistical samples of DIC claims that were reopened under the PACT Act, after they were previously denied. Both sets of DIC claims were completed from January 1, 2023, to July 31, 2023.
The first set of DIC claims were claims that were denied and then re-evaluated by the VBA staff. After a re-evaluation process, the DIC claims were denied again.
The second set of DIC benefit claims were claims that were granted by the VBA after being reprocessed.
For the first set of DIC claims the OIG staff found “that the pension management center staff generally denied these claims appropriately.”
However, problems arose for the second set of DIC claims that were granted after being reprocessed.
For the second set of DIC claims, the OIG “team projected that pension management center staff inaccurately processed an estimated 517 of 1,669 claims (about 31 percent).”
“Further, the team projected that about 284 of 1,669 claims (about 17 percent) resulted in underpayments to (DIC) survivors totaling about
$33.1 million.”
The OIG determined that the errors stemmed from unclear guidance on how to reevaluate claims and from a lack of information system enhancements. These errors, according to the OIG Report, resulted in a projected over $33 million in underpayments to survivors of veterans.
The OIG Report made three (3) recommendations to the VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits to correct the described situation.
First, correct the two errors involving prematurely denied Dependency and Indemnity Compensation claims.
Second, conduct a file review of the reopened Dependency and Indemnity Compensation claims granted under the PACT Act from January 1 through August 31, 2023, and take appropriate actions to ensure monetary benefits and notification letters are accurate.
Third, consider whether modifications could be made to the reevaluation request process consistent with the PACT Act and related regulations and, should this result in a policy change, consult with the VA Office of General Counsel.
The VA’s Under Secretary of Benefits agreed with the recommendations and would take necessary actions to make the changes.
My Opinion: The Office of Inspector General (OIG) should be commended for pointing out that veterans’ survivors have been “shortchanged” for over $33.1 million dollars because of actions initiated by VBA staff.
Now, these survivors should contact their elected representatives in Washington to receive their underpayments and correct the VBA errors.
In the past, the rate of DIC payments has been minimally adjusted since 1993. In contrast, monthly benefits for survivors of federal civil service retirees are calculated as a percentage of the civil service retiree’s Federal Employees Retirement System or Civil Service Retirement System benefits, up to fifty-five (55%) percent.
As of 2024, DIC payments are approximately forty-one (41%) percent for a 100% service-disabled veteran with a spouse. This difference presents an inequity for survivors of our veterans compared with survivors of federal civil service employees.
In the past, I have urged Congress to enact H.R. 1083, the Caring for Survivors Act, to ease the eligibility criteria for DIC and increase the monthly benefit amount to match benefits provided by other federal survivor programs.
Another DIC problem area that should be dealt with by Congress is the age differential for spouses. For decades, surviving spouses were no longer eligible for DIC benefits if they remarried before age fifty-seven (57) years old. Then in 2001, the remarriage age for spouses was lowered to fifty-five (55) years old.
Removing the remarriage age for surviving spouses has been a long-standing issue for many veteran service organizations (VSOs). Surviving spouses who are currently in receipt of DIC benefits should not have to worry about losing their benefits if they remarry before the age of fifty-five (55) years old.
Congress has had H.R. 3651, the Love Lives On Act, on it’s docket for the 118th Congressional Session. This Act would eliminate the remarriage age for survivors in receipt of DIC benefits.
Both H.R. 1083 and H.R. 3651 should be passed and enacted by Congress!
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a 32-year Army veteran who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio’s Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.