Claim Raven explanation
What this means
This section limits compensation or DIC after more than 60 days of incarceration for a felony conviction. The reduced amount begins on the sixty-first day and ends when incarceration ends, with exceptions for work release and residence in a halfway house.
For a veteran rated 20 percent or more, payment is capped at the section 1114(a) rate; for a lower rating or a DIC recipient, it is capped at one-half that rate. Withheld amounts may be apportioned to eligible family members under specified rules, but not to an incarcerated person. The statutory historical dollar rate should be checked through current payment tables.
How this helps your claim
The rule limits payment during a qualifying incarceration. It does not erase service connection or the underlying disability rating, although the statute bars assignment of a total rating based on individual unemployability during the covered incarceration period.
What to check in your records
Verify the conviction, confinement dates, facility status, rating level, and any eligible family apportionment.
- Obtain official conviction and incarceration records, including release or status changes.
- Keep the rating decision and payment history before, during, and after confinement.
- Document dependents' financial information for any apportionment request.
Build an exact confinement timeline
Use official dates for conviction, entry, the sixty-first day, work release, halfway-house residence, and release. Pretrial detention, misdemeanor custody, and felony incarceration should not be collapsed into one undifferentiated period.
Review resumption and any apportionment separately. Dependents may need to submit financial evidence, and release documentation should be provided promptly. A reduced payment does not by itself show that VA changed the medical rating.
Does felony incarceration cancel service connection?
No. This statute limits the amount paid during the covered incarceration period. The underlying service-connected status and medical rating are separate, although individual unemployability cannot be assigned during that period.
Official statutory text
38 USC § 5313
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.
§ 5313. Limitation on payment of compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation to persons incarcerated for conviction of a felony
(a)(1) To the extent provided in subsection (d) of this section, any person who is entitled to compensation or to dependency and indemnity compensation and who is incarcerated in a Federal, State, local, or other penal institution or correctional facility for a period in excess of sixty days for conviction of a felony shall not be paid such compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation, for the period beginning on the sixty-first day of such incarceration and ending on the day such incarceration ends, in an amount that exceeds—
(A) in the case of a veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 20 percent or more, the rate of compensation payable under section 1114(a) of this title; or
(B) in the case of a veteran with a service-connected disability not rated at 20 percent or more or in the case of a surviving spouse, parent, or child, one-half of the rate of compensation payable under section 1114(a) of this title.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply with respect to any period during which a person is participating in a work-release program or is residing in a halfway house.
(b)(1) All or any part of the compensation not paid to a veteran by reason of subsection (a) of this section may, as appropriate in an individual case, be apportioned under the same terms and conditions as are provided under section 5307 of this title.
(2) All or any part of the dependency and indemnity compensation not paid to a surviving spouse or child by reason of subsection (a) of this section may, as appropriate in an individual case, be apportioned as follows:
(A) In the case of dependency and indemnity compensation not paid to a surviving spouse, any apportionment shall be to the surviving child or children.
(B) In the case of dependency and indemnity compensation not paid to a surviving child, any apportionment shall be to the surviving spouse or other surviving children, as applicable.
(3) No apportionment may be made under this subsection to or on behalf of any person who is incarcerated in a Federal, State, local, or other penal institution or correctional facility for conviction of a felony.
(c) The Secretary shall not assign to any veteran a rating of total disability based on the individual unemployability of the veteran resulting from a service-connected disability during any period during which the veteran is incarcerated in a Federal, State, local, or other penal institution or correctional facility for conviction of a felony.
(d) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall apply (1) with respect to any period of incarceration of a person for conviction of a felony committed after October 7, 1980, and (2) with respect to any period of incarceration on or after October 1, 1980, for conviction of a felony of a person who on October 1, 1980, is incarcerated for conviction of such felony and with respect to whom the action granting an award of compensation or dependency and indemnity compensation is taken on or after such date.
(e) For purposes of this section—
(1) The term “compensation” includes disability compensation payable under section 1151 of this title.
(2) The term “dependency and indemnity compensation” means death compensation payable under section 1121 or 1141 of this title, death compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation payable under section 1151 of this title, and any benefit payable under chapter 13 of this title.
Related references
- 38 USC § 1114: Disability Compensation and SMC in Federal Law
- 38 USC § 5307: When VA may apportion benefits to family members
- 38 USC § 5313B: VA benefit restrictions for fugitive felons
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