Question:

I’m a Navy veteran. I spent 13 months in Viet Nam 1965-66. I was a storekeeper and worked mostly in Chu-Lai offloading and transporting stuff. In October 2018 I was diagnosed with essential hemorrhagic thrombocytemia and treated accordingly. I filed a claim with VA and was ultimately denied A couple of months ago I had a bone marrow biopsy, and it revealed a firm diagnosis of MDS. I’m 100% P&T and would like my wife to receive part of my pension if it kills me. Any thoughts?

Jim's Reply:

Thoughts? Sure.
 

VA takes some care of dependents of vets who die of service connected conditions. She won't get a part of your pension, DIC is a separate benefit. If you are rated at 100% P & T for 10 uninterrupted years, you can die of anything and your dependent survivor will be eligible for DIC. More is here https://www.vawatchdog.org/dic---survivor-benefits.html  

P.S. from StatesideLegal:

Information on Survivor Pensions might also be useful to you given your wartime service. You can find Survivor Pension information here.

You can also find more information about Dependent and Indemnity Compensation here.