VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

Transcription

1 VETERANS BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION OVERVIEW VETERANS BENEFITS OF VBA ADMINISTRATION BENEFITS AND SERVICES FY 2017 Controlled Unclassified Information

2 VBA Beneficiaries Served & Dollars Paid in FY2017 Life Insurance Provides over $1.2T in coverage for 6M Service members, Veterans and families members. Paid over $2.2B in benefits Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Assisted over 15.5K Veterans achieve a positive outcome, an 8.2% increase over FY16 Over 132K participants in FY17 To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan. Pension & Fiduciary Paid $5.4B to over 483K beneficiaries Completed 89K field exams, 8% more than FY16 Education Paid $79B in Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to over 1.8M individuals since program inception in 2009 Provided $12B to 947K beneficiaries for all EDU programs, processing over 4 million claims To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan. Compensation Paid $72.4B to nearly 4.5M beneficiaries Completed nearly 1.39M claims, over 148K in August, highest production month ever Completed claims in an average of days Home Loan Guaranty Over 2.89M VA home loans on the books Guaranteed a record 740.3K loans in FY17 (5% more than FY16) totaling $189B Helped 96.1K Veterans avoid foreclosure; lowest foreclosure inventory (0.99%) and seriously delinquent rates (2.03%) in the industry Benefits Assistance Over 6.7M registered ebenefits users nearly 1M more than FY16 Provided over 63K Transition Assistance services to more than 500K Servicemembers, Veterans & families

3 Operations Overview 3 Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations Assistant Deputy VBA Under Field Secretary Structure for Field Operations North Atlantic District Southeast District Midwest District Continental District Pacific District The Veterans Benefits Administration delivers benefits and services through 56 regional offices and other organizational entities, including: 5 District Offices Appeals Management Center Records Management Center 8 Regional Loan Centers 6 Fiduciary Hubs 3 Education Regional Processing Offices 1 Education Call Center 3 Pension Management Centers & 1 Pension Call Center 8 National Call Centers Insurance Center Insurance Call Center 2

4 VBA s District Structure Anchorage Manila Honolulu Oakland Portland Seattle Reno Los Angeles San Diego Boise Phoenix Salt Lake City Ft. Harrison Cheyenne Denver Albuquerque Regional Office (RO) RO and Education Regional Processing Office (RPO) RO and Regional Loan Center (RLC) RO, RPO & RLC RO, PMC, and RLC RO, PMC and Insurance Center Appeals Management Center RO and Fiduciary Hub RO, VETERANS Fiduciary Hub, BENEFITS and PMC ADMINISTRATION District CONTROLLED Director UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Fargo Sioux Falls Lincoln Wichita St. Paul Muskogee Houston Waco Des Moines St. Louis Little Rock New Orleans Milwaukee Chicago Jackson Detroit Indianapolis Louisville Nashville Cleveland Atlanta Montgomery St. Petersburg White River Jct. Buffalo Pittsburgh Huntington Columbia Did you Know? Manchester DC Roanoke Winston-Salem San Juan 57% of VBA employees are Veterans Togus Boston Providence Hartford New York Newark Philadelphia Wilmington Baltimore North Atlantic District Southeast District Midwest District Continental District Pacific District 3

5 Program Review: Compensation VBA s Compensation program provides monthly benefits to Veterans in recognition of the effects of disabilities, diseases, or injuries incurred or aggravated during active military service Disability Compensation Overview: Tax-free benefit paid to eligible Veterans with service-related disabilities and with a discharge given under conditions other than dishonorable Benefit amount determined by severity of condition(s) FY17 Program Highlights: VBA completed nearly 1.39 million disability compensation claims and 6.29M issues in FY17 VBA paid $72.4 billion in disability compensation to nearly 4.5 million Veterans in FY17 4

6 Program Review: Compensation Disability Compensation Benefits Paid by Fiscal Year $ % Growth $70.0 $60.0 $50.0 $43.9B $48.0B $53.6B $58.4B $63.7B $67.5B $72.4B Billions $40.0 $30.0 $20.0 $10.0 $

7 Program Review: Compensation Average Degree of Disability 55.0% 50.0% 45.0% 43.5% 44.9% 46.3% 47.7% 48.9% 50.1% 51.5% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0%

8 Program Review: Compensation Thousands Veterans Receiving Compensation and Costs by Combined Degree of Disability Fiscal Year 2017 $Billions % 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 0 Caseload Cost 7

9 Program Review: Compensation Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Tax-free benefit for eligible survivors of Veterans who died as a result of their service $6.6 billion paid to 406,000 survivors in FY17 410, , , , , , , , , , , , ,776 DIC Recipients by Fiscal Year 348, ,157 19% Growth 386, , , ,

10 Program Review: Pension VA s Pension programs provide needs-based benefits to wartime Veterans and their Survivors Veterans and Survivors Pension Tax-free, income-based benefit for wartime Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled or age 65 or older, and their eligible survivors Seriously disabled Veterans and eligible Survivors may qualify for increased benefits if they need the aid and attendance (A&A) of another person or are housebound Paid $5.4 billion in Pension benefits to over 483,000 Veterans & Survivors in FY17 Average age of Veterans and Survivors receiving pension is 75 years Improving the timeliness of Pension claims: Decreased the average number of days pending for death pension claims by 19 days to 54 days as of the end of FY17 Decreased the average number of days pending for dependency claims by 18 days to 66 days as of the end of FY17 9

11 Program Review: Pension Pension Benefits Paid by Fiscal Year 6 25% Growth 5 $4.9B $5.2B $5.2B $5.5B $5.5B $5.4B Billions of Dollars Paid in Pension Benefits $4.3B

12 Program Review: Pension Veteran Pension Recipients by Period of Service in FY17 Gulf War Era 6% 17,547 World War II 16% 45,764 Korean Conflict 19% 52,886 Vietnam Era 59% 165,579 11

13 Program Review: Fiduciary Fiduciary Program Fiduciary Program Growth by Fiscal Year Oversees appointment of fiduciaries for VA beneficiaries unable to manage their VA benefits as a result of injury, disease, advanced age, or less than 18 years of age Provided fiduciary services to almost 211K beneficiaries in FY17 over 14K more than in FY16 Conducted more than 91K field exams in FY17 2K more than in FY K 134K 122K 73% Growth 211K 197K 183K 173K

14 Program Review: Burial VBA administers three types of burial benefits: burial allowance, plot/interment allowance, and transportation. Monetary Burial Benefits: $129 million in burial benefits paid in FY17 VA automatically pays burial allowances at a flat rate to certain surviving spouses without requiring an application Pays the maximum benefit allowance amount authorized by law ($2,000 for service-connected or $300 for non service-connected) In FY17, over 30,000 automatic burial allowance payments and over 4,000 automatic plot allowance payments (without application) were made to surviving spouses within 6 days of notification of the Veteran s death (down from 190 days) Decreased the average number of days pending for burial claims by 23 days to 68 days as of the end of FY17 13

15 Program Review: Insurance 14 th largest Insurance program in the U.S. Insured 6M beneficiaries in FY17 Provided over $1.2T in coverage under 10 lines of protection in FY17 In FY17, paid insurance disbursements in an average of 4.4 days at 98.4% accuracy Lives Insured by Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Face Amount ($ in billions) Total Lives Insured $1,349 $1,325 $1,308 $1,269 $1,241 $1,226 $1,215 7,056,914 6,895,224 6,711,043 6,473,869 6,254,979 6,115,127 6,007,606

16 Program Review: Insurance Uniformed Services and Post-Vietnam Veterans: Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI): Low-cost term life insurance Family Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (FSGLI): Insures spouses and dependent children of Servicemembers who have SGLI coverage Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI): Automatic feature of SGLI that provides payment to Servicemembers who suffer certain losses due to traumatic injuries that occur in service Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI): Allows separating Servicemembers to convert their SGLI to lifetime renewable term insurance Disabled Veterans Insurance Programs (open to new issues): Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (S-DVI): Life insurance for Veterans who received a VA rating for a new service-connected disability in the last two years Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI): Provides mortgage life insurance to disabled Veterans approved for a VA Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant WWI, WWII and Korean Era Insurance Programs: Provides Life Insurance to Veterans who maintained their Life insurance coverage (these programs no longer issue new coverage).

17 Service Review: Benefits Assistance VA s Benefits Assistance Service advocates for Veterans, Service members, Families, Survivors, and other stakeholders to provide a 21 st century VA experience that is consistent, concise and relevant through a multi-pronged approach: Transition and Employment Services VA, DoD, ED, DOL, SBA and OPM provide information on VA benefits and services. In FY17, there were over 63K TAP events for over 500K Servicemembers Client Services and Outreach Over 136K outreach hours helped VA see nearly 4.6M Veterans, Service members, family members, and Survivors at events in FY17 VBA Web Communications Provides oversight of VBA Websites and social media platforms 61.6M visits made to VBA Websites in FY17 Over 32M messages sent from GovDelivery in FY17 Services to Veterans Provides policies, quality assurance and training for National Call Centers and public contact activities at Regional Offices 544K Facebook followers in FY17 (7% increase from FY16) Over 6.7M users with access in FY17 (12% increase from FY16) 98K Twitter followers in FY17 (27% increase from FY16) 16

18 Program Review: Education VA Education benefits advance the education and skills of Veterans, Servicemembers, Family Members and Survivors according to the following eligibility standards: Post-9/11 GI Bill At least 90 days aggregate active duty service after 9/10/2001, and either still on active duty, honorably discharged, or discharged because of a service-connected disability after 30 days Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty Enrollees pay $100/month for 12 months to receive monthly Education benefits after completing a minimum service obligation Montgomery GI Bill Select Reserve For Reservists with a six-year obligation in the Selected Reserve who are actively drilling Reserve Educational Assistance Program For Reservists activated at least 90 days after 9/10/2001 Due to Congressional mandate, VA can only grant REAP eligibility to those enrolled in school on November 24, 2015, or during their school s last term, quarter, or semester ending prior to that date Veterans Educational Assistance Program For Veterans who entered service between 1/1/77 and 6/30/85, contributed between $25 and $2,700, with other than a dishonorable discharge Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance Program Available to eligible dependents of Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to service-related conditions, and of Veterans who died while on active duty or as the result of a service-related condition 18

19 Program Review: Education FY17 Program Highlights: GI Bill Feedback System For beneficiaries to report negative experiences with educational institutions receiving federal funding 97,483 landing-page views and 9,407 complaints submitted since inception Received 20,173 landing-page views with 1,906 complaints in FY17 GI Bill Comparison Tool Allows Veterans and family members to calculate estimated GI Bill benefits, research certain school attributes, and compare educational institutions 5.7M page views in FY17 Miller-Blumenthal Veterans Health Care & Benefits Improvement Act of 2016 Enacted after being signed by the President on December 16, 2016 Amends title 38, United States Code, to improve veterans access to health care, disability benefits, education and homelessness assistance, among other important benefits for our nation s veterans 15 of the separate provisions pertain to education benefits, 8 provisions were implemented 19

20 Program Review: Education Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Forever GI Bill) Signed August 16, 2017 the most comprehensive changes to GI Bill benefits since enactment of the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act in provisions were effective upon enactment; 18 are effective by August 1, 2018; 3 provisions are effective by Impact of Legislation: 22 of the 34 provisions require significant changes to IT systems at an estimated cost of $70M. OI&T is committed to providing a solution to the most pressing provisions Sections 107 and 501 at an estimated cost of $8 million. No other funding has been identified to complete remainder of IT system changes. VA has authorized the hire of 200 temporary field employees to manage the new workload. VA Actions: Launched an extensive outreach and promotional campaign on the Colmery Act. Begun implementing date of enactment provisions. Notified nearly 8,000 beneficiaries and processed over 600 applications to restore entitlement to those impacted by school closures. Notified nearly 3,200 beneficiaries under the Reserve Educational Assistance Program who lost benefits due to the program s sunset that they can elect to have their qualifying active duty service periods credited towards establishing eligibility under the Post-9/11 GI Bill Program. Communicating with individuals who no longer have a time limit to use their GI Bill benefits. Working diligently on the 18 provisions that go into effect by August 1, 2018 revising regulations, articulating communications plans, and building operational models toward implementation. 21

21 Program Review: Education Program Highlights: As of end of FY17, the Post-9/11 GI Bill program paid out $76 billion to over 1.8 million students since the program inception in August 2009 In FY17, provided $12 billion through VA education programs to 947K Veterans and their beneficiaries, processing over 4 million claims 2017 Education Obligations: $12.0B DEA, $553,128,000 5% Montgomery (AD) $298,818,000 2% Montgomery (SR) $128,084,000 1% REAP $7,213,000 <1% Post-9/11, $11,056,959 92% 20

22 Program Review: Home Loan Guaranty VA s Home Loan Guaranty program helps Servicemembers, Veterans and their families obtain, retain, and adapt a home or refinance an existing home Benefits of VA home loans: Purchase a home (existing or pre-construction) as a primary residence Typically, no down payment and no mortgage insurance Reusable benefit VA limits certain closing costs a Veteran may pay Loans may be assumed by qualified borrower No pre-payment penalty VA staff dedicated to assisting Veterans who become delinquent on their loan VA s Home Loan Guaranty Program also: Provides Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grants for Veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities Issues direct loans to Native American Veterans living on Federal Trust land Helps borrowers in default avoid foreclosure VA s Home Loan Guaranty Program currently has more than 2.89 million home loans on the books 21

23 Program Review: Home Loan Guaranty FY17 Program Highlights: VA-guaranteed loans maintained one of the lowest foreclosure rates (0.99%) among all loan types (e.g., prime and FHA) for 37 consecutive quarters, and VA now has the lowest foreclosure inventory and seriously delinquent rates Helped more than 96,139 Veterans and their families retain their homes or avoid foreclosure in FY17 saving taxpayers almost $2.77B New VA Home Loans Guaranteed by Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Number of Loans Total Loan Amt. 357, , , , , , ,389 $74.9B $119.2B $142B $100B $153B $179B $189B 25

24 Program Review: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VA s VR&E Program helps Servicemembers and Veterans with service-connected disabilities and an employment handicap prepare for, find, and keep suitable careers through counseling and case management. For Veterans with a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable, at least a 20% disability rating, and an employment handicap (or a 10% rating with a serious employment handicap), VR&E provides: Interest and aptitude testing, and career counseling Job training, job-seeking skills, resume development, and work-readiness assistance Special employer incentives, on-the-job-training, and non-paid work experiences Post-secondary training at a college, vocational, technical or business school Independent living services for individuals whose service-connected disabilities require intensive and frequent rehabilitation support to become more independent in their homes and communities Servicemembers with disabilities participating in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) under the NDAA receive automatic VR&E entitlement, as desired. 26

25 Program Review: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VR&E employs over 1,000 professional vocational rehabilitation counselors and delivers services through a network of over 350 office locations, including 93 VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) schools/sites. FY17 Program Highlights: Over 15K Veterans achieved positive outcomes in the VR&E program in FY17 an 8.2% improvement from FY16 In FY 2017, there were 132K VR&E participants As of December 28, 2017, 96% of the FY17 Chapter 31 GOE funds for contract counseling, and 51% of Chapter 36 funds obligated with 61% and 18% executed, respectively In VR&E s 20-year Longitudinal Study, the following trends were found in this year s 2016 Report to Congress: The majority of participants for all cohorts (approximately 90%) reported moderate to high satisfaction with the VR&E Program For all three cohorts (2010/2012/2014), more than 90 percent of Veterans who have achieved rehabilitation from an employment plan were employed in the past year 24

26 Program Review: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment 25