STANDWATCH™ · EDUCATION · SURVIVING FAMILIES
DIC, the Survivors Pension, SBP after the offset ended, burial and memorial benefits, and the first 30 days: what exists, what it pays in 2026, and the exact doors to knock on.
This page is written for the worst week, and for the planning that makes that week survivable. When a veteran or service member dies, real benefits exist for the family: monthly compensation, a pension, burial help, health coverage, and education money. Most of it is not automatic, some of it has deadlines, and the people searching for it are grieving. Here is the whole map in plain English, with 2026 amounts confirmed at VA.gov, and every case-specific question routed to the free, accredited professionals whose job it is. No sales pitch, no lead-selling, and nothing here costs a family anything.
Educational only, not advice. This is general information, not legal or financial advice, and survivor claims are exactly the kind of case-specific work that belongs with a free, VA-accredited representative (Section 07 shows how to find and verify one). Not the government. StandWatch is a private, veteran-owned company, not affiliated with or endorsed by the VA, DoD, DFAS, or the Social Security Administration. Grieving and overwhelmed is normal. Bereavement counseling through Vet Centers is free (877-927-8387), and the TAPS survivor line answers 24/7 at 800-959-8277.
A handful of phone calls in the first month protect everything that follows. The funeral home usually reports the death to Social Security, but do not assume anything happened until you confirm it. Here is the short list, in order.
| CALL | WHY | NUMBER |
|---|---|---|
| Get death certificates | Order at least 10 certified copies through the funeral home. Every agency and account will want one. | Funeral home |
| DFAS (if the veteran was a military retiree) | Retired pay stops at death and any payment received after the date of death must go back; reporting fast prevents a painful clawback. This call also starts the SBP annuity claim if one was elected. | 800-321-1080 |
| VA | Report the death, stop any VA payments, and ask what the survivor may be eligible for (DIC, pension, burial allowance, accrued benefits). | 800-827-1000, or MyVA411 at 800-698-2411 |
| Social Security | Survivor benefits and the one-time $255 lump-sum death payment for an eligible spouse or child. Confirm the funeral home's report actually went through. | 800-772-1213 |
| Life insurance | SGLI and VGLI claims go through the Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance. Private policies go to each insurer. The Life Insurance Guide covers the programs. | OSGLI: 800-419-1473 |
| Locate the DD-214 | Discharge papers unlock nearly every benefit below. Missing? Request free from the National Archives at archives.gov. | archives.gov |
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is a tax-free monthly payment to eligible survivors. It is the single most valuable survivor benefit, and families miss it because nobody told them the eligibility is wider than "died in combat."
A surviving spouse, child, or in some cases a parent may qualify when any of these is true: the veteran died from a service-connected condition; or the veteran was rated totally disabling for at least 10 years immediately before death; or totally disabling for at least 5 years from discharge to death; or was a former POW rated totally disabling for at least 1 year before death. "Totally disabling" includes individual unemployability (TDIU). Whether a specific case fits is exactly what a free, accredited representative determines (Section 07).
| PIECE | 2026 MONTHLY AMOUNT |
|---|---|
| Base rate, surviving spouse (deaths on or after Jan 1, 1993) | $1,699.36 |
| 8-year provision (veteran rated totally disabling for the 8 years before death, married those 8 years) | + $360.85 |
| Each child under 18 | + $421.00 |
| Aid and Attendance (survivor needs help with daily living) | + $421.00 |
| Housebound | + $197.22 |
| Transitional benefit (first 2 years after death, with children under 18) | + $359.00 |
DIC is tax-free, adjusts with the same cost-of-living increase as Social Security each December, and continues for life unless eligibility changes. Remarriage: a surviving spouse who remarries at age 55 or older (for remarriages on or after January 5, 2021) keeps DIC; earlier remarriage rules differ, so confirm any remarriage situation with the VA or an accredited rep before assuming anything.
The Survivor Benefit Plan is the annuity a military retiree could elect at retirement: after the retiree dies, DFAS pays the covered survivor up to 55% of the elected base amount, monthly, for life, with cost-of-living increases. It is a DFAS program, separate from every VA benefit on this page.
For two decades, surviving spouses eligible for both SBP and DIC had their SBP reduced dollar-for-dollar by DIC: the "widow's tax." Congress repealed it, the phase-out completed, and since the February 2023 payments, eligible surviving spouses receive both SBP and DIC in full. If a survivor was affected in the phase-out years or never claimed one of the two because of the old offset, that is worth a fresh look with DFAS (800-321-1080) and an accredited rep.
When the death was not service-connected, a different benefit may still exist: the Survivors Pension, a needs-based monthly payment for the un-remarried surviving spouse (and eligible children) of a veteran with qualifying wartime service.
The VA pays the difference between the survivor's countable income and a ceiling called the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR). Unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of the MAPR reduce countable income, which is how many survivors with moderate incomes still qualify.
| SITUATION | 2026 MAPR (PER YEAR) |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, no dependents | $11,699 |
| Surviving spouse, 1 dependent child | $15,311 |
| Housebound, no dependents | $14,298 |
| Aid and Attendance, no dependents | $18,696 |
The net worth limit (assets plus income, primary home excluded) is $163,699 for December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026, and a 3-year look-back applies to assets given away below market value. DIC and the Survivors Pension cannot be drawn at the same time; the VA pays whichever the survivor qualifies for that is greater, and DIC is usually the larger of the two when both apply.
Burial benefits come in two layers: what the VA provides at no cost regardless of where burial happens, and cash allowances that reimburse the person who paid the funeral bills.
| BENEFIT | THE SHORT VERSION |
|---|---|
| National cemetery burial | Gravesite (or columbarium niche), opening and closing, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and perpetual care, all at no cost, for the veteran and eligible spouses and dependents. One number schedules it: the National Cemetery Scheduling Office, 800-535-1117. |
| Pre-need eligibility | Families can settle eligibility for national cemetery burial in advance with VA Form 40-10007, so nobody is proving service during the worst week. Filing it is free. |
| Headstone, marker, or medallion | Free for an eligible veteran's grave anywhere in the world, including private cemeteries. |
| Burial flag & Presidential Memorial Certificate | Both free; the funeral director or the VA can start each. |
| SITUATION | MAXIMUM ALLOWANCE | FILING WINDOW |
|---|---|---|
| Service-connected death (on or after September 11, 2001) | Up to $2,000 toward burial costs | No time limit |
| Non-service-connected death (on or after October 1, 2025) | $1,002 burial allowance plus $1,002 plot allowance (amounts adjust every October 1; earlier deaths use the rate for their date) | 2 years from burial, with exceptions (no limit if the veteran died in VA care, or for the plot and transportation pieces) |
| Transportation | Reimbursement for transporting remains to a national cemetery, and in certain VA-care deaths, to the resting place | Keep receipts in the payer's name |
Eligibility for the allowances generally requires that the veteran was receiving (or entitled to receive) VA compensation or pension, died in VA care, or died of a service-connected condition. The application is VA Form 21P-530EZ, and a surviving spouse on record with the VA is often paid a set amount automatically when the death is reported, with no claim needed. Deaths on active duty are handled through the service's casualty assistance system, not this process.
| BENEFIT | THE SHORT VERSION | DOOR |
|---|---|---|
| CHAMPVA | Health coverage for eligible survivors (generally where the veteran died of a service-connected condition or was rated permanently and totally disabled), when the survivor does not qualify for TRICARE. | 800-733-8387 |
| TRICARE survivors | Survivors of retirees and members who die on active duty keep TRICARE under survivor rules. | tricare.mil |
| Education: Fry Scholarship & DEA (Chapter 35) | College money for surviving spouses and children: the Fry Scholarship (line-of-duty deaths) and Dependents' Educational Assistance. A survivor eligible for both picks one. | va.gov education, or 888-442-4551 |
| VA home loan | Eligible surviving spouses can use the VA loan benefit, and are exempt from the funding fee. The VA Loan Guide covers the program. | 877-827-3702 |
| Accrued benefits | Money the VA owed the veteran but had not paid at death (a pending claim, for example) may be payable to the survivor. Ask the accredited rep to check; it is routinely missed. | Accredited rep (Section 07) |
| Grief support | Vet Center bereavement counseling is free for eligible families. TAPS answers 24/7, every day, for any survivor of a military death. | 877-927-8387 · TAPS 800-959-8277 |
Case-specific questions deserve a trained human, and the trained humans are free. An accredited Veterans Service Organization representative files DIC, pension, burial, and accrued-benefit claims at no charge, and anyone offering to do it for a fee or a percentage should be verified by name in VA's accreditation directory first (the VA Benefits Orientation covers how).
| NEED | DOOR |
|---|---|
| Anything VA, one number | MyVA411: 800-698-2411, free, 24/7 |
| Free accredited claims help | VA's find-a-rep tool and accreditation directory at va.gov, or your county or state veterans office |
| DFAS (retiree pay, SBP) | 800-321-1080 |
| Schedule a national cemetery burial | 800-535-1117 |
| Social Security survivors | 800-772-1213 |
| SGLI / VGLI claims (OSGLI) | 800-419-1473 |
| CHAMPVA | 800-733-8387 |
| TAPS survivor line, 24/7 | 800-959-8277 |
| Vet Center bereavement counseling | 877-927-8387 |
The VA Benefits Orientation covers the big four doors (compensation, pension, health care, and everything else), the 2026 disability pay table, the free accredited help system, and how to spot a claim shark before signing anything.
READ THE VA BENEFITS ORIENTATION →