Citation Nr: 1304944	
Decision Date: 02/11/13    Archive Date: 02/21/13

DOCKET NO.  12-05 701	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Paul, Minnesota


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to payment of nonservice-connected pension benefits, to include whether the Veteran's annualized countable income exceeds the maximum annual income limit. 


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. McBrine, Counsel


INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1944 to November 1945.  This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals  (Board) on appeal from a May 2011 administrative decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Please note this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012).  38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002).

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC.  VA will notify the appellant if further action is required.


REMAND

Pursuant to 38 U.S.C.A. § 1521(a), improved (nonservice-connected) pension is a benefit payable by VA to a Veteran of a period of war who is permanently and totally disabled from non-service-connected disability not the result of the Veteran's willful misconduct.  In this case, the Veteran was initially denied entitlement to this pension based on his net worth, the corpus of his estate.  However, in a further November 2012 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), the Veteran was informed that his net worth was no longer considered excessive, however, the payment of pension benefits was precluded as his income was considered excessive for VA purposes. 

Shortly after issuance of that SSOC, the Veteran submitted a new statement in support of his appeal, which was accompanied by additional information regarding his income and expenses.  Under the circumstances, this matter must be returned to the RO for review of the additional evidence and issuance of another SSOC.  38 C.F.R. § 19.37. 

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

The RO/AMC should review the expanded record, to include all evidence received since the last SSOC, and determine if entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits is warranted.  If not, the Veteran should be furnished a SSOC and be afforded an opportunity to respond.  Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board for appellate review.

The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).

This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment.  The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner.  See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2012).



_________________________________________________
MICHAEL LANE
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.  This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2012).