The Department of Veterans Affairs has suspended debt collections related to overpayments of pensions to low-income veterans or their survivors because of accounting errors made over the past 12 years.

Between 2011 and 2022, VA officials were unable to reliably verify the self-reported income of these pensioners due to errors in comparison data.

As a result, nearly 40,000 low-income veterans and their survivors may have debts that have not yet been established by the VA because of the overpayments.

Monthly pensions for the low-income individuals can range from a few hundred dollars to more than $5,000, depending on beneficiaries’ income and other support services.

Many of these veterans and survivors are older and all have low income, so these debts are a significant financial hardship.

Veterans with questions about or debt management issues, please contact your nearest DAV service office for assistance by visiting benefitsquestions.org.