8 Important Benefits Veterans’ Survivors Should Know About

From health care to education, help is available to military families

David Frank and Aaron Kassraie

Updated March 10, 2026

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Published October 17, 2018

/ Updated March 10, 2026

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Key takeaways

The VA now automaticallypays whichever benefit is higher — DIC or Survivors Pension — which helps survivors receive money faster.
Surviving spouses and dependents may qualify for tax‑free monthly payments, health coverage, education aid, home loans and life insurance.
Apply promptly. Waiting more than a year after the veteran’s death can lead to less back pay.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has changed how it handles certain survivor benefit claims, a move the agency says will deliver faster decisions and quicker payments for surviving spouses and children.

The VA announced in February that it will now review eligibility for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and the Survivors Pension together, paying whichever benefit is higher. Previously, the agency was required to conduct separate reviews and issue formal decisions on both benefits, a process that often prolonged claims.

Of the two benefits, DIC generally provides a higher monthly payment. Under the new policy, the VA will award the Survivors Pension and stop processing DIC if the former is higher. That is the case when all these conditions are met:

The claimant is the veteran’s surviving spouse.
The spouse has no dependents.
The spouse is residing in a nursing home.
The spouse has applied for or is currently receiving Medicaid.

With that in mind, here’s an overview of the VA benefits available to spouses and family members after a veteran’s death, and how to qualify for them:

1. Health care

A valuable benefit available to eligible survivors is comprehensive health coverage from the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). Under this program the VA shares the cost of care with the beneficiary, generally paying the allowable amount minus any deductible and out-of-pocket costs.

CHAMPVA covers most health care services and medical supplies it considers necessary for eligible surviving spouses and children. Survivors of veterans who were permanently and totally disabled or who died from a service-connected disability are typically eligible for CHAMPVA.

Comprehensive health coverage is also available to children of Vietnam veterans and certain Korean War veterans who have been diagnosed with spina bifida under the VA’s Spina Bifida Health Care Benefits Program.

Other limited health coverage is available to survivors of veterans who served during certain periods or at particular military facilities. For example, service members, spouses and children who lived at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between August 1953 and December 1987 can be reimbursed for certain out-of-pocket health care costs due to contaminated drinking water there. The benefit applies to treatment of 15 specific conditions or events, including several forms of cancer, infertility and miscarriage.

Another targeted health benefit applies to children with certain birth defects who were born to female Vietnam veterans. The Children of Women Vietnam Veterans Health Care Benefits Program (CWVV) covers services necessary for treating the covered birth defect and associated medical conditions.

2. Education and training

Substantial financial support is available to survivors interested in pursuing higher education or vocational training. In some cases, the federal government will pay all or a large part of tuition costs for college and other educational programs.

Two key programs in this area are the Fry Scholarship and Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA).

Under the Fry program, the government pays the full cost of in-state tuition at public institutions and up to about $29,920 for private and foreign schools, plus a monthly housing allowance and a stipend for books and supplies. (The VA resets the tuition cap for private and foreign schools each year on Aug. 1.) This scholarship is for eligible surviving spouses and children. Children whose parents died before Jan. 1, 2013, can use it until age 33; for others, there is no time limit.

Eligible survivors who choose the DEA program can get a monthly payment to cover up to 36 months of education or vocational training costs (45 months if you first used DEA before August 2018).

Both DEA and Fry can be used for college, vocational and business technical programs, apprenticeship programs, certification tests and tutoring.

Eligibility for educational benefits can depend on many factors, including the date and circumstances of a veteran’s death, the ages of dependent children and the widow or widower’s marital status.

3. VA home loans

Surviving spouses who meet certain criteria can get a VA-guaranteed home loan to buy, build or improve a home or to refinance a mortgage.

VA loans have important advantages over other home loans. In most cases, the buyer does not have to make a down payment on the home. Home buyers using these loans also do not have to pay monthly mortgage insurance premiums.

If you are refinancing, one option is a cash-out refinance loan, which enables homeowners to tap their home equity and use it, for example, to pay off debt, pay for education or make home improvements.

4. VA Survivors Pension

If you are the surviving spouse of a veteran who served during a time of war, and you have a modest income and have not remarried, you may apply to receive a monthly, tax-free VA Survivors Pension. These payments are also available to unmarried dependent children of wartime veterans up to age 18, or age 23 if they are attending a VA-approved school.

The maximum Survivors Pension rate is set annually by Congress, and eligibility is based on income and net worth (including assets such as bank accounts, investments and real estate other than your primary residence). These caps are adjusted for inflation each year. The VA posts rate tables so families can see the exact limits that apply.

In 2026 the top rate for surviving spouses ranges from around $11,699 a year to about $22,304, depending on whether they have children and qualify for other VA benefits. The actual payment amount is the difference between your income and your maximum pension rate. The benefit is sometimes called the VA widow’s pension, but it’s available to surviving spouses of any gender. Under the new rule, you’ll only receive it if it’s higher than your DIC; if the latter is higher, you’ll get that instead.

5. DIC benefits for surviving spouses and dependents

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is one of the most valuable benefits available to veterans’ survivors. People who meet the criteria for DIC can receive tens of thousands of dollars in tax-free payments each year.

DIC payment rates are also adjusted annually. For survivors of veterans who died on or after Jan. 1, 1993, the 2026 base rate is $1,699.36 per month, plus $421 a month per each eligible child under 18. Survivors who need help with daily activities or are housebound due to a disability may qualify for additional payments. For veterans who died before 1993, the VA uses a separate rate table that ties the benefit amount largely to the deceased veteran’s pay grade.

Dependent children may also qualify for DIC payments, and some parents of deceased veterans can receive benefits if their income is low.

After a surviving spouse or child submits the DIC application form, called VA Form 21P-534EZ, the VA will also determine eligibility for the Survivors Pension and for accrued benefits (see below).

The sooner survivors apply for the benefit, the better. If they file more than 12 months after the service member’s death, payments are retroactive only to the application date, not the date the veteran died. In most cases, surviving spouses lose eligibility if they remarry, unless they are over age 55.

The DIC program is designed to compensate survivors when service members die while serving or because of a service-connected disability. It also compensates survivors of veterans who died from a cause unrelated to their service but were rated by the VA as being totally disabled from a service-connected disability for a certain amount of time immediately before their death.

For instance, if the VA notices that a veteran had hypertension, which is now considered a service-connected condition due to the PACT Act, its examiners will review the veteran’s death certificate and service records to assess whether their survivors qualify for DIC, says Garrett Schmidt, a management and program analyst at the VA.

That review is key because “the surviving spouse in their moment of grieving might only say, ‘Well, I’m only entitled to the survivor pension because … I don’t think my husband’s or my wife’s death was service-connected,’ ” he says.

It’s important to file as early as possible because timing can affect how far back payments go. VA guidance says that if the agency receives a DIC claim within one year of the veteran’s death, the effective date is generally the first day of the month of death. If the VA receives the claim after one year, the effective date is typically the date the VA receives the claim, which can mean less back pay.

6. Burial benefits

Eligible veterans and their spouses and dependents can be buried in one of the more than 150 national cemeteries maintained by the VA.

Burial benefits for veterans in these cemeteries include opening and closing the grave, perpetual care, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC), at no cost to the family.

Burial benefits available for spouses and dependents buried in a national cemetery include burial with the veteran, perpetual care of the grave site, and the spouse’s or dependents’ names and dates of birth and death inscribed on the veteran’s headstone, at no cost to the family. Eligible spouses and dependents may be buried in a VA national cemetery even if the veteran is not buried there.

When veterans are buried at private cemeteries, the government provides a headstone or marker, a burial flag and a PMC. The VA may also pay up to $2,000 toward burial and funeral expenses.

The department will also cover burial transportation fees — typically the fee for moving the veteran from a funeral home to their final resting place. A receipt is required so the VA can determine how much to reimburse.

For non-service-connected deaths, a claim for burial benefits must be filed within two years of the veteran’s burial. There is no such time limit to file for help with burial, transportation, plot or interment costs when the cause of death is related to military service.

7. Accrued benefits

Accrued benefit payments can be made when a veteran had a claim that wasn’t finalized at the time of their death. When it receives a DIC application, the VA checks whether there were benefits the veteran should have been getting; if so, these are paid to the spouse.

“Sometimes survivors aren’t aware that the veteran had a claim, so we’re going to look at that and make a determination if there’s any eligibility or potential for accrued [benefits],” says Kevin Friel, executive director of pension and fiduciary service at the VA. “If there is, we’ll process it and make that payment without the survivor having to do more.”

Accrued benefits follow a legal line of succession. Money the VA owed a veteran at the time of death is generally paid to the surviving spouse. If there is no spouse, they go to the veteran’s dependent children or, if no children, to financially dependent parents of the deceased. If the late beneficiary was a surviving spouse, the VA generally pays the accrued amount to the veteran’s dependent children.

8. Life insurance

Veterans with service-connected disabilities are eligible for VA-provided life insurance that pays benefits to their survivors, but the VA recently changed how it provides this benefit.

The Service-Disabled Veterans Life Insurance (S-DVI) policy stopped accepting new applications after 2022. Those who already have S-DVI may keep it or switch to a new program, VALife, which was introduced in 2023.

New applicants can only select VALife, which provides up to $40,000 in life insurance coverage for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Veterans with any disability rating are automatically eligible up to age 80, with no medical underwriting required. Additional requirements apply for those 81 and older.

How to apply for VA survivor benefits

From health care to education and monthly compensation, there are many benefits that spouses and dependents may be eligible for after a veteran dies, even if they never enrolled in the VA system.

If the veteran was already receiving a VA pension or compensation at the time of their death, the VA may be able to automatically start providing certain survivor benefits — such as burial benefits and DIC — once it’s notified of the death. Survivors may also receive a one-time payment equal to what the veteran would have been paid for the remainder of that month.

If the veteran was never in the VA system, spouses and dependents may still apply for a Survivors Pension and DIC by submitting the deceased’s military service record, medical records and death certificate. If the veteran was receiving Social Security disability benefits, the VA can retrieve those records on a spouse’s behalf.

Remember, the more information you provide, the faster you’re likely to get a decision on your claim. Fill out as much as you can. If you can’t answer everything, that’s OK: The VA will accept a substantially complete form.

“We have a duty to assist, as far as it relates to federal records,” says Friel.

All survivors may receive filing assistance through an accredited veteran service organization (VSO), a VA regional office or by calling the VA benefits hotline at 800-827-1000.

Review the family member benefits page on the VA’s website to see all the benefits available to spouses and dependents, with links to all forms and contact information.

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

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Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English. 