Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a monthly benefit paid to eligible surviving family members of veterans who died from a service-connected cause or who were rated totally disabled for a continuous period before death. DIC is the primary survivor benefit in the VA system and provides tax-free monthly payments to qualifying survivors. Surviving spouses are the most common DIC recipients. To qualify, the spouse must have been legally married to the veteran at the time of death and must not have remarried, unless the remarriage occurred after age 57. Surviving children may also qualify if they are under 18, between 18 and 23 and attending school, or permanently disabled. In some cases, surviving parents with limited income may qualify for a separate parents DIC benefit. DIC is paid when the veteran death is directly caused by a service-connected condition, when the veteran was continuously rated totally disabled for at least 10 years before death, when the veteran was continuously rated totally disabled from the date of military discharge for at least five years before death, or when the veteran was a former prisoner of war continuously rated totally disabled for at least one year before death. The monthly DIC payment is a flat rate with additional amounts for dependents of the surviving spouse.
Note: This article references sections of the VA's M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual. The VA periodically reorganizes the M21-1 and section numbers may have changed since this article was written. For the most current section references, visit the VA's public M21-1 Web Automated Reference Material System (WARMS).