An Act to modify the pension programs for veterans of World War I, World II, and the Korean conflict, and their widows and children
PL 86-211 (H.R.7650), enacted 08/29/1959

432 
PUBLIC LAW 86-210-AUG. 25, 1959 
[73 STAT. 
Public Law 86-210 
August 25, 1959 
^ ^ A C T 
[H. R. 6500] 
rpo amend Public Law 85-818. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and the House of Representatives 
of the 
c§nv?^ince5^^" U'>^^ted States of America in Congress assembled, That section 4 of 
72 Stat. 982! 
Public Law 85-818 is amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 4. Conveyance authorized by this Act shall be conditional 
upon the city of Valparaiso, Florida, paying to the Secretary of the 
Air Force as consideration for the tract of land conveyed under the 
provisions of this Act, an amount equal to 50 per centum of the fair 
market value as determined by the Secretary of the Air Force after 
appraisal of such tract. 
The cost of any surveys and appraisals 
necessary as an incident to the conveyance authorized herein shall be 
borne by the city of Valparaiso, Florida." 
Approved August 25, 1959. 
Public Law 86-211 
August 29, 1959 
^^ 
A C T 
I"' R- 7650] 
rjQ modify the pension programs for veterans of World War I, World War II, 
and the Korean conflict, and their widows and childre^i. 
V et er ans Pen-
Be it enMcted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
sion Act o
f 1959. United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may 
be cited as the "Veterans' Pension Act of 1959". 
72 Stat. 1134. 
§^0. 2. (a) Scction 503 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
"§ 503. Determinations with respect to annual income 
"In determining annual income under this chapter, all payments of 
any kind or from any source (including salary, retirement or annuity 
payments, or similar income, which has been waived, irrespective of 
whether the waiver was made pursuant to statute, contract, or other-
wise) shall be included except— 
"(1) payments of the six-months' death gratuity; 
"(2) donations from public or private relief or welfare organ-
izations ; 
38USC301, 401. 
u^3^ payments under this chapter, and chapters 11 and 13 
(except section 412) of this title; 
siuscVio'^rbi 
"^^^ payments under policies of United States Government 
life insurance or National Service Life Insurance, and payments 
of servicemen's indemnity; 
" (5) lump sum death payments under subchapter II of chapter 
7 of title 42; 
"(6) payments to an individual under public or private retire-
ment, annuity, endowment, or similar plans or programs equal to 
his contributions thereto; 
"(7) amounts equal to amounts paid by a widow or child of 
a deceased veteran for— 
"(A) his just debts, 
"(B) the expenses of his last illness, and 
"(C) the expenses of his burial to the extent such expenses 
38 us^c 9
^
0 
f
.
^
* 
^^® ^^^ reimbursed under chapter 23 of this title; 
" (8) proceeds of fire insurance policies." 
(b) Subchapter I of chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following: 
42 u s e 401 et 
s&q. 
72 Stat. 1133. 
38 u s e 501-505 
73 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-211-AUG. 29, 1959 
433 
"§ 506. Eesource reports and overpayment adjustments 
"(a) As a condition of granting or continuing pension under sec-
tions 521,541, or 542 of this title, the Administrator— 
" (1) may require from any person applying for, or in receipt of, 
pension thereunder such information, proofs, or evidence as he 
desires in order to determine the annual income and the corpus 
of the estate of such person; 
"(2) shall require that any such person file each year with the 
Veterans' Administration (on the form prescribed by him) a re-
port showing the total income which he received during the pre-
ceding year, the corpus of his estate at the end of that year, and 
his estimate for the then current year of the total income he ex-
pects to receive and of any expected increase in the corpus of his 
estate; and 
"(3) shall require that any such person promptly file a revised 
report whenever there is a material change in his estimated an-
nual income or a material change in his estimate of the corpus of 
his estate. 
"(b) If there is an overpayment of pension under section 521, 541, 
or 542 of this title, the amount thereof shall be deducted (unless 
waived) from any future payments made thereunder to the person 
concerned." 
SEC. 3. (a) Section 521 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (f); (2) by striking 
out all that follows "habits," in subsection (a) and inserting in lieu 
thereof "pension at the rate prescribed by this section."; and (3) by 
inserting immediately after subsection (a) the following: 
"(b) If the veteran is unmarried (or married but not living with 
and not reasonably contributing to the support of his spouse) and has 
no child, pension shall be paid at the monthly rate set forth in 
column II of the following table opposite the veteran's annual income 
as shown in column I: 
72 
S t a t . 
1138. 
1136, 
72 Stat. 1136. 
"Column I 
Annual income 
More 
Equal to or 
than— 
but less than— 
$600 
1,200 
$600 
1.200 
1,800 
Column II 
$85 
70 
40 
"(c) If the veteran is married and living with or reasonably con-
tributing to the support of his spouse, or has a child or children, 
pension shall be paid at the monthly rate set forth in columns II, 
III, or IV of the following table opposite the veteran's annual income 
as shown in column I: 
"Column I 
Annual income 
More 
Equal to or 
than— but less than— 
$1,000 
2.000 
$1,000 
2,000 
3,000 
Column II 
One depend-
ent 
$90 
75 
45 
Column III 
Two de-
pendents 
$95 
75 
45 
Column IV 
Three or more 
dependents 
$100 
75 
45 
434 
PUBLIC LAW 86-211-AUG. 29, 1959 
[73 ST A T . 
72 Stat. 1136. 
72 Stat. 1137. 
38 U S C 531 et 
seq. 
"(d) If the veteran is in need of regular aid and attendance, the 
monthly rate payable to him under subsection (b) or (c) shall be 
increased by $70. 
"(e) For the purposes of this section— 
"(1) in determining annual income, where a veteran is living 
with his spouse, all income of the spouse which is reasonably avail-
able to or for the veteran except $1,200 of such income shall be 
considered as the income of the veteran, unless in the judgment 
of the Administrator to do so would work a hardship upon the 
veteran; 
"(2) a veteran shall be considered as living with a spouse, even 
though they reside apart, unless they are estranged." 
(b) Section 522 of title 38, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows: 
"§ 522. Net worth limitation 
"The Administrator shall deny or discontinue payment of pension 
under section 521 of this title when the corpus of the veteran's estate 
is such that under all the circumstances, including consideration of 
the veteran's income, it is reasonable that some part of the corpus be 
consumed for the veteran's maintenance." 
SEC. 4. Subchapter I I I of chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by striking out sections 541 through 545 and inserting 
in lieu thereof the following: 
"§ 541. Widows of World War I, World War II, or Korean conflict 
veterans 
"(a) The Administrator shall pay to the widow of each veteran of 
World War I, World War II, or the Korean conflict who met the 
service requirements of section 521 of this title, or who at the time 
of his death was receiving (or entitled to receive) compensation or 
retirement pay for a service-connected disability, pension at the rate 
prescribed by this section. 
"(b) If there is no child, pension shall be paid at the monthly rate 
set forth in column I I of the following table opposite the widow's 
annual income as shown in column I : 
"Column I 
Annual income 
More 
Equal to or 
than— 
but 
less than— 
$600 
1,200 
$600 
1,200 
1,800 
Column II 
$60 
45 
25 
"(c) If there is a widow and one child, pension shall be paid at the 
monthly rate set forth in column I I of the following table opposite the 
widow's annual income as shown in column I : 
"Column I 
Annual income 
More 
Equal to or 
than— 
but 
less than— 
$1,000 
2,000 
$1,000 
2,000 
3,000 
Column II 
$75 
60 
40 
73 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-211-AUG. 29, 1969 
435 
"(d) If there is a widow and more than one child, the monthly rate 
payable under subsection (c) shall be increased by $15 for each 
additional child. 
"(e) No pension shall be paid to a widow of a veteran under this 
section unless she was married to him— 
"(1) before (A) December 14,1944, in the case of a widow of a 
World War I veteran, or (B) January 1, 1957, in the case of a 
widow of a World War I I veteran, or (C) February 1, 1965, in 
the case of a widow of a Korean conflict veteran; or 
"^2^ for five or more years; or 
" (3) for any period of time if a child was bom of the marriage. 
"§ 542. Children of World War I, World War II, or Korean conflict 
veterans 
"(a) Whenever there is no widow entitled to pension under section 
541 of this title, the Administrator shall pay to the child or children 
72 stat. u38. 
of each veteran of World War I, World War II, or the Korean conflict 
Avho met the service requirements of section 521 of this title, or who 
at the time of his death was receiving (or entitled to receive) compen-
sation or retirement pay for a service-connected disability, pension 
at the monthly rate of $35 for one child, and $15 for each additional 
child. 
"(b) Pension prescribed by this section shall be paid to eligible 
children in equal shares. 
"(c) No pension shall be paid under this section to a child whose 
annual income, excluding earned income, exceeds $1,800. 
"§ 543. Net worth limitation 
"The Administrator shall deny or discontinue payment of pension 
under sections 541 or 542 of this title to a widow or child when the 
72 stat. mas. 
corpus of the estate of the survivor concerned is such that under all 
the circumstances, including consideration of income, it is reasonable 
that some part of the corpus be consumed for the survivor's mainte-
nance." 
SEC. 5. Subchapter II of chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, 
H ^^^ eiie'ie. 
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: 
"§ 617. Invalid lift for pensioners 
"The Administrator may furnish an invalid lift, if medically indi-
cated, to any veteran in receipt of pension under chapter 15 of this 
38 use soi et 
title based on the need of regular aid and attendance." 
***'' 
SEC. 6. Section 3203 of title 38, United States Code, is amended (1) 
" stat. 1:234. 
by deleting "pension, compensation, or" wherever it appears in sub-
sections (a)(1) and (b)(1) and inserting in lieu thereof "compen-
sation or"; (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as "(e)"; and (3) 
by inserting a new subsection (d), as follows: 
"(d) (1) Where any veteran is being furnished hospital treatment, 
institutional, or domiciliary care by the Veterans' Administration, no 
pension in excess of $30 per month shall be paid to or for the veteran 
for any period after (a) the end of the second full calendar month 
following the month of admission for treatment or care or (b) read-
mission for treatment or care within six months following termina-
tion of a period of treatment or care of not less than two full calendar 
months. 
"(2) Where the payment of pension to any veteran is subject to 
the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection the Administrator 
may apportion and pay to his wife or children the balance of the 
pension which the veteran would receive but for such paragi'aph (1)." 
436 
PUBLIC LAW 86-212-SEPT. 1, 1969 
[73 ST A T . 
38 ^iTs'c^so^i' et 
SEC. 7. (a) The analysis of chapter 15 of title 38, United States 
®®9' 
Code, is amended as follows: 
(1) By striking out "503. Items not considered in determining in-
come." and inserting "503. Determinations with respect to annual 
income."; 
(2) By inserting "506. Resource reports and overpayment adjust-
ments." immediately after "505. Payment of pension during confine-
ment in penal institutions."; 
(3) By striking out "522. Income limitations." and inserting "522. 
Net worth limitation."; and 
(4) By striking out "541. Widows of World War I veterans." 
through "545. Income limitations." and inserting 
"541. Widows of World War I, World War II, or Korean conflict veterans. 
"542. Children of World War I, World War II, or Korean conflict veterans. 
"543. Net worth limitation." 
II ^T*,c^"/n°,- . 
(b) The analysis of chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code, is 
aeq. 
amended by inserting immediately below 
"616. Hospital care by other agencies of the United States." 
the following: 
"617. Invalid lift for pensioners." 
72 Stat. 1266, 
1452. 
72 Stat. 1265. 
Repeal. 
Ante, p. 28. 
Effective date. 
SEC. 8. (a) Section 1441 of title 10 of the United States Code is 
amended by inserting "and chapter 15" after "415(g)". 
(b) Section 608 of the Federal Employees' Pay Act of 1945 (5 
U.S.C. 948) is amended by striking out "annual income or" and 
"section 522 of title 38, United States Code, or". 
(c) Subsection (b) of section 20 of the Railroad Retirement Act 
of 1937 (45 U.S.C. 228 s-1 (b)) is repealed. 
SEC. 9. (a) Any claim for pension which is pending in the Veterans' 
Administration on June 30,1960, or any claim for death pension filed 
thereafter within one year from the date of death of a veteran which 
occurred prior to July 1, 1960, shall be adjudicated under title 38, 
United States Code, in effect on June 30, 1960, with respect to the 
period before July 1, 1960, and, except as provided in subsection (c), 
under such title, as amended by this Act, thereafter. 
(b) Nothing in this Act shall affect the eligibility of any person 
receiving pension under title 38, United States Code, on June 30,1960, 
for pension under all applicable provisions of that title in effect on 
that date for such period or periods thereafter with respect to which 
he can qualify under such provisions. This subsection shall not apply 
in any case for any period after pension is granted, pursuant to appli-
cation, under title 38, United States Code, as amended by this Act. 
(c) Subsection (b) shall apply to those claims within the purview 
of subsection (a) in which it is determined that pension is payable 
for June 30,1960. 
SEO. 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1,1960. 
Approved August 29, 1959. 
Public Law 86-212 
September 1, 1959 
ACT 
[H. R. 255] 
To amend section 358 of title 38, United States Code, to provide for apportion-
ment of compensation of veterans who disappear. 
72 Stat. 1125. 
Be it enacted by the Senate aTid House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That section 358 
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking out "an incom-
petent veteran" and inserting "a veteran". 
Approved September 1, 1959.