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Title 38, Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-102

§5306 Renouncement of Right to Benefits

Title 38 › PART IV — GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › CHAPTER 53 — SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS › § 5306

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Anyone who gets a pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation can give up that benefit. To do it they must sign and turn in a written renouncement. As soon as they file it, payments stop and they lose any claim to those benefits from that date. They can apply again later, but a new claim is treated like a brand-new application and won’t pay for time before the new filing. However, if they reapply for a chapter 15 pension or for dependency and indemnity compensation for parents under section 1315 within one year, the new claim will be handled as if the renouncement never happened and benefits will be payable.

Full Legal Text

Title 38, §5306

Veterans' Benefits, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any person entitled to pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation under any of the laws administered by the Secretary may renounce the right thereto. The application renouncing the right shall be in writing over the person’s signature. Upon the filing of such an application, payment of such benefits and the right thereto shall be terminated, and such person shall be denied any and all rights thereto from such filing.
(b)Renouncement of rights shall not preclude any person from filing a new application for pension, compensation, or dependency and indemnity compensation at a later date, but such new application shall be treated as an original application, and no payments shall be made for any period before the date such new application is filed.
(c)Notwithstanding subsection (b), if a new application for pension under chapter 15 of this title or for dependency and indemnity compensation for parents under section 1315 of this title is filed within one year after renouncement of that benefit, such application shall not be treated as an original application and benefits will be payable as if the renouncement had not occurred.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–446 added subsec. (c). 1991—Pub. L. 102–40 renumbered section 3106 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83 substituted “administered by the Secretary” for “administered by the Veterans’ Administration”. 1986—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–576 substituted “the” for “his” before “right” in first sentence.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

38 U.S.C. § 5306

Title 38, Veterans' Benefits

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102