Citation Nr: A21017795 Decision Date: 11/03/21 Archive Date: 11/03/21 DOCKET NO. 210922-186772 DATE: November 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran did not have qualifying wartime service for purposes of nonservice-connected pension eligibility. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 101, 1521, 5107, 7104; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.3, 3.6, 3.102. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1956 to September 1959. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2021 decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In the September 2021 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal, the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket. Therefore, the Board will consider the evidence of record at the time of the June 2021 rating decision. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. The Board is bound by the favorable findings identified by the RO in its June 2021 rating decision. Favorable findings included the findings that the Veteran's character of service meets the requirements to qualify for pension and he met the required minimum active duty requirements. 38 C.F.R. § 3.104(c). The Veteran seeks entitlement to nonservice-connected pension benefits, which has been denied by the RO based on the lack of eligible wartime service for pension purposes. The Board finds that the Veteran does not have the eligible wartime service for such a grant. Pension benefits will be paid to each veteran of a period of war who meets the necessary service requirements and who is permanently and totally disabled form nonservice-connected disability, nor the result of the veteran's willful misconduct. 38 U.S.C. § 1521(a). VA law authorizes the payment of a nonservice-connected disability pension to a wartime Veteran who has the requisite service and who is permanently and totally disabled. Basic entitlement exists if a Veteran: (1) meets the service requirement; (2) is permanently and totally disabled from non-service-connected disability not due to his/her own willful misconduct; and (3) meets the net worth requirements under 38 C.F.R. § 3.274, and does not have an annual income in excess of the applicable maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) specified in 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.3, 3.23. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1502, 1521; 38 C.F.R. § 3.3. A veteran meets the service requirements of that section if he served in active military, naval, or air service: (1) for 90 days or more during a period of war; (2) during a period of war and was discharged or released from service for a service-connected disability; (3) for a period of 90 consecutive days or more and such period began or ended during a period of war; or (4) for an aggregate of 90 days or more in two or more separate periods of service during more than one period of war. 38 U.S.C. § 1521(j); 38 C.F.R. § 3.3(a)(3). In the present case, the Veteran's DD Form 214 shows that he served on active duty from September 1956 to September 1959. Unfortunately, such service does not coincide with a period of war, as defined by VA regulation. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.2. In sum, the Veteran did not have qualifying service during a period of war and basic eligibility for nonservice-connected pension benefits is not established. In reaching this conclusion, the Board has considered the applicability of the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine; however, because the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, that doctrine does not apply. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Hemphill 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.