Citation Nr: 20044557 Decision Date: 07/02/20 Archive Date: 07/02/20 DOCKET NO. 19-07 428 DATE: July 2, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to nonservice-connected disability pension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1970 to May 1972. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2018 decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. In March 2020, the Veteran testified at a Central Office Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the record. Entitlement to nonservice-connected disability pension is remanded. Although the Board regrets the additional delay, the matter must be remanded in order to afford the Veteran full consideration of his claim of entitlement to nonservice-connected disability pension benefits. The Veteran filed his claim of entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits in 2017. On his January 2017 VA Form 21-527EZ, he indicated that he was in receipt of Social Security benefits in the amount of $348 per month. A June 2017 VA Form 21P-0516-1 shows that the Veteran reported that he was in receipt of Social Security benefits in the amount of $348 per month, and that his spouse received wages from employment in the amounts of $16,000 from January 2016 to December 2016, and $4,800 from January 2017 to April 2017. On his December 2017 VA Form 5655, the Veteran reported that he received VA benefits, Social Security, or Other Income in the amount of $1,008 per month, and that his spouse was in receipt of gross wages in the amount of $1,100 per month. In another December 2017 VA Form 5655, the Veteran reported that his spouse was receipt of gross wages in the amount of $1,100 per month. A January 2018 VA Form 21P-0516-1 shows that the Veteran reported that he was in receipt of Social Security benefits in the amount of $355 per month, and that his spouse received wages from employment in the amount of $1,100 per month from January 2016 to December 2016. A February 2020 VA Form 21-527EZ shows that the Veteran reported that he was in receipt of Social Security income of $371 per month, and that his spouse was in receipt of Social Security income of $200 per month. At the March 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran reported that his spouse stopped working in December 2019 due to health problems, and that she had not applied for Social Security benefits. See also May 2020 Veteran statement (noting that the Veteran’s spouse lost her job due to the coronavirus). The Veteran also reported that he had been unable to obtain his tax returns from 2014 to the present because his tax return preparer went out of business. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that evidence is not sufficient to decide the claim at this time. Based on the above-referenced inconsistencies with respect the Veteran’s household income, and in light of the Veteran’s inability to obtain his tax returns from 2014 to the present, the Board finds that remand is necessary in order to verify the Veteran’s household income and unreimbursed medical expenses from 2017 to the present. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request that the Veteran provide updated information with respect to his household income and unreimbursed medical expenses for the annualized periods from 2017 to the present, to include proof of any income and expense information provided. 2. Contact the appropriate sources to verify the Veteran’s income and net worth information, as well as his unreimbursed medical expenses. 3. After completing the above, and any other development deemed necessary, readjudicate the appeal. JAMES G. REINHART Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Ragheb, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.