U.S. Code » Title 38 » Part PART II— GENERAL BENEFITS › Chapter CHAPTER 15— PENSION FOR NON-SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY OR DEATH OR FOR SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— VETERANS’ PENSIONS

38 U.S.C. § 1522

Net worth limitation

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(a) The Secretary shall deny or discontinue the payment of pension to a veteran under section 1513 or 1521 of this title when the corpus of the estate of the veteran or, if the veteran has a spouse, the corpus of the estates of the veteran and of the veteran’s spouse is such that under all the circumstances, including consideration of the annual income of the veteran, the veteran’s spouse, and the veteran’s children, it is reasonable that some part of the corpus of such estates be consumed for the veteran’s maintenance.(b) The Secretary shall deny or discontinue the payment of increased pension under subsection (c), (d), (e), or (f) of section 1521 of this title on account of a child when the corpus of such child’s estate is such that under all the circumstances, including consideration of the veteran’s and spouse’s income, and the income of the veteran’s children, it is reasonable that some part of the corpus of such child’s estate be consumed for the child’s maintenance. During the period such denial or discontinuance remains in effect, such child shall not be considered as the veteran’s child for purposes of this chapter.(Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1136, § 522; Pub. L. 86–211, § 3(b), Aug. 29, 1959, 73 Stat. 434; Pub. L. 95–588, title I, § 107, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2502; renumbered § 1522 and amended Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), (c)(1), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 404–406; Pub. L. 107–103, title II, § 207(b)(2), Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 991.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–103 inserted “1513 or” before “1521 of this title”.

1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 522 of this title as this section.

Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(c)(1), substituted “1521” for “521” in subsecs. (a) and (b).

Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” in subsecs. (a) and (b).

1978—Pub. L. 95–588 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted provisions relating to consideration of the income and estates of the spouse and children of an eligible veteran, and added subsec. (b).

1959—Pub. L. 86–211 substituted provisions requiring the denial or discontinuance of payment of pension when the corpus of the veteran’s estate is such that under all the circumstances, including consideration of the veteran’s income, it is reasonable that some part of the corpus be consumed for the veteran’s maintenance for provisions which prohibited the payment of a pension to any unmarried veteran whose annual income exceeds $1,400 or to any married veteran or any veteran with children whose annual income exceeds $2,700.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2001 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 107–103 effective Sept. 17, 2001, see section 207(c) of Pub. L. 107–103, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1513 of this title.

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 95–588 effective Jan. 1, 1979, see section 401 of Pub. L. 95–588, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1959 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 86–211 effective July 1, 1960, see section 10 of Pub. L. 86–211, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1521 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1992–2023 · leading case: Mason v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 129 (Vet. App. 2002).
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Mason v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 129 (Vet. App. 2002). “121, 123 (1998); see also 38 U.S.C. § 1522 . The term “period of war” is defined to include the following: [T]he Spanish-American War, the Mexican border period, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, the Persian Gulf War, and the period beginning on…”
Chaussee v. Thiel, 520 N.W.2d 789 (N.D. 1994). · cites it 4× “38 U.S.C.A. § 1522 (a) provides: "The Secretary shall deny or discontinue the payment of pension to a veteran under section 1521 of this title when the corpus of the estate of the veteran or, if the veteran has a spouse, the corpus of the estates of the veteran and of the…”
Robert Davis v. United States, 375 F.3d 590 (7th Cir. 2004). “§ 1521 (e) states that the pension rate shall be reduced to the amount of the veteran’s annual income and 38 U.S.C. § 1522 allows for the denial or discontinuation of pension payments based upon the annual income of the veteran.”
Cutler v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 336 (Vet. App. 1992). “See 38 U.S.C. § 1522 (formerly § 522) (Net Worth Limitation).”
Arthur L. Hairston v. Denis McDonough (Vet. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “, 38 U.S.C. § 1522 (including the annual income of the veteran and the veteran's spouse and children in calculations of the corpus of the veteran's estate).”
190426-44622 (Board of Vet. App. 2019). “See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1522 , 1543; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.”
Kontz v. Wilkie (Fed. Cir. 2020). “” 38 U.S.C. § 1522 (a). A vet- eran’s “annual income” “include[s] the veteran’s annual in- come” and “the annual income of the veteran’s dependent spouse[.”
191127-53170 (Board of Vet. App. 2020). “38 U.S.C. § 1522 ; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.23 , 3.”
Davis v. United States, 244 F. Supp. 2d 878 (N.D. Ill. 2002). “See 38 U.S.C. § 1522 ; 38 C.F.R. § 3.272 . See also Cooper v.”
Davis, Robert v. United States (7th Cir. 2004). “§ 1521 (e) states that the pension rate shall be reduced to the amount of the veteran’s annual income and 38 U.S.C. § 1522 allows for the denial or discontinuation of pension payments based upon the annual income of the veteran.”
10-35 021 (Board of Vet. App. 2015). “38 U.S.C.A. § 1522 (a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.274 .”
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