Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Faster Payments to Veterans’ Survivors Act of 2022”.
Faster Payments to Veterans’ Survivors Act of 2022
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to shorten the timeframe for claims by beneficiaries and the payment of benefits under Department of Veterans Affairs life insurance programs, to improve the management of undisbursed life insurance benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Timeframe for claims by beneficiaries and payment of benefits under Department of Veterans Affairs life insurance programs
National Service Life Insurance— Section 1917(f)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “two years” and inserting “one year”; and
in subparagraph (B), by striking “four” and inserting “two”.
United States Government life insurance— Section 1952(c)(1) of such title is amended—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “two years” and inserting “one year”; and
in subparagraph (B), by striking “four” and inserting “two”.
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to the death of an insured person occurring on or after the date that is two years before the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 3 Process for designation of beneficiaries under Department of Veterans Affairs life insurance programs
National Service Life Insurance— Section 1917 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
“(a)
“(1) The insured may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries of insurance maturing on or after August 1, 1946. The insured shall, subject to regulations, at all times have the right to change the beneficiary or beneficiaries of such insurance without the consent of such beneficiary or beneficiaries.
“(2) If the insured does not designate a beneficiary under paragraph (1) before the insured dies, or if a designated beneficiary predeceases the insured, the Secretary shall determine the beneficiary in the following order:
“(A) The surviving spouse of the insured.
“(B) The children of the insured and descendants of deceased children by representation.
“(C) The parents of the insured or the survivors of the parents.
“(D) The duly appointed executor or administrator of the estate of the insured.
“(E) Other next of kin of the insured entitled under the laws of domicile of the insured at the time of the death of the insured.”
United States Government Life Insurance—
Change of beneficiary— Section 1949 of such title is amended by striking “Subject to regulations” and all that follows through the period and inserting the following: “The insured may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries of a United States Government life insurance policy. Subject to regulations, the insured shall at all times have the right to change the beneficiary or beneficiaries of a United States Government life insurance policy without the consent of such beneficiary or beneficiaries.”.
Payment to estates— Section 1950 of such title is amended to read as follows:
“1950. Payment to estates
“If the insured does not designate a beneficiary under section 1949 of this title before the insured dies, or if a designated beneficiary predeceases the insured, the Secretary shall determine the beneficiary in the following order:
“(1) The surviving spouse of the insured.
“(2) The children of the insured and descendants of deceased children by representation.
“(3) The parents of the insured or the survivors of the parents.
“(4) The duly appointed executor or administrator of the estate of the insured.
“(5) Other next of kin of the insured entitled under the laws of domicile of the insured at the time of the death of the insured.”
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to the death of an insured person occurring on or after the date that is two years before the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 4 Department of Veterans Affairs improvement of management of undisbursed life insurance benefits
Improvement of processes— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall improve the processes and procedures of the Department of Veterans Affairs with respect to identifying, locating, and disbursing undisbursed life insurance benefits to hard-to-find beneficiaries of life insurance policies issued under chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code, including by—
improving the search tools available on the website of the Department;
conducting outreach to veterans, veterans service organizations, and the general public with respect to such search tools;
improving the processes for searching for information relating to potential recipients of undisbursed life insurance benefits through internal Department sources and sources available through other Federal agencies, State government agencies, and non-government entities; and
ensuring the Department has sufficient dedicated staff whose primary responsibilities are identifying, locating, and disbursing undisbursed life insurance benefits to hard-to-find beneficiaries, with the goal of disbursing, by not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, all funds that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, are owed to a beneficiary of a life insurance policy issued under chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code.
Sense of Congress— It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should work with interagency partners to determine the types of records, reports, and other materials that may be required to identify, locate, and disburse undisbursed life insurance benefits to hard-to-find beneficiaries.
Report— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of the Secretary in carrying out this section.
Undisbursed life insurance benefits defined— In this section, the term undisbursed life insurance benefits—
means any amount of money that—
is owed to a beneficiary of a life insurance policy issued under chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code; and
has not been disbursed for a period of two years or longer; and
does not include any amount of money—
that has not been disbursed due to a contested claim; or
the entitled beneficiary of which is in dispute by two or more parties.