Citation Nr: 18142640 Decision Date: 10/16/18 Archive Date: 10/16/18 DOCKET NO. 15-38 342 DATE: October 16, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to increased death pension benefits is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1976 to October 1977 in the United States Army. He died in 2010, and the appellant is his surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2016, the appellant testified before the undersigned during a videoconference hearing. A transcript of the hearing is included in the electronic claims file. The appellant has been awarded monthly death pension benefits in the amount of $72, effective February 1, 2015. She disputes the calculation of this award, and seeks a higher monthly payment amount. For the purpose of determining initial entitlement, or resuming payments on an award that was previously discontinued, the monthly rate of pension shall be computed by reducing the applicable maximum pension rate by the countable income on the effective date of entitlement and dividing the remainder by twelve. 38 C.F.R. § 3.273(a). Essentially, VA subtracts the total amount of countable income in one year, less excluded income, from the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for that year; then, if a positive amount remains, as here, the rest is divided by twelve to determine the monthly death pension benefit. See Pension Rate Tables, available at: https://www.benefits.va.gov/PENSION/rates_survivor_pen14.asp Initially, the claims file does not contain any Eligibility Verification Reports (EVRs) for the appeal period. The RO appears to have relied solely on income verification through the Social Security Administration. Additional information, as provided in an EVR, is needed. This includes information concerning all sources of income, as well as medical expenses or other offsets that could reduce the appellant’s annual income. While she submitted one Medical Expense Report in 2015, it appears incomplete and should be updated. For example, it includes only transportation-related medical costs and lists a dental bill that was not yet paid. The RO should request EVRs from February 2015 to the present. Further, the Pension Rate Tables set forth different categories of MAPRs and here, it is unclear which MAPR category applies. While the appellant’s monthly death pension amount was established based on her being a surviving spouse without a dependent child, she has submitted evidence indicating that the higher aid and attendance rate may apply, which would allow a higher monthly death pension payment. Specifically, she submitted a letter stating that she lives under a Colorado community-based services program under the elderly, blind, and disabled waiver. The letter states that she requires a homemaker to help her three days per week, as well as a personal care provider who also assists her. She also submitted a statement from her physician, describing her current medical problems. An examination should be provided to determine whether she is in need of aid and attendance or is housebound to ensure that the proper MAPR category is applied. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Provide the appellant with Eligibility Verification Report forms, or any other applicable forms, in order to ascertain all sources of income, as well as all unreimbursed medical expenses. Request that she complete a form for each year in which she is seeking higher death pension benefits. 2. Schedule the appellant for an examination to determine whether she is in need of aid and attendance or is housebound. If it is determined that she is, the examiner should estimate when the need for aid and attendance arose, or when she became housebound. MATTHEW TENNER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Smith, Counsel