A surviving spouse is entitled to Survivors Pension with an j. Example 2: Example: Income effective date of March 15, 2014. The award is payable from April 1, 2014. Changes The award is based on IVAP of $0. The surviving spouse receives a During Initial retirement check for $3,000 on July 3, 2014. It represents a $2,500 12 Months of retroactive check and the regular $500 check for July. The surviving spouse Award expects to receive $500 each month in the future from this source. Stop the award effective August 1, 2014, because IVAP of $8,500 exceeds the applicable MAPR. If there are no other changes in the surviving spouse’s income, entitlement exists effective August 1, 2015, when the $2,500 retroactive payment has been counted for 12 months. If the surviving spouse re-establishes entitlement effective August 1, Note: 2015, the payment date would be September 1, 2015, per and . k. Counting A corollary of the rule that all income must be counted for 12 months on the Initial 12 Pension awards is the principle that income that bars payment of Pension Months of must be considered for a full 12 months from the first day of the month after Income for the effective date. Disallowed Claims Example: May 10, 2013: Veteran died. June 10, 2014: Surviving spouse files original pension claim. Pension denied because of monthly wages of $1,400. May 1, 2015: Surviving spouse re-applies for pension. She states she has no income because she lost her job in November 2014. She received $9,800 between June 10, 2014, and November 2014. The $9,800 short-term recurring income must be counted for a full 12 months from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015. An award can be made based on IVAP of $0 with a payment date of July 1, 2015. The period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, then becomes the surviving initial period for spouse’s the purposes of claiming medical expenses. In the initial denial letter, inform the surviving spouse that she has until Note: January 1, 2017, to claim unreimbursed medical expenses to establish entitlement from June 10, 2014.
j. Example 2: Income Changes During Initial 12 Months of Award Example: A surviving spouse is entitled to Survivors Pension with an effective date of March 15, 2014. The award is payable from April 1, 2014. The award is based on IVAP of $0. The surviving spouse receives a retirement check for $3,000 on July 3, 2014. It represents a $2,500 retroactive check and the regular $500 check for July. The surviving spouse expects to receive $500 each month in the future from this source. Stop the award effective August 1, 2014, because IVAP of $8,500 exceeds the applicable MAPR. If there are no other changes in the surviving spouse’s income, entitlement exists effective August 1, 2015, when the $2,500 retroactive payment has been counted for 12 months. Note: If the surviving spouse re-establishes entitlement effective August 1, 2015, the payment date would be September 1, 2015, per and . k. Counting the Initial 12 Months of Income for Disallowed Claims A corollary of the rule that all income must be counted for 12 months on Pension awards is the principle that income that bars payment of Pension must be considered for a full 12 months from the first day of the month after the effective date. Example: May 10, 2013: Veteran died. June 10, 2014: Surviving spouse files original pension claim. Pension denied because of monthly wages of $1,400. May 1, 2015: Surviving spouse re-applies for pension. She states she has no income because she lost her job in November 2014. She received $9,800 between June 10, 2014, and November 2014. The $9,800 short-term recurring income must be counted for a full 12 months from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015. An award can be made based on IVAP of $0 with a payment date of July 1, 2015. The period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, then becomes the surviving spouse’s initial period for the purposes of claiming medical expenses. Note: In the initial denial letter, inform the surviving spouse that she has until January 1, 2017, to claim unreimbursed medical expenses to establish entitlement from June 10, 2014.