republic-os/legal/us/code/title-38/chapter-15/section-1532.md

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LegalText	38 U.S.C. § 1532	Surviving spouses of Civil War veterans	us	united_states_code	code_section	38	VETERANS’ BENEFITS	15	PENSION FOR NON-SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITY OR DEATH OR FOR SERVICE	1532	38 U.S.C. § 1532	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc38@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t38/s1532	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-38/usc38.xml	8f35e7498d098199dc04e6761604ad6c8219eb661629e8bce2b60562e9f26776	372998691b72ade88787dfa7633dbda4954bd1b037ec7926c5e06e9b1d17fc66	a45021d36506144a56ae8b6900fcd8e75bf739492d1c5f6cb9a3d713f9bf726f	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

38 U.S.C. § 1532 - Surviving spouses of Civil War veterans

Text

(a) The Secretary shall pay to the surviving spouse of each Civil War veteran who met the service requirements of this section a pension at the following monthly rate:

(1) $40.64 if such surviving spouse is below seventy years of age; or

(2) $70 if such surviving spouse is seventy years of age or older.

(b) If there is a child of the veteran, the rate of pension paid to the surviving spouse under subsection (a) shall be increased by $8.13 per month for each such child.

(c) A veteran met the service requirements of this section if such veteran served for ninety days or more in the active military or naval service during the Civil War, as heretofore defined under public laws administered by the Veterans’ Administration, or if such veteran was discharged or released from such service upon a surgeon’s certificate of disability.

(d) No pension shall be paid to a surviving spouse of a veteran under this section unless such surviving spouse was married to such veteran—

(1) before June 27, 1905; or

(2) for one year or more; or

(3) for any period of time if a child was born of the marriage, or was born to them before the marriage.

(Pub. L. 85–857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1137, § 532; Pub. L. 90–77, title I, §§ 101(a), 105, Aug. 31, 1967, 81 Stat. 178, 179; Pub. L. 94–169, title I, § 106(20)–(23), Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1018; Pub. L. 102–54, § 14(b)(7), June 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 283; renumbered § 1532 and amended Pub. L. 102–83, §§ 4(a)(1), (b)(1), (2)(E), 5(a), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 403–406; Pub. L. 103–446, title XII, § 1201(a)(2), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4682.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments1994—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–446 substituted “Veterans’ Administration” for “Secretary”. 1991—Pub. L. 102–83, § 5(a), renumbered section 532 of this title as this section. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator” in introductory provisions. Pub. L. 102–54 substituted a period for semicolon at end of par. (2) and struck out at end “unless such surviving spouse was the spouse of the veteran during such veteran’s service in the Civil War, in which case the monthly rate shall be $75.” Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(1), substituted “administered by the Secretary” for “administered by the Veterans’ Administration”. 1975—Pub. L. 94–169, § 106(23), substituted “Surviving spouses” for “Widows” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–169, § 106(20), substituted “pay to the surviving spouse” for “pay to the widow”, “such surviving spouse” for “she” wherever appearing, “was the spouse” for “was the wife” and “such veteran’s” for “his”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–169, § 106(21), substituted “surviving spouse” for “widow”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–169, § 106(21), substituted “such veteran” for “he” wherever appearing. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94–169, § 106(22), substituted “surviving spouse”, “such surviving spouse” and “such veteran” for “widow”, “she” and “him”, respectively. 1967—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 90–77, § 105, substituted ”$70” for “$65”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 90–77, § 101(a), qualified widow of a veteran for a pension by reducing in par. (2) the requisite marriage period from five years to one year and by making her eligible for benefits in par. (3) in event of antenuptial birth.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1975 AmendmentPub. L. 94–169, title I, § 106, Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1017, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective Jan. 1, 1976.

Effective Date of 1967 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–77 effective first day of first calendar month which begins more than ten days after Aug. 31, 1967, see section 405 of Pub. L. 90–77, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.