## Section E. Medal of Honor Pension

#### Overview

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| #          | > This section contains the topic "General Information  |
| #### In th | > on the Medal of Honor Pension."                       |
| is Section |                                                         |
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#### 16. General Information on the Medal of Honor Pension

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| ##### In   | > This topic contains information on the Medal of Honor |
| troduction | > Pension, including                                    |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   the definition of the term ***Medal of Honor        |
|            |     Pension***                                          |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   a general description of the Medal of Honor Pension |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   the dates of entitlement and payment                |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   when to pay the Medal of Honor Pension              |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   payment as the sole benefit                         |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   payment as an additional benefit, and               |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   the retroactive lump sum payment under 38 CFR       |
|            |     3.802(c).                                           |
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| ##### C    | > November 10, 2005                                     |
| hange Date |                                                         |
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| ###        | > ***Medal of Honor Pension*** is a monthly             |
| ## a. Defi | > entitlement, which is paid as a sole benefit or added |
| nition: Me | > to pension or compensation rates for veterans who     |
| dal of Hon | > were awarded the Medal of Honor for distinguished     |
| or Pension | > military service.                                     |
|            | >                                                       |
|            | > ***Reference***: For more information on the rates of |
|            | > payment for the Medal of Honor Pension, see M21-1,    |
|            | > Part I, Appendix B.                                   |
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| ##### b.   | > The Medal of Honor Pension is a special pension that  |
|  General I |                                                         |
| nformation | -   does *not* deprive the veteran of entitlement to    |
|  on the Me |     any other pension or any other benefit, right, or   |
| dal of Hon |     privilege under any laws of the United States, and  |
| or Pension |                                                         |
|            | -   is *not* subject to                                 |
|            |                                                         |
|            | ```{=html}                                              |
|            | <!-- -->                                                |
|            | ```                                                     |
|            | -   reduction under 38 CFR 3.551.                       |
|            |                                                         |
|            | > ***References***: For more information on the Medal   |
|            | > of Honor Pension, see                                 |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   38 CFR 3.802, and                                   |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   38 U.S.C. 1562.                                     |
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16\. General Information on the Medal of Honor Pension, Continued

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| #          | > The date of entitlement to the Medal of Honor Pension |
| #### c. Da | > is the date the veteran or serviceperson makes a      |
| tes of Ent | > written application to the Secretary of the military  |
| itlement a | > branch in which he/she served per 38 CFR 3.802(b).    |
| nd Payment | >                                                       |
|            | > The date of payment of the Medal of Honor Pension is  |
|            | > determined in accordance with the provisions of 38    |
|            | > CFR 3.31.                                             |
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| ##### d    | > If the service department or Department of            |
| . When to  | > Transportation (DOT) certifies that a veteran or      |
| Pay the Me | > serviceperson is entitled to the Medal of Honor       |
| dal of Hon | > Pension                                               |
| or Pension |                                                         |
|            | -   add the Medal of Honor entitlement amount to any    |
|            |     current award, or                                   |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   pay it as the sole benefit from the date certified. |
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| #####      | > Follow the steps in the table below if the Medal of   |
| e. Payment | > Honor Pension is the sole benefit paid.               |
|  as the So |                                                         |
| le Benefit |                                                         |
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| Step  | Action                                                       |
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| 1     | Enter the date of receipt of the Medal of Honor in the MEDAL |
|       | OF HONOR field on the Benefits Delivery Network (BDN) 401    |
|       | screen.                                                      |
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| 2     | Prepare the award on the BDN 403 screen with the following   |
|       | codes applicable to the period of service involved:          |
|       |                                                              |
|       | -   special law (SL) code 01 as described in M21-1, Part V,  |
|       |     6.09a(1), and                                            |
|       |                                                              |
|       | -   the compensation entitlement code as shown in M21-1,     |
|       |     Part I, Appendix C.                                      |
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| 3     | Annotate the award document to show that the Medal of Honor  |
|       | Pension is awarded as the sole benefit.                      |
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16\. General Information on the Medal of Honor Pension, Continued

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| #          | > Follow the steps in the table below if the Medal of   |
| #### f. Pa | > Honor Pension is paid as an additional benefit.       |
| yment as a |                                                         |
| n Addition |                                                         |
| al Benefit |                                                         |
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| Step  | Action                                                       |
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| 1     | Prepare awards of compensation or pension that include the   |
|       | Medal of Honor Pension with the data required to justify the |
|       | compensation or pension benefit authorized.                  |
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| 2     | Add the Medal of Honor Pension amount to the compensation or |
|       | pension rate authorized per 38 U.S.C. 1562.                  |
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| 3     | -   Enter SL code 01, and                                    |
|       |                                                              |
|       | -   annotate the award document citing the authority for     |
|       |     paying the Medal of Honor Pension as an additional       |
|       |     benefit.                                                 |
|       |                                                              |
|       | ***Reference***: For more information on the order of        |
|       | precedence for entries in the SL CODE field, see M21-1, Part |
|       | V, 6.09b.                                                    |
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| > ***Note***: If the Medal of Honor Pension becomes the sole benefit  |
| > payable, amend the award to terminate the other benefits and change |
| > the entitlement code if required.                                   |
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| ##### g. R | > Public Law 107-330 authorized a retroactive lump sum  |
| etroactive | > payment of Medal of Honor Pension, back to the date   |
|  Lump Sum  | > of heroism, which led to the award.                   |
| Payment El | >                                                       |
| igibility  | > ***Reference***: For more information on retroactive  |
|            | > lump sum payments, see 38 CFR 3.802(c).               |
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| ####       | > The amount of retroactive lump sum benefits payable   |
| # h. Amoun | > is equal to the total amount of Medal of Honor        |
| t of Lump  | > Pension the veteran would have received during the    |
| Sum Benefi | > period                                                |
| ts Payable |                                                         |
|            | -   beginning on the first day of the month after the   |
|            |     date of the event for which the veteran earned the  |
|            |     Medal of Honor, and                                 |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   ending on the last day of the month preceding the   |
|            |     month in which Medal of Honor Pension was awarded.  |
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16\. General Information on the Medal of Honor Pension, Continued

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| ##         | > Calculate the retroactive lump sum amount by using    |
| ### i. Cal | > the Medal of Honor Pension rate in effect from the    |
| culating t | > first day of the month after the date of the event    |
| he Retroac | > for which the Medal of Honor was granted to the last  |
| tive Lump  | > day of the month preceding the month in which the     |
| Sum Amount | > award of Medal of Honor Pension is effective.         |
|            | >                                                       |
|            | > ***Reference***: For more information on Medal of     |
|            | > Honor Pension rates of payment, see M21-1, Part I,    |
|            | > Appendix B.                                           |
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| ##### j. R | > Review the claims file to determine whether a         |
| eviewing C | > retroactive lump sum is payable whenever routinely    |
| ases for E | > encountering cases in which a veteran was receiving   |
| ntitlement | > Medal of Honor Pension as of October 1, 2003.         |
|  to Lump S | >                                                       |
| um Payment | > If the veteran has already been paid from the first   |
|            | > day of the month after the date of the event for      |
|            | > which the Medal of Honor was granted, a retroactive   |
|            | > lump sum payment is not warranted.                    |
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| ##### k.   | > If payment of a retroactive lump sum is in order      |
| Action if  |                                                         |
| Retroactiv | -   refer the file to the Finance Activity to issue an  |
| e Lump Sum |     06A one-time payment under 38 CFR 3.802(c), and     |
|  Payment i |                                                         |
| s in Order | -   inform the veteran                                  |
|            |                                                         |
|            | ```{=html}                                              |
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|            | ```                                                     |
|            | -   of the reason for the retroactive payment, and      |
|            |                                                         |
|            | -   how it was calculated.                              |
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