The Supreme Court’s recent ruling to grant federal benefits to married same-sex couples means that a same-sex spouse of veteran can share in VA benefits. Such benefits include, but are not limited to, a survivors’ benefit that compensates for the death of the veteran (dependency and indemnity compensation). They also include an enhanced monthly compensation rate for service-connected disabilities that was previously only available to opposite-sex couples.
Newly available VA benefits for gay couples could affect many spouses of former service members: approximately 13% of the 650,000 same-sex couples in the U.S. includes a veteran.
