What are accrued VA benefits?

Details

• Accrued-benefits claims are limited to evidence that was already of record when the veteran died; new evidence developed afterward generally does not apply.
• A survivor generally must file within one year of the veteran's death.
• Accrued benefits are separate from substitution, which instead continues a still-pending claim and may allow new evidence.
• Accrued benefits are also separate from DIC, which is the survivor's own claim based on the cause of death rather than unpaid amounts owed to the veteran.
• A survivor may, depending on the facts, pursue an accrued-benefits claim and a DIC claim at the same time, since they are not duplicative.