Overview of VA Form 21-534EZ: Part 1 - YouTube

>>Text: Applying for Survivor Benefits through the Fully Developed Claims Process

>>Graphics: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Seal and Logo

>>Narrator: Overview of VA Form 21-534EZ, Application for DIC, Survivors Pension and/or Accrued

Benefits, Part One

This is Part One of a two-part video series.

This part will provide a general overview and cover topics related to pages 1-5 of VA

Form 21-534EZ.

While there are over 21.8 million living Veterans today that have served our country,

VA has not forgotten the sacrifices made by our nation’s fallen soldiers and their families.

President Lincoln's second inaugural address so eloquently stated VA’s obligation:

“…to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.”

Through VA’s Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), Survivors Pension, and Accrued benefits,

VA provides support to eligible survivors of military Servicemembers and Veterans.

VA now offers a way for survivors to obtain these benefits faster through the Fully Developed

Claims, or FDC, Program.

This Program uses new and simplified application forms that tell survivors exactly what records

and documentation are required to support their claim.

In this video, we will quickly walk through:

DIC and Survivors Pension benefits, and

VA Form 21-534EZ Application for DIC, Death Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits,

which allows eligible survivors to file an FDC for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits.

We will also:

Review what survivors need to know to accurately file an FDC, and

Provide important reminders and tips to ensure documentation is complete and ready for claims

submission and review.

DIC is a tax-free monetary benefit paid to eligible survivors of military Servicemembers

who died in the line of duty,

or eligible survivors of Veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease,

or who were rated totally disabled from their service-connected disabilities for a certain

period of time. Survivors may include a spouse, unmarried

children and in some cases, parents of certain deceased Veterans.

Information on eligibility requirements may be found at www.benefits.va.gov.

To qualify for DIC, a surviving spouse must generally have been:

Married to a Servicemember who died on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive

duty training, OR

Been married to a Veteran for at least one year, OR

Had a child with a Veteran, AND Cohabited with a Veteran continuously until the Veteran's death

or, if separated, was not at fault for the separation, AND is not currently remarried.

Note that if you are a surviving spouse and remarry on or after December 16, 2003,

and on or after attaining age 57, then you are entitled to continue to receive DIC.

If you are a surviving child, you are also eligible for DIC if you are:

Not included on a surviving spouse's DIC, AND

Unmarried, AND

Under age 18, or between the ages of 18 and 23 and attending school.

DIC claims by parents of a Veteran are need-based, meaning that your income must be less than

the limit established annually by law to qualify.

Claims for Survivors Pension are also filed on the VA 21-534EZ form.

Survivors Pension is a tax-free monetary benefit payable to low-income, un-remarried surviving spouses

and/or unmarried children of a deceased Veteran with wartime service.

To qualify for Survivors Pension, deceased Veterans must have met the following service requirements:

They must have served at least 90 days of active military service with at least one

day during a wartime period if they served on or before September 7, 1980, OR

If they entered active duty after September 7, 1980, they must have served at least 24

months or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty with at least

one day during a war time period, AND

They did not receive a dishonorable discharge from service.

Un-remarried spouses are eligible for Survivors Pension at any age.

However, children of a deceased Veteran applying for Survivors Pension must be:

Under 18 years old, OR

Under 23 years old if attending a VA-approved school, OR

Permanently incapable of self-support due to a disability before age 18

In addition, Survivors Pension is based on your yearly family income, which must be less

than the amount set by Congress in order to qualify.

Visit www.benefits.va.gov/pension today to learn more about how VA calculates Survivors Pension.

Now let’s discuss the Fully Developed Claim Program and using VA Form 21-534EZ.

The FDC Program and EZ form are useful because:

You learn exactly what evidence is needed to support your claim for DIC without having

to wait for additional instructions after the claim is filed, AND

A shortened application form reduces paperwork and allows for a quicker claims decision than

traditional claims processing.

Before you file your claim, VA strongly encourages you to work with an accredited Veterans Service

Organization, or VSO, to assist you with your claim.

A VSO can help you gather evidence and ensure you are submitting a completed claim.

Best of all, their service is free to you.

You can find an accredited VSO online by going to eBenefits at www.ebenefits.va.gov , or

by calling 1-800-827-1000.

To learn more about how a VSO can help you with your claim, watch the “Benefits of

Working with a VSO to Submit an FDC” video on the VBA YouTube Channel.

Let’s take a look at the application.

VA Form 21-534EZ is a shortened and simplified claims application form used in the FDC Program.

The first five pages review the claim filing notice and requirements.

The last five contain the actual application.

The FDC Notice part of the form explains the general differences between the FDC and the

standard claims process in terms of: How VA will assist with the claim

What you as a claimant need to do

When and how you should submit information and evidence

The first section on Page 1 outlines key criteria for the Program.

It explains what documents you will need to submit along with your application.

The supporting documents and requirements that you must submit include:

A copy of a Veteran’s death certificate, unless he or she died on active duty, AND

If claiming Survivors Pension, all necessary income and net-worth information, and a completed

VA Form 21-2680, Examination for Housebound Status of Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance,

and/or a completed VA Form 21-0779, Request for Nursing Home Information in Connection

with Claim for Aid and Attendance, if claiming increased survivor benefits, or

If you are claiming DIC, any service treatment records or personnel records in the custody

of a Reserve or Guard Unit, all relevant private medical treatment records and identification

of any treatment records at a federal facility, or

If claiming DIC as the parent of a Veteran, submitting all necessary income and net-worth

information is required.

A completed VA Form 21-524, Statement of Person Claiming to Have Stood in Relation of Parent,

is required if you were a foster parent of the Veteran, or

If claiming DIC with increased survivor benefits, submitting a completed VA Form 21-2680 and/or

a completed VA Form 21-0779.

Page 1 also identifies the requirements for certain claimants:

If you are claiming benefits as the surviving spouse of a Veteran, you must submit a copy

of your marriage certificate.

If claiming benefits for a child or biological/adoptive parent of the Veteran, submit a copy of the

birth certificate or court record of adoption.

If claiming benefits for a child of a Veteran between ages 18 and 23, a completed VA Form

21-674, Request of Approval of School Attendance, should be submitted.

If claiming benefits for a seriously disabled or helpless child of a Veteran, then private

medical treatment records related to the child’s disabilities should be submitted.

Page 2 explains the benefits of filing a Fully Developed Claim:

It is the fastest way to get your claim processed and there is no risk to participate.

If it is determined that your claim does not qualify for the FDC Program for reasons such

as insufficient evidence, it will simply be rerouted to the standard claims process.

Your claim will still be processed, but not within the faster time frame.

Page 2 also provides a side-by-side comparison of the FDC Program and the standard claims process.

When filing an FDC claim, VA will help obtain certain evidence needed for your claim.

Just like the standard claims process, VA can retrieve relevant records from a Federal

facility, such as a VA medical center if necessary for your claim.

While in the standard claims process VA will make every reasonable effort to obtain relevant

records not held by a Federal facility,

in the FDC Program, you must provide all of this information when you submit your claim.

This allows VA to process your claim faster.

Remember, in order to qualify for the FDC Program, all information and evidence must

be submitted simultaneously with your claim.

On the other hand, if you choose to go through the standard claims process instead, you have

one year to submit all of your documents after the initial claim application has been received.

Page 2 also explains where you should submit the application.

Currently, FDC DIC and Survivors Pension claims cannot be filed electronically on the eBenefits website.

All claim applications must be either mailed or faxed to your local pension management

center or delivered in person to the closest VA benefits office.

Visit www.va.gov/directory, to use the VA Facility Locator to find the benefits office

closest to you, or get help by calling 1-800-827-1000.

Pages 3 - 5 outline what evidence you must submit to support your claim, depending on

the type of claim you are filing.

Evidence tables provide clear instructions regarding required evidence for each type

of claim.

The evidence tables clearly state what must be submitted to support Survivors Pension,

DIC, Reopened DIC,

Increased Survivor Benefits Based on Need for Aid and Attendance or Being Housebound,

Accrued Benefits, and Helpless Child claims. This information helps you confirm that you

are submitting ALL of the necessary paperwork to complete your FDC claim.

Remember, failure to submit all necessary documents upfront may result in your claim

being rerouted from the FDC Program to the standard claims process.

Remember to consider using an accredited VSO to ensure your claim is complete.

Page 5 also explains how VA determines the effective date of entitlement of your claim.

In general, the effective date is usually when VA receives the claim application.

However, if VA received the claim within one year of the date of a Veteran’s death, entitlement

may be from the first day of the month in which the Veteran died.

This page also provides important resources about the FDC Program and VA benefits including:

The VA FDC webpage at www.benefits.va.gov/fdc/

VA resources on benefits, including www.va.gov;

The VA IRIS system at http://iris.va.gov, which is a secure, web based, messaging application

for VA website visitors to communicate with VA electronically; and

The number for VA’s Pension Call Center: 1-877-294-6380.

If you use a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD), please dial 711.

Remember to watch Part Two to learn about filling out the application portion of VA

Form 21-534EZ.

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>>Graphic: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Seal and Logo