§ 3.3 Pension.
(a) Pension for veterans(1) Service
pension; Spanish-American War. A benefit payable monthly
by the Department of Veterans Affairs because of service in the
Spanish-American War. Basic entitlement exists if a veteran:
(i) Had 70 (or 90) days or
more active service during the Spanish-American War; or
(ii) Was discharged or released from such service for
a disability adjudged service connected without benefit of presumptive
provisions of law, or at the time of discharge had such a service-connected
disability, shown by official service records, which in medical judgment would
have justified a discharge for disability.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1512)
(2) Section 306 pension.
A benefit payable monthly by the Department of Veterans
Affairs because of nonservice-connected disability or age. Basic
entitlement exists if a veteran:
(i) Served 90 days or more
in either the Mexican border period, World War I,
World War II, the Korean conflict, or the Vietnam era, or served an aggregate
of 90 days or more in separate periods of service during the same or during
different war periods, including service during the Spanish-American War (Pub.
L. 87101, 75 Stat. 218; Pub. L. 9077, 81 Stat. 178; Pub. L. 92198, 85 Stat.
663); or
(ii) Served continuously for a period of 90
consecutive days or more and such period ended during the Mexican border period
or World War I, or began or ended during World War II, the Korean conflict or
the Vietnam era (Pub. L. 87101, 75 Stat. 218; Pub. L. 88664, 78 Stat. 1094;
Pub. L. 9077, 81 Stat. 178; Pub. L. 91588, 84 Stat. 1580; Pub. L. 92198, 85
Stat. 663; Pub. L. 94169, 89 Stat. 1013; Pub. L. 95204, 91 Stat. 1455); or
(iii) Was discharged or released from such wartime
service, before having served 90 days, for a disability adjudged service
connected without the benefit of presumptive provisions of law, or at the time
of discharge had such a service-connected disability, shown by official service
records, which in medical judgment would have justified a discharge for
disability; and
(iv) Is permanently and totally disabled (a)
from nonservice-connected disability not due to the veteran's own willful
misconduct or vicious habits, or (b) by reason of having attained the
age of 65 years or by reason of having become unemployable after age 65; and
(v)(a) Is in receipt of section 306 pension or
(b) has an application for pension pending on December 31, 1978, or (c)
meets the age or disability requirements for such pension on December 31, 1978,
and files a claim within 1 year of that date and also within 1 year after
meeting the age or disability requirements.
(vi) Meets the income and net worth requirements of 38
U.S.C. 1521 and 1522 as in effect on December 31, 1978, and all other
provisions of title 38, United States Code, in effect on December 31, 1978,
applicable to section 306 pension.
Note:
The pension provisions of title 38 U.S.C., as in
effect on December 31, 1978, are available in any VA regional office.
(3) Improved pension; Pub. L. 95588 (92 Stat.
2497). A benefit payable by the Department of Veterans
Affairs to veterans of a period or periods of war because of
nonservice-connected disability or age. The qualifying periods of war
for this benefit are the Mexican border period, World War I, World War II, the
Korean conflict, the Vietnam era and the Persian Gulf War. Payments are made
monthly unless the amount of the annual benefit is less than 4 percent of the
maximum annual rate payable to a veteran under 38 U.S.C. 1521(b), in which case
payments may be made less frequently than monthly. Basic entitlement exists if
a veteran:
(i) Served in the active
military, naval or air service for 90 days or more during a period of war (38
U.S.C. 1521(j)); or
(ii) Served in the active military, naval or air service
during a period of war and was discharged or released from such service for a
disability adjudged service-connected without presumptive provisions of law, or
at time of discharge had such a service-connected disability, shown by official
service records, which in medical judgment would have justified a discharge for
disability (38 U.S.C. 1521(j)); or
(iii) Served in the active military, naval or air
service for a period of 90 consecutive days or more and such period began or
ended during a period of war (38 U.S.C. 1521(j)); or
(iv) Served in the active military, naval or air
service for an aggregate of 90 days or more in two or more separate periods of
service during more than one period of war (38 U.S.C. 1521(j)); and
(v) Meets the net worth requirements under §3.274 and
does not have an annual income in excess of the applicable maximum annual
pension rate specified in §3.23; and
(vi)(A) Is age 65 or older; or
(B) Is permanently and totally disabled from
nonservice-connected disability not due to the veteran's own willfull misconduct. For purposes of this paragraph, a
veteran is considered permanently and totally disabled if the veteran is any of
the following:
(1) A patient in a nursing home for long-term
care because of disability; or
(2) Disabled, as determined by the Commissioner
of Social Security for purposes of any benefits administered by the
Commissioner; or
(3) Unemployable as a result of disability
reasonably certain to continue throughout the life of the person; or
(4) Suffering from:
(i) Any disability
which is sufficient to render it impossible for the average person to follow a
substantially gainful occupation, but only if it is reasonably certain that
such disability will continue throughout the life of the person; or
(ii) Any disease or disorder determined by VA
to be of such a nature or extent as to justify a determination that persons
suffering from that disease or disorder are permanently and totally disabled.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C.
1502(a), 1513, 1521, 1522)
(b) Pension for survivors(1) Indian war
death pension. A monthly benefit payable by the
Department of Veterans Affairs to the surviving spouse or child of a deceased
veteran of an Indian war. Basic entitlement exists if a veteran had
qualifying service as specified in 38 U.S.C. 1511. Indian war death pension
rates are set forth in 38 U.S.C. 1534 and 1535.
(2) Spanish-American War death pension. A
monthly benefit payable by the Department of Veterans Affairs to the surviving
spouse or child of a deceased veteran of the Spanish-American War, if the
veteran:
(i) Had 90 days or more
active service during the Spanish-American War; or
(ii) Was discharged or released from such service for
a disability service-connected without benefit of presumptive provisions of
law, or at time of discharge had such a service-connected disability, as shown
by official service records, which in medical judgment would have justified a
discharge for disability.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1536,
1537)
(3) Section 306 death pension.
A monthly benefit payable by the Department of Veterans
Affairs to a surviving spouse or child because of a veteran's
nonservice-connected death. Basic entitlement exists if:
(i) The veteran (as defined
in §3.1(d) and (d)(2)) had qualifying service as
specified in paragraph (a)(2)(i), (ii), or (iii) of
this section; or
(ii) The veteran was, at time of death, receiving or
entitled to receive compensation or retired pay for service-connected
disability based on wartime service; and
(iii) The surviving spouse or child (A) was in receipt
of section 306 pension on December 31, 1978, or (B) had a claim for pension
pending on that date, or (C) filed a claim for pension after that date but
within 1 year after the veteran's death, if the veteran died before January 1,
1979; and
(iv) The surviving spouse or child meets the income
and net worth requirements of 38 U.S.C. 1541, 1542 or 1543 as in effect on
December 31, 1978, and all other provisions of title 38, United States Code in
effect on December 31, 1978, applicable to section 306 pension.
Note:
The pension provisions of title 38, United States
Code, as in effect on December 31, 1978, are available in any VA regional
office.)
(4) Improved death pension, Public Law 95588.
A benefit payable by the Department of Veterans Affairs to a veteran's
surviving spouse or child because of the veteran's nonservice-connected death.
Payments are made monthly unless the amount of the annual benefit is less than
4 percent of the maximum annual rate payable to a veteran under 38 U.S.C.
1521(b), in which case payments may be made less frequently than monthly. Basic
entitlement exists if:
(i) The veteran (as defined
in §3.1(d) and (d)(2)) had qualifying service as
specified in paragraph (a)(3)(i), (ii), (iii), or
(iv) of this section (38 U.S.C. 1541(a)); or
(ii) The veteran was, at time of death, receiving or
entitled to receive compensation or retired pay for a service-connected
disability based on service during a period of war. (The qualifying periods of
war are specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this
section.) (38 U.S.C. 1541(a)); and
(iii) The surviving spouse or child meets the net
worth requirements of §3.274 and has an annual income not in excess of the
applicable maximum annual pension rate specified in §§3.23 and 3.24.
(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1541 and 1542).
Cross References:
Section 306 pension. See §3.1(u). Improved pension.
See §3.1(w). Improved pension rates. See §3.23.
Improved pension rates; surviving children. See §3.24. Frequency
of payment of improved pension. See §3.30. Relationship
of net worth to pension entitlement. See §3.274.
[44 FR 45931, Aug. 6, 1979, as amended at 56 FR 19579,
Apr. 29, 1991; 56 FR 22910, May 17, 1991; 56 FR 25044, June 3, 1991; 56 FR
57986, Nov. 15, 1991; 68 FR 34541, June 10, 2003]