| Almost two million active policy holders
of veterans' life insurance will share in the 1999 distribution of $751
million in dividends by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).
Veterans will receive the payments on the anniversary
date of their policies, with the individual dividend amount determined
by age, type of insurance and length of time the policy has been in
force. Recipients will automatically receive their annual dividend
through one of nine payment options.
The dividends represent a return of trust fund
earnings on the premiums paid by policyholders through the years.
They reflect the fact that veterans are living longer than originally
predicted and also are attributable to the higher than expected yields
earned by the trust funds from investments in U.S. government
securities.
Only these veterans with policies that have been kept
in force when premiums were required are eligible for payout. Inaccurate
notices periodically have surfaced in the veteran community, falsely
suggesting that those who have not elected to maintain insurance are
eligible for a special distribution if they contact VA. (In
fact, the only dividends VA distributes are automatically sent to
eligible policyholders, who were issued government life insurance
policies between 1917 and 1956. Veterans of subsequent eras are
covered by government insurance programs that do no pay dividends.)
The largest group receiving 1999 payments will be 1.6
million veterans of World War II with National Service Life Insurance
("V") policies who will receive an average payment of
$385.00. Total payments are expected to reach $623.8 million.
Dividends totaling $3.7 million will be paid to the
18,966 mostly World War I veterans holding U.S. Government Life
Insurance ("K") policies.
Some 222,512 veterans who maintained Veterans Special
Life Insurance ("RS" and "W") policies can expect to
receive dividends totaling $100.3 million.
Veterans who hold Veterans Reopened Insurance policies
("J", "JR" and "S"), currently numbering
73.895, will share a $24.1 million dividend.
Although VA also administers a special life insurance
program for disabled veterans and a program offering mortgage life
insurance coverage, these policies have a different financial structure
and neither pays dividends. For current active-duty service
members and reservists and more recently separated veterans, VA
supervises a contract with a private underwriter for Servicemembers'
Group Life Insurance, which also does not pay dividends.
Veterans who have questions about their policies may
call the VA Insurance Center toll-free at 1-800-669-8477 or may send
their e-mail to Vainsurance@vba.va.gov.
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