DIC

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, which the VA writes as DIC, is a monthly payment to the surviving spouse, child or parent of a veteran whose death was service connected. 38 CFR 3.5(a) states it in about that many words. It is not means tested, so a survivor's income and savings do not decide whether it is paid or how much.

There is a second route in, and it is the one families most often do not know about. Under 38 U.S.C. 1318 and 38 CFR 3.22, DIC can be paid as if the death were service connected where the death was not the result of the veteran's own willful misconduct and the veteran was, at death, receiving or entitled to receive compensation for a service-connected disability rated totally disabling for one of three periods: a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately preceding death; continuously since release from active duty and for at least 5 years immediately preceding death; or a continuous period of not less than one year immediately preceding death, where the veteran was a former prisoner of war. Totally disabling in 38 CFR 3.22 includes total disability based on individual unemployability, so a decision letter showing a figure below 100 percent does not by itself close this route.

The base monthly rate for a surviving spouse is $1,699.36, effective December 1, 2025, for veterans who died on or after January 1, 1993. Rates change on December 1 each year, so a figure quoted without a date beside it says nothing about what is paid now. DIC is a separate benefit from Survivors Pension, which is means tested, and the two are claimed on the same form. Nobody is paid automatically, and an accredited VSO representative will file the claim at no charge.