By law, an application for survivor benefits filed with either the VA or the Social
Security Administration (SSA) constitutes a common application for survivor benefits
from both agencies. The agency taking the survivor's claim will have the applicant
complete a “short-form” application for referral to the other agency. When a survivor
of a veteran files a claim for:
-
•
VA survivor benefits--the VA shares its application information by sending us an SSA-24 (Application For Survivors Benefits (Payable under Title II of the Social Security
Act)); or
-
•
Title II survivor benefits--we send a completed VA form 21-4182 (Application for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or Death Pension (Including
Accrued Benefits and Death Compensation Where Applicable) From the Department of Veterans
Affairs) to the VA. (For more information on completing the VA form 21-4182, see RS 01702.442.)
NOTE: The automatic conversion of Title II life benefits to survivor benefits (no survivor
application required) does not establish a protective filing for VA benefits. However,
our notice of benefit conversion advises the survivor to contact the VA if the deceased
wage earner was ever in the military service.