| Veterans benefits due military
personnel frequently go unclaimed. Often overlooked are
disabled veteran payments, veteran death benefits and
burial allowances, veteran life insurance, and military
back pay. The Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force also
provide safekeeping of US Savings Bonds for service
members, a great many of which go unclaimed and
unredeemed after separation For assistance with savings bonds go to:
Savings Bond Search. Former servicemen and heirs
may also be entitled to Adjusted Service Bonds (ASB) and
Armed Forces Leave Bonds (AFLB), issued as compensation
for accumulated but unused military leave.
The
National Personnel Records Center / Military Personnel
Records (NPRC-MPR) provides DD-214's and other separation
documents that are required to process most types of
claims, including those for burial assistance, pensions
and life insurance. Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974,
the Department of Defense requires that all requests for
information be made in writing. They must be dated and
signed, as well. Standard Form 180, "Request
Pertaining to Military Records," can be downloaded
from the NPRC website:
http://www.archives.gov/
An unclaimed
veteran benefit will not show up in a search of sate
unclaimed property databases, as it is an obligation of
the Federal government. For assistance with benefits due veterans,
including disability payments, burial allowances and life insurance,
contact the Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans
Affairs, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20421.
To search
the Veterans Unclaimed Insurance Funds database, which includes
death awards, dividend checks and premium
refunds owed to missing current and former
policyholders or beneficiaries arising from United States
Government Life, National Service Life
Insurance, Veterans Special Life Insurance, Veterans
Reopened Insurance, and Service-Disabled Veterans Life
programs (not SGLI or VGLI) go to:
https://insurance.va.gov/inForceGliSite/liability/ufsearch.htm
Service
members or beneficiaries who believe they may be entitled
to unclaimed SGLI or VGLI should contact the
Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (OSGLI)
at: Office of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance
(OSGLI), 290 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Livingston, New
Jersey 07039 (800) 419-1473.
*** For information on
locating life insurance policies issued by non-government life insurance
underwriters go to:
Unclaimed Life Insurance Search
Note:
The 2009 War Supplemental
Appropriations Act authorized special pay of $500 for every month served
in stop loss status. 80,000 veterans & beneficiaries are eligible to
claim an average benefit of $3,700.
Military Stop Loss Pay
|
