An annuity of about $1,395 a year, paid monthly, to a legally blind New York wartime veteran or an unremarried surviving spouse. The blindness does not have to be service connected, which is what makes this reach veterans no VA benefit touches.
Also called: blind annuity, legally blind, DVS, wartime, surviving spouse, not service connected, annuity.
The Blind Annuity is a New York State payment, not a VA one, and the single most important thing about it is in the eligibility rule: the blindness need not be a service-connected disability.
That makes it one of the few benefits in this catalog that helps a veteran whose disabling condition has nothing to do with service. A wartime veteran who lost sight to glaucoma, macular degeneration, or diabetes decades after discharge qualifies on the same terms as one blinded in combat. Nothing in the VA system does that.
The annuity is set at $1,395.36 a year, paid as $116.28 a month. Confirm the current figure with the Department of Veterans' Services before relying on it, since the legislature has adjusted it.
Eligibility requires New York State residence and domicile, legal blindness, and wartime service. The service test is generally at least 90 days of active duty during a designated wartime period, or receipt of an expeditionary medal for certain conflicts, with fewer than 90 days accepted where the veteran was discharged for a service-connected disability.
An unmarried surviving spouse may receive the annuity where the veteran met every eligibility requirement but never received the benefit during their lifetime.
Legal blindness for this purpose is the standard definition: central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses, or a field defect where the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.
Apply through a county Veterans Service Agency or the Department of Veterans' Services, with proof of residency, the discharge document, and a statement of visual acuity from an ophthalmologist or optometrist.
Thresholds
Thresholds for New York State Blind Annuity for Wartime Veterans
Gate
Rule
Legal blindness and wartime service, with no rating requirement
The gates are New York residence and domicile, legal blindness, and wartime service. The Department is explicit that the blindness need not be service connected, so there is no rating test at all and the rating filter never hides this benefit.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.