Except as provided in subsection (b), no person eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation by reason of any death occurring after , shall be eligible by reason of such death for any payments under (1) provisions of law administered by the Secretary providing for the payment of death compensation or death pension, or (2) subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5.
(b)
A surviving spouse who is eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation may elect to receive death pension instead of such compensation.
Pub. L. 103–4461994— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted “Except as provided in subsection (b), no person” for “No person”, and added subsec. (b).
Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(1), substituted “administered by the Secretary” for “administered by the Veterans’ Administration”.
Pub. L. 97–2951982— substituted “subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5” for “the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act”.
Pub. L. 92–197section 724 of this title1971— struck out subsec. (a) which, among other provisions, restricted payment of dependency and indemnity compensation in certain cases where death of a veteran occurred while United States Government life insurance or National Service Life Insurance was in force under an in-service waiver of premiums continued under , and designated subsec. (b) as entire section.
Pub. L. 91–2911970—Subsec. (a). designated material after “unless” in first sentence as cl. (1), added cl. (2), and in last sentence substituted “first sentence” for “preceding sentence”.
“No dependency and indemnity compensation shall be payable to any person by virtue of the amendments made by subsection (a) of this section [amending this section] for any person prior to the effective date of this Act [].”
“The amendments made by this Act [amending this section and sections 705, 707, 745, 765, 767, 768, 769, 770, and 774 [now 1905, 1907, 1945, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1974] of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall take effect as of the date of enactment [], except that sections 10 and 12 [amending sections 717 and 752 [now 1917 and 1952] of this title] shall take effect as of the first day of the first calendar month which begins more than six calendar months after the date of enactment of this Act [].”
, , , provided that:
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation; Eligibility
section 417(a) of title 38“Any person who before , was not eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation under such title by reason of the provisions of the prior , United States Code, may elect, in such manner as the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs shall prescribe, to receive dependency and indemnity compensation, and an election so made shall be final. A person receiving, or entitled to receive, death compensation on , shall continue to receive death compensation, if otherwise eligible, in the absence of an election to receive dependency and indemnity compensation.”