The Department of Veteran Affairs has announced they are expanding benefits for veterans' burial and funeral costs.
The news comes several months after the VA encouraged more veterans to use their burial benefits, which are going widely underutilized.
"Expanding burial benefits means we are able to ensure veterans are honored in their final resting place, and assist their family, caregivers, and survivors during the difficult time of their loved one's passing," said Joshua Jacobs, the VA's under secretary for benefits.
Here's more on the expanded benefits, via Military.com:
The expanded benefits include reimbursements for transporting remains to state and tribal veterans cemeteries, in addition to previously eligible national cemeteries; allowances for VA plots or interments for tribal organizations; and higher payments for non-service-connected burial benefits, according to a news release Friday.
Less than half of veterans who would have qualified for burial or headstone benefits in 2022 used them, and the VA wants that to change.
Furthermore, only 20% of eligible veterans were buried in a VA managed or supported cemetery. This is a benefit that comes with no cost for the families of veterans who pass.
Here are some of the end-of-life expenses the VA will cover:
Burial
Funeral
Gravesite
Transporting remains to final resting place
Funerals are not cheap, with the average cost being $7,848 in 2021.
Eligible veterans should take advantage of this little-used benefit that they have earned.
To find out if you qualify for burial benefits you can get more information here.