Citation Nr: 18157646
Decision Date: 12/13/18	Archive Date: 12/13/18

DOCKET NO. 16-58 343
DATE:	December 13, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to an effective date earlier than October 19, 2015 for the grant of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active military service from November 1971 to November 1992.  He died in October 2009.  The appellant is his widow.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a November 2015 decision letter of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Regional Office (RO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  
Initially, the Board notes that in her November 2009 application for burial benefits (VA Form 21-530), the appellant did not check the box indicating that she was claiming that the cause of the Veteran’s death was due to service (see box 11 of VA Form 21-530). Thus, that form does not serve as a claim for DIC benefits and does not support an earlier effective date.  See Shields v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 346, 349 (1995).
 
The appellant contends that she is entitled to an earlier effective date based on the date on which she applied for Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits.  The claims file includes SSA correspondence to the appellant stating that her entitlement date for widow’s benefits is January 2013.  The claims file also includes SSA correspondence to VA notifying VA that it will supply information regarding the date on which the appellant became entitled to SSA benefits if VA submits a VA Form 21-4180; the claims file does not reflect that VA submitted the requested form.  
The appellant may be entitled to an earlier effective date for DIC based upon the date on which the SSA received her claim for benefits regardless of the form which she used to apply. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.153, but see also Van Valkenburg v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 113 (2009) (any claim sufficient to reflect an intent to apply for survivor’s benefits filed with SSA will suffice to establish an effective date for DIC benefits).
Based on the foregoing, VA should submit to the SSA a VA Form 21-4180 and/or any other necessary form to ascertain the date upon which the appellant first applied to SSA for survivor’s (widow’s) benefits.
 
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
Submit a VA Form 21-4180 and/or any other necessary form to SSA to ascertain the date upon which the appellant first applied to SSA for survivor’s (widow’s) benefits regardless of the type of application form she used.
 
 M.C. GRAHAM
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	T. Wishard