Civil War pensions

[Darrell]

(09-20-2017 03:02 PM)Steve Wrote:  I'm a little confused as to why the government continued to pay pensions after those later in life children of the Civil War soldiers became adults.

If I'm not mistaken, Ms. Triplett is receiving a Survivor's Pension based on current law - not because she is the child of a Civil War soldier per se. This benefit is available to low-income, unmarried children of a deceased Veteran - as long as such Veteran has wartime service (i.e., from any war, including the Civil War, WW II, Vietnam, Gulf War, etc., etc.).

For the purposes of a Survivor's Pension, a "child" is a son or daughter who is:

a) under age 18, or
b) age 18-23 (inclusive) and a student, or
c) age 18 or older, and disabled before age 18

Ms. Triplett meets requirement "c" above because she was born mentally disabled - and she has been deemed permanently incapable of self-support due to that disability. Therefore, although 87 years old, she is legally considered a "child" for the purposes of receiving a Survivor's Pension.

https://www.benefits.va.gov/pension/spousepen.asp
http://blog.theveteranssite.com/cs-irene...ension-nc/