Department of Veterans Affairs M21-1MR, Part III, Subpart iii Veterans Benefits Administration May 28, 2014 Washington, DC 20420 Transmittal Sheet The table below describes the changes included in this revision of Veterans Changes Included in Benefits Manual M21-1MR, Part III, Subpart iii, “General Claims Process,” This Revision “General Development and Dependency Issues.” Notes: The term regional office (RO) also includes pension management center (PMC), where appropriate. Minor editorial changes have also been made to update incorrect or obsolete hyperlink references make updates that reflect the use of eFolders in lieu of claims folders update the term to “veteran” “Veteran” update obsolete terminology, where appropriate update section and topic titles to more accurately reflect their content clarify block labels and/or block text, and bring the documents into conformance with M21-1MR standards. Reason(s) for the Change Citation Page(s) M21-1MR, Part III, 3-B-2 To reorganize the blocks within (old) topics 10, 11, 12, Subpart iii, Chapter 3, through 13, and 15 into a more logical order. Section B, Topics 3-B-16 To reduce the information previously contained in these five topics down to three topics and renumber the remaining topics accordingly. To rewrite to reflect the replacement of III.iii.3.B.10 and 11 3-B-2 SSA Form through Request for Medical Information From Records of the with 3-B-9 Department of Veterans Affairs, Form SSA-827, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration (SSA). To remove Medal of Honor Pension as a benefit the III.iii.3.B.12.c 3-B-12 Social Security Administration (SSA) considers income for SSA purposes. To create a new block explaining that although SSA is III.iii.3.B.12.d 3-B-13 interested in knowing whether a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiary receives Medal of Honor Pension or educational benefits, neither are considered VA income for SSA purposes. To add a block that discusses calculations in III.iii.3.B III.iii.3.B.12.i 3-B-16 that result in a negative amount of VA income for SSA purposes. Continued on next page
Department of Veterans Affairs M21-1MR, Part III, Subpart iii Veterans Benefits Administration May 28, 2014 Washington, DC 20420 Transmittal Sheet Changes Included in This Revision The table below describes the changes included in this revision of Veterans Benefits Manual M21-1MR, Part III, “General Claims Process,” Subpart iii, “General Development and Dependency Issues.” Notes: The term regional office (RO) also includes pension management center (PMC), where appropriate. Minor editorial changes have also been made to update incorrect or obsolete hyperlink references make updates that reflect the use of eFolders in lieu of claims folders update the term “veteran” to “Veteran” update obsolete terminology, where appropriate update section and topic titles to more accurately reflect their content clarify block labels and/or block text, and bring the documents into conformance with M21-1MR standards. Reason(s) for the Change Citation Page(s) To reorganize the blocks within (old) topics 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 into a more logical order. To reduce the information previously contained in these five topics down to three topics and renumber the remaining topics accordingly. M21-1MR, Part III, Subpart iii, Chapter 3, Section B, Topics 3-B-2 through 3-B-16 To rewrite to reflect the replacement of SSA Form Request for Medical Information From Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with Form SSA-827, Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration (SSA). III.iii.3.B.10 and 11 3-B-2 through 3-B-9 To remove Medal of Honor Pension as a benefit the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers income for SSA purposes. III.iii.3.B.12.c 3-B-12 To create a new block explaining that although SSA is interested in knowing whether a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiary receives Medal of Honor Pension or educational benefits, neither are considered VA income for SSA purposes. III.iii.3.B.12.d 3-B-13 To add a block that discusses calculations in III.iii.3.B that result in a negative amount of VA income for SSA purposes. III.iii.3.B.12.i 3-B-16 Continued on next page