Minimum Income Annuity and Gratuitous Annuity

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations to provide that if the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Transportation determines that an individual who is entitled to a minimum income annuity for certain surviving spouses also is entitled to a certain gratuitous annuity, VA will combine the payment of the gratuitous annuity with the minimum income annuity payment. This amendment reflects statutory provisions contained in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998. The responsibility for paying the gratuitous annuity was transferred from DOD to VA.