Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section allows a survivor's application showing intent to seek survivor benefits, filed with either VA or the Social Security Administration, to be treated as an application under both the Title 38 DIC chapter and Social Security title II. The agencies transmit the filing and relevant supporting material to each other.
The statute permits jointly prescribed forms and gives cross-application effect to a document indicating intent to apply for survivor benefits. Each agency may still request the additional information its own law requires. The filing rule should therefore be separated from the merits of DIC and Social Security entitlement.
How this helps your claim
The joint-filing rule can matter when determining whether and when a survivor applied. It does not mean that the two programs share the same eligibility rules or that one agency's approval controls the other.
What to check in your records
Locate the first intent-to-apply document and proof of which agency received it and when.
- Keep the filed form or other written indication of intent to seek survivor benefits.
- Preserve agency receipts, correspondence, and transmitted supporting documents.
- Track separate requests for information and decisions from VA and Social Security.
Preserve the earliest filing evidence
Save the complete application, submission confirmation, date stamp, and any cover letter. If the claim moved between agencies, keep the transmittal notices. These records can be more useful than relying on the later date printed on a final decision.
Respond separately to each agency's evidence requests. A joint application does not combine their medical, relationship, earnings, or other eligibility standards. Compare each decision with its own governing rules while preserving the shared filing history.
Does filing for Social Security survivor benefits guarantee VA DIC?
No. The filing may count as an application to both agencies, but each program decides entitlement under its own law. VA can request the relationship, service, and cause-of-death evidence needed for DIC.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 5105
OLRC release: pl-119-108. Layout and spacing are adapted for reading. The statutory text is shown here; publisher source credits and editorial notes remain in the linked official release.
§ 5105. Joint applications for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation
(a) The Secretary and the Commissioner of Social Security may jointly prescribe forms for use by survivors of members and former members of the uniformed services in filing application for benefits under chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). Such forms shall request information sufficient to constitute an application for benefits under both chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).
(b) When an application on any document indicating an intent to apply for survivor benefits is filed with either the Secretary or the Commissioner of Social Security, it shall be deemed to be an application for benefits under both chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). A copy of each such application filed with either the Secretary or the Commissioner, together with any additional information and supporting documents (or certifications thereof) which may have been received by the Secretary or the Commissioner with such application, and which may be needed by the other official in connection therewith, shall be transmitted by the Secretary or the Commissioner receiving the application to the other official. The preceding sentence shall not prevent the Secretary and the Commissioner of Social Security from requesting the applicant, or any other individual, to furnish such additional information as may be necessary for purposes of chapter 13 of this title and title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq.), respectively.
Related references
- 38 USC § 1304: Marriage-duration rules for surviving-spouse DIC
- 38 USC § 1310: When a service-connected death supports DIC
- 38 USC § 5101: Filing a VA Claim on the Required Form
- 38 USC § 5110: Effective Dates and Continuous Pursuit in Federal Law
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