Ernest Peltz Accrued Veterans Benefits Act

What this does

The bill fixes a gap in how the Department of Veterans Affairs pays a pension it already approved when the veteran dies before the money goes out. It adds a new section 5121B to title 38. If the Secretary decides to award a veteran a pension before that veteran dies, but issues the payment after death, the pension due and unpaid at death is paid to the first available person in a set order: the veteran's spouse, then children in equal shares, then dependent parents in equal shares, then the veteran's estate unless the estate would escheat. If no one files a claim within one year of the death, the pension goes to the estate unless it would escheat. This applies to deaths on or after enactment. The bill also extends a separate limit on pension payments by pushing one statutory sunset date in section 5503(d)(7) of title 38 from January 31, 2033 to February 28, 2033.