Review of Automated Decisions for Veterans’ Service-Connected Death Claims

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed whether the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) automated Pension and Fiduciary Service decisions correctly granted survivors’ entitlement to service-connected death benefits from September 2023 through August 2024. The OIG found legal and procedural deficiencies in automated rating decisions and notification letters. At least 8,000 decisions or letters omitted favorable findings and had issues such as incomplete evidence summaries and incorrect formatting. At least 2 percent of decisions had legal errors, resulting in an estimated $2.7 million in improper payments. A review of additional cases through November 2025 confirmed similar errors. The quality review process for automated claims was less rigorous than for traditional claims, and VA’s modernization plan to Congress did not fully explain how some claims were completely processed from beginning to end by automation.

Deficiencies stemmed from flaws in automation rules and processes that, if not addressed, will recur because the system applies predefined rules without human involvement. Oversight tools were inadequate, and procedural guidance changes did not fully address risks.

The OIG made three recommendations to the under secretary for benefits to strengthen automation processes and oversight. These include improving legal compliance in automated decisions, enhancing quality review standards, and ensuring transparency in reporting automation practices to Congress. VBA concurred in part with the first recommendation, concurred with the second, and concurred in principle with the third.