# Plain Language Summary: Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2024

This bill increases the monthly payments that veterans receive for service-connected disabilities, starting December 1, 2024. If you're a veteran getting disability compensation from the VA, your monthly check will go up. The same applies to survivors of disabled veterans who receive what's called dependency and indemnity compensation—basically, financial support for spouses and children of veterans who died from service-related injuries or illnesses.

The key thing to understand is how much the increase will be. The bill ties the veteran payment increases to the same percentage increase that Social Security benefits get each year. Social Security adjusts its payments annually based on inflation to help people keep up with rising costs. This bill does the same thing for veterans' disability payments. So if Social Security goes up by 3%, veteran disability payments go up by 3% too. This means the increase amount isn't set in stone right now—it depends on what the inflation adjustment turns out to be for 2024.

The bill covers several different types of veteran payments: disability compensation for those injured or made ill by military service, extra payments for veterans who have dependents, a clothing allowance for certain veterans, and survivor benefits for spouses and children of deceased disabled veterans. Essentially, if you're receiving any of these VA benefits, you'll see your payment increase by the same percentage as the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for that year. The VA will announce the exact new payment amounts in the Federal Register so everyone knows what to expect.

Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2024

Luttrell, Morgan

Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2024This act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase the amounts payable for wartime disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Specifically, the VA must increase the amounts by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in benefits for Social Security recipients that is effective on December 1, 2024. The bill requires the VA to publish the amounts payable, as increased, in the Federal Register.The VA is authorized to make a similar adjustment to the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who have not received compensation for service-connected disability or death.