When a Veteran or VA beneficiary dies, VA very often still owes them money. A disability claim filed a year earlier may still be pending. An increase may have been granted with retroactive pay that never reached their account. That money does not vanish, but it does not arrive on its own either. A surviving spouse, child, or dependent parent has to claim it with VA Form 21P-601, and the window closes one year after the death.
What it is
Accrued benefits are periodic monetary VA benefits that were due to a beneficiary but unpaid at the time of death. The rule comes from 38 U.S.C. 5121 and 38 CFR 3.1000. In plain English, this covers any recurring VA payment the person was legally entitled to but had not received when they died, including disability compensation, pension, and DIC. It does not include insurance payouts, which follow their own beneficiary rules.
Accrued benefits show up in two common situations:
- Money VA had already decided to pay but had not delivered, such as a retroactive award that was granted shortly before the death and never issued.
- A claim, decision review, or appeal that was still open when the beneficiary died. VA can decide that claim based on the evidence already in the file and pay the result to an eligible survivor.
For that second situation there is also a stronger option called substitution. Under 38 U.S.C. 5121A, an eligible survivor can ask to step into the deceased claimant's place and continue the pending claim, including adding new evidence, by filing VA Form 21P-0847 within one year of the death. A plain accrued claim is decided only on the evidence that was already in VA's possession on the date of death.
What it's worth
This is a one-time lump sum equal to whatever VA owed on the date of death. There is no fixed dollar amount because the value depends entirely on what was pending or unpaid.
A worked example with illustrative numbers: a Veteran files for an increased disability rating, waits ten months while the claim is pending, and dies before VA decides it. VA later grants the increase based on the evidence in the file, and the higher rating works out to $1,200 more per month back to the effective date. The accrued benefit is roughly $12,000, paid once to the surviving spouse who filed Form 21P-601. The amount grows with the wait because VA pays back to the effective date of the claim, not the decision date.
Here is how the common scenarios map to what you file:
| Situation | What to file |
|---|---|
| VA owed money under an award already made | VA Form 21P-601 |
| A claim or appeal was still pending at death | VA Form 21P-0847 (substitution) within one year, or 21P-601 for a decision on the existing record |
| You are applying for DIC or Survivors Pension anyway | That application is deemed to include an accrued benefits claim |
| No eligible survivor exists and you paid the final expenses | VA Form 21P-601, for reimbursement up to what you paid |
That third row matters. Under 38 CFR 3.1000, a survivor's claim for DIC, Survivors Pension, or compensation is deemed to include a claim for any accrued benefits, so if you are already filing for DIC you generally do not need a separate 21P-601.
Who qualifies (and who doesn't)
Federal law sets a strict priority order for a deceased Veteran's accrued benefits under 38 U.S.C. 5121:
- The surviving spouse.
- The Veteran's children, in equal shares, if there is no surviving spouse.
- The Veteran's dependent parents, in equal shares, if there are no eligible children.
A higher class blocks the lower ones. Per the official form instructions, if a preferred beneficiary chooses not to file, their share does not pass down to someone with lower preference, and a waiver does not change that.
For this benefit, "children" generally means children who meet VA's definition, which is tied to age, school attendance, or a disability that began before age 18, and "dependent parents" means parents who were financially dependent on the Veteran. If your family situation is not a clean fit, confirm your eligibility with VA before assuming you are out. An accredited representative can check this for free.
If no one in those categories survives, VA does not pay the full accrued amount to the estate. Instead, only enough is paid to reimburse the person who bore the expense of the Veteran's last sickness and burial, and government entities cannot be reimbursed this way. Executors, siblings, and friends who covered final medical bills or funeral costs claim that reimbursement on the same Form 21P-601 with receipts.
How to claim it
- Check whether you need a separate form at all. If you are filing for DIC or Survivors Pension, that application is deemed to include an accrued benefits claim.
- If a claim, decision review, or appeal was still pending when the beneficiary died and you may want to add evidence, file VA Form 21P-0847 to request substitution within one year of the death.
- Otherwise, download VA Form 21P-601 from VA's official form page. The current version was updated in September 2025, and VA also offers an online submission option on that page.
- Attach everything that supports the claim. For reimbursement claims, include receipts or statements showing you personally paid the last sickness or burial expenses. Keep a photocopy of the whole package.
- Mail the completed form to Department of Veterans Affairs, Pension Intake Center, P.O. Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365, or bring it to your nearest VA regional office.
- If you have questions, call VA at 800-827-1000 or work with a free accredited representative.
Deadlines
The core deadline is one year. Under 38 U.S.C. 5121, an application for accrued benefits must be filed within one year after the date of death.
Two related clocks to know:
- If your application is incomplete, VA will tell you what is missing. You then have one year from that notice to send it, or no accrued benefits are payable based on that application.
- A substitution request under Form 21P-0847 also must be filed within one year of the claimant's death.
The form instructions describe a narrow exception with a five-year limit for lump-sum accrued benefits, meaning amounts withheld from a Veteran during hospital treatment, institutional, or domiciliary care. If you think that unusual case applies, confirm the details with VA directly.
Related benefits
- DIC survivor benefits pays eligible survivors a monthly, tax-free benefit, and filing for it automatically includes an accrued benefits claim.
- Benefits for spouses, children, and parents walks through the full stack of dependent and survivor benefits.
- Chapter 35 DEA education benefits can pay a survivor's way through school on top of any accrued amount.
What to do next
Accrued benefits are a one-time recovery, but survivors usually qualify for far more than one payment. Run your free benefits scan at Benefitry to see every federal and state benefit you qualify for, what each is worth, and how to claim it, all backed by official .gov sources.