Citation Nr: 21061747 Decision Date: 10/05/21 Archive Date: 10/05/21 DOCKET NO. 12-25 903 DATE: October 5, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to non-service-connected pension benefits from December 7, 2015 is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has failed to meet his evidentiary burden of providing requested financial information for purposes of establishing entitlement to non-service-connected pension benefits for the period from December 7, 2015. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an award of non-service-connected pension benefits for the period from December 7, 2015 have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1521; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.3, 3.21, 3.23, 3.271, 3.272, 3.277. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from February 1969 to December 1972. His decorations include the National Defense Service Medal. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2010 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida. In May 2019, the Board remanded the issue currently on appeal to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for additional development. After taking further action, the AOJ confirmed and continued the prior denial and returned the case to the Board. See December 2019 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC). Entitlement to non-service-connected pension benefits from December 7, 2015 is denied. The Veteran seeks to establish entitlement to non-service-connected pension benefits from December 7, 2015. Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1521(a), non-service-connected disability pension is a benefit payable to a veteran of a period of war who is permanently and totally disabled from non-service-connected disability not the result of his own willful misconduct. A veteran is entitled to pension only if his income is not in excess of the applicable maximum annual pension rate (MAPR), as specified at 38 C.F.R. § 3.23 and changed periodically, as reported in the Federal Register. See 38 U.S.C. § 1521. The maximum rates for a veteran's pension are reduced dollar for dollar by the amount of the countable income of a veteran, his spouse, and any dependent(s). 38 U.S.C. § 1521; 38 C.F.R. § 3.23(d). Pursuant to the May 2019 Board remand, the AOJ sent the Veteran a letter in September 2019 to his most recent address of record, requesting that he provide income information, as well as information pertaining to any unreimbursed medical expenses he may have incurred since December 7, 2015. That letter was not returned by the post office as undeliverable. As such, and because there appear to be no irregularities with respect to the mailing address that was used, it is presumed that he received it. See, e.g., Clarke v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 130, 133 (2007); Baxter v. Principi, 17 Vet. App. 407, 410 (2004); Ashley v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 307, 309 (1992). However, he did not respond. In December 2019, as noted above, the AOJ sent the Veteran a SSOC explaining that, due to his failure to respond to the September 2019 letter, his claim for pension remained denied. The SSOC was returned by the post office as undeliverable. However, it was subsequently re-mailed to the Veteran at an address obtained from the Social Security Administration. See Deferred Rating Decision dated January 2020. That mailing was not returned by the post office as undeliverable. As such, as noted above, it is presumed that he received it. Again, however, no response was received. As a condition of granting or continuing pension, VA may require from any person who is an applicant for or a recipient of pension such information, proofs, and evidence as is necessary to determine the annual income and the value of the corpus of the estate of such person. 38 C.F.R. § 3.277(a). The Board notes that, to date, the requested information with respect to the Veteran's income and unreimbursed medical expenses for the period from December 7, 2015 has not been received. His failure to provide the requested information makes it impossible for VA to determine his eligibility. The Veteran has a duty to keep VA apprised of his whereabouts and to aid VA in developing his claim. Wood v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 190, 193 (1991) (noting that the duty to assist is not a one-way street; if a claimant wishes help in developing her/his claim, s/he cannot passively wait for it in those circumstances where s/he may or should have information that is essential in obtaining putative evidence). Because the Veteran did not respond to VA's request for additional information, the Board is constrained to find that he has not met his evidentiary burden in connection with his claim for non-service-connected pension benefits, as he has not provided the requisite financial information. Under the circumstances, the Board must find that the claim for non-service-connected pension benefits for the period from December 7, 2015 is without legal merit. Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994). The appeal must be denied. DAVID A. BRENNINGMEYER 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.