Title 38 — Veterans' BenefitsRelease 119-73not60
§5313 Limitation on Payment of Compensation and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation to Persons Incarcerated for Conviction of a Felony
Title 38 › Part IV— GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS › Chapter 53— SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO BENEFITS › § 5313
Summary
Stops or limits VA disability and survivor payments for people who are jailed after a felony conviction for more than 60 days. Starting on the 61st day of that jail time and until release, a veteran rated 20 percent or higher can’t get more than the full rate listed in 38 U.S.C. 1114(a). A veteran rated under 20 percent, or a surviving spouse, parent, or child, can’t get more than one‑half of that 1114(a) rate. Payments continue normally if the person is in a work‑release program or living in a halfway house. Money withheld can be shared with others under the same rules as 38 U.S.C. 5307, and survivor payments not paid to a spouse or child can be given to other surviving dependents. No one who is jailed for a felony can receive apportionments. The VA cannot give a total disability rating for unemployability while a veteran is jailed for a felony. The rule applies to felonies committed after October 7, 1980, and to certain jail periods on or after October 1, 1980. "Compensation" and "dependency and indemnity compensation" include the related disability and death benefits named in the code.
Full Legal Text
Title 38, §5313
Veterans' Benefits — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(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.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2006—Subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(3), (c). Pub. L. 109–461 substituted “local, or other penal institution or correctional facility” for “or local penal institution”. 1998—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 105–368 substituted “October 7, 1980,” for “the date of the enactment of this section,”. 1991—Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(b)(1), renumbered section 3113 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(c)(1), substituted “1114(a)” for “314(a)” in subpars. (A) and (B). Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 102–40, § 402(d)(1), substituted “5307” for “3107”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(c)(1), substituted “1151” for “351” in par. (1) and “1121”, “1141”, and “1151” for “321”, “341”, and “351”, respectively, in par. (2). 1983—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 98–160 substituted “paragraph (1) of this subsection” for “paragraph (1) of this section”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 7, 1980, see section 601(d) of Pub. L. 96–385, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1980 Amendment note under section 1114 of this title. Limitation on Payment of Compensation for Veterans Remaining Incarcerated Since
October 7, 1980 Pub. L. 107–103, title V, § 506, Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 996, provided that: “(a) Limitation.—Section 5313 of title 38, United States Code, other than subsection (d) of that section, shall apply with respect to the payment of compensation to or with respect to any veteran described in subsection (b). “(b) Covered Veterans.—A veteran described in this subsection is a veteran who is entitled to compensation and who—“(1) on
October 7, 1980, was incarcerated in a Federal, State, or local penal institution for a felony committed before that date; and “(2) remains so incarcerated for conviction of that felony as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2001]. “(c)
Effective Date
.—This section shall apply with respect to the payment of compensation for months beginning on or after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2001]. “(d) Compensation Defined.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘compensation’ has the meaning given that term in section 5313 of title 38, United States Code.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
38 U.S.C. § 5313
Title 38 — Veterans' Benefits
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60