For more information, contract your nearest VA office. No application is necessary. Checks are mailed on the anniversary date of the policy. Dividends are paid only to those veterans with policies that have been kept in force when premiums were required. Inaccurate notices reproduced periodically throughout the country suggest that a special distribution is available for those who did not maintain insurance.
Some notices even indicate the veteran never had to have a policy.
This hoax has cost VA millions of dollars to respond to unsuspecting applicants. Dividend amounts vary according to age, type of insurance and length of time the policy has been in force. They reflect that veterans are living longer than originally predicted. They also benefit from higher yields earned by trust funds from investment of policy- holder premiums in U.S. government securities. VA's special life insurance program for disabled veterans and its mortgage life insurance coverage do not pay dividends.