Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 11/22/2004

Dear Sgt. Shaft: The Department of Veterans Affairs needs your readers' help in ensuring that certain remarried widows of veterans know they may be entitled to have a nearly $1,000-a-month tax-free benefit restored.

President Bush last year signed into law the "Veterans Benefits Act of 2003," which restores this entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits and related home loan and education benefits for certain surviving spouses of deceased veterans, the widows or widowers who remarry on or after their 57th birthdays. In the past, surviving spouses who remarried were not eligible to continue on the DIC rolls unless their subsequent marriages ended, at which time they could apply for reinstatement.

The change means that widows and widowers no longer need to choose between giving up their VA benefits and foregoing a new marriage in their later years. But VA's immediate challenge concerns those who already had passed the 57th birthday mark and had remarried before the new law. Although they were taken care of through a provision that gives them the opportunity to apply for reinstatement, they face a deadline of Dec. 15, 2004 to do so.

While VA has tried to identify these widows who have a deadline for action and send letters alerting them to the possibility they may be able to resume payments of $967 a month or more (depending on health), the fact that they have remarried means they may have a new last name. When they became ineligible for DIC benefits they may have lost touch with VA. Many have moved to new cities in the intervening years. We have found and signed up hundreds of these widows, but we would appreciate the help of your readers in making sure as many as possible get the word before the December 15 deadline for applications.

We hope those of your readers who are in touch with remarried older widows (or widowers) of veterans might mention this benefit and suggest they call us at 1-800-827-1000 for more information. The now-deceased veteran might have served in peacetime or in conflicts from Vietnam to World War II or even earlier, but the DIC benefit applies only where the servicemember was killed in action or whose civilian-life death was found related to a condition connected with service.

I know that I can count on you and the Sarge's loyal readers among our veteran family to spread the word about this opportunity for some to have their DIC benefits restored.

Adm. Daniel L. Cooper (USN, Ret.)
Undersecretary for Benefits
Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington, D.C.

Dear Admiral Cooper,

Kudos to you and to the Department of Veterans Affairs for reaching out to this deserving group of widows and widowers. I urge all my readers to share this column with those who might benefit from this important legislative initiative. I also urge the Congress to revisit this provision and to extend the deadline to apply for reinstate.

Shaft Notes
A SINGLE VOLUME Cold War Clashes: Confronting Communism, 1945-1999 which COMPREHENSIVELY CHRONICLES the COLD WAR is now available on a first come first serve basis from The Veterans of Foreign Wars Publications Department. The price is $18.00

As the sister of an American airman killed in the deadliest shoot-down of a U.S. aircraft by the Soviets during the Cold War said.

“People don’t really understand and know that the Cold War was a real war with real casualties. Real people died.”

For the first time, the campaigns, crises and confrontations that constitute the Cold War are brought together in a coherent story. Cold War Clashes covers every operation and overseas theater of the international struggle against the Soviet Union, its Asian allies and their Third World proxies.

If Americans engaged the enemy on land, at sea or in the air, this 172-page book brings to life the military actions that claimed the lives of 382 Americans in hostilities. Well beyond the borders of the “hot” wars in Korea and Vietnam, GIs were standing guard, fighting and dying in now largely forgotten global conflicts.

Based on countless first-person accounts gathered over years of research by VFW magazine’s staff, this single volume finally gives meaning to the service and sacrifices of millions of Americans in uniform. Previously treated as an unrelated set of foreign fronts, the widely dispersed actions of the Cold War are now connected. Containment – stopping communism -- was the common denominator that linked these historical events together.

Illustrated with 100 photos and 15 maps, supplemented by 23 special features with fascinating facts, enhanced by an 8-page Cold War Combat Chronology, containing a 382-name honor roll of Americans killed in action, offering an extensive list for further reading, this 29-chapter book is a must for all Cold War veterans. It is perfect as a gift for a family keepsake or to be presented to local or public libraries. For more information Contact:

Shannon Hanson

Tel. (816) 968-1167
Shanson@vfw.org

The Sarge salutes President Bush for signing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.

One of the key provisions of the bill is elimination of the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) age 62 offset over a period of three and a half years.

The offset reduces the SBP annuity from 55 percent to 35 percent at age 62 and becomes eligible for Social Security based on the retired members work record.

The offset elimination which will be accomplished by incrementally increasing the annuities paid to survivors of who are 62 and older.

More Complete Details on the bill's other provisions will be released later.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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