PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

A beneficiary can give (assign) all or part of their insurance benefit to a close family member — a widow or widower, a child, a parent, a grandparent, or a sibling — if any backup (contingent) beneficiary signs the assignment. For assignments made before any payments, the assignment must be sent to the Secretary. If an annuity is assigned, payments must be equal monthly amounts spread over the multiple-of-12 number of months closest to the annuity’s guaranteed payments, or over 240 months, whichever is less. For insurance payable after July 26, 1962, the person who gets the money can assign it to those same family members (except for insurance under section 1922(b)), and a backup beneficiary does not have to join if the money is paid in a single lump sum.

Title 38, §1918

Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Assignments of all or any part of the beneficiary’s interest may be made by a designated beneficiary to a widow, widower, child, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the insured, when the designated contingent beneficiary, if any, joins the beneficiary in the assignment, and if the assignment is delivered to the Secretary before any payments of the insurance shall have been made to the beneficiary. However, an interest in an annuity, when assigned, shall be payable in equal monthly installments in such multiple of twelve as most nearly equals the number of installments certain under such annuity, or in two hundred and forty installments, whichever is the lesser. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable to insurance maturing after July 26, 1962.

(b)Except as to insurance granted under the provisions of section 1922(b) of this title, any person to whom insurance maturing after July 26, 1962, is payable may assign all or any portion of such person’s interest in such insurance to a widow, widower, child, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, or sister of the insured when the designated contingent beneficiary, if any, joins the beneficiary in the assignment. Such joinder shall not be required in any case in which the insurance proceeds are payable in a lump sum.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 718 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(2)(A)(iii)(III), substituted “Secretary” for “Veterans’ Administration”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(c)(1), substituted “1922(b)” for “722(b)”. 1982—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–295 substituted “after

July 26, 1962” for “on or after the date of enactment of this sentence”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–295 substituted “after

July 26, 1982,” for “on or after the date of enactment of this sentence”. 1979—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–128 substituted “such person’s” for “his”. 1962—Pub. L. 87–557 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted sentence making subsection inapplicable to insurance maturing on or after “the date of enactment of this sentence [

July 27, 1962]”, and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1979 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–128 effective Nov. 28, 1979, see section 601(b) of Pub. L. 96–128, set out as a note under section 1114 of this title.

§1918 Assignments