38 C.F.R. § 8.11

Current through November 30, 2024
Section 8.11 - Cash value
(a) Provisions for cash value, paid-up insurance, and extended term insurance, except as provided in § 8.14(b) , shall become effective at the completion of the first policy year on any plan of National Service Life Insurance other than the 5-year level premium term plan. The cash value at the end of the first policy year and at the end of any policy year thereafter, for which premiums have been paid in full, shall be the reserve with any dividend accumulations, where applicable. This paragraph shall not apply to VALife.
(b) For insurance other than VALife, upon written request and upon complete surrender of the insurance and all claims thereunder, the United States will pay to the insured the cash value of the policy less any indebtedness, provided the policy has been in force by payment or waiver of the premiums for at least 1 year. Paid-up additions do not have to be in force for 1 year before they have cash values. Unless otherwise requested by the insured, a surrender will be deemed completed as of the end of the premium month in which the application for cash surrender is delivered to the Department of Veterans Affairs, or as of the date of the check for the cash value, whichever is later. If the application is forwarded by mail, properly addressed, the postmark date will be taken as the date of delivery. If it is forwarded through military channels, the date the application is placed in military channels will be taken as the date of delivery.
(c) All values, reserves and net single premiums on participating National Service Life Insurance, other than as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, shall be based on the American Experience Table of Mortality, with interest at the rate of 3 percent per annum. For each month after the first policy year for which month a premium has been paid or waived, the reserve at the end of the preceding policy year shall be increased by one-twelfth of the increase in reserve for the current policy year.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1902 , 1906 )

(d) All values on insurance, reserves, and net single premiums issued under the provisions of section 1922(a) of title 38 U.S.C., and on modified life and ordinary life plans of insurance issued under section 1904(c), (d), and (e), respectively, shall be based on the Commissioners 1941 Standard Ordinary Table of Mortality with interest at the rate of 21/4 percent per annum. Values between policy years shall be proportionally adjusted.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1904 , 1906 )

(e) All values on insurance, reserves, and net single premiums issued under the provisions of section 1923(b) of title 38 U.S.C., and on modified life and ordinary life plans of such insurance issued under section 1904 (c), (d), and (e), respectively, shall be based on table X-18 (1950-54 Intercompany Table of Mortality) with interest at the rate of 21/2 percent per annum. Values between policy years shall be proportionally adjusted.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1904 , 1923 )

(f) All values, reserves, and net single premiums on nonparticipating insurance on which the requirements of good health were waived under the provisions of section 602(c)(2) of the National Service Life Insurance Act, as amended ("H" Insurance), and on the modified life and ordinary life plans of such "H" insurance issued under section 1904 (c), (d), and (e), respectively, of title 38 U.S.C. shall be based on the American Experience Table of Mortality, with interest at the rate of 3 percent per annum. Values between policy years shall be proportionally adjusted. The provisions of the "Net Cash Value" clause in National Service Life Insurance policies are hereby amended accordingly.
(g) All values, reserves, and net single premiums on participating modified life and ordinary life plan insurance issued under section 1904 (b), (d), and (e), respectively, of title 38 U.S.C. shall be based on the 1958 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Basic Table of Mortality and interest at the rate of 3 percent per annum. Values between policy years shall be proportionally adjusted.
(h) All values, reserves, and net single premiums on insurance issued under the provisions of section 1925(b) of title 38 U.S.C, and on modified life and ordinary life plans of such insurance issued under section 1904 (c), (d), and (e), respectively, shall be based on the 1958 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Basic Mortality Table and interest at the rate of 31/2 percent per annum. Values between policy years shall be proportionally adjusted.
(i) All values, reserves, and net single premiums on insurance issued under the provisions of section 1925(c) of title 38 U.S.C., and on modified life, ordinary life, 20-payment life and 30-payment life plans, where appropriate, of such insurance issued under section 1904 (c), (d), and (e), respectively, shall be based on the American Experience Table of Mortality and interest at the rate of 31/2 percent per annum. Values between policy years shall be proportionally adjusted.
(j) Cash values that accrue for VALife will be developed using a multiple of the 1941 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table and an interest rate of 3.5 percent per annum. Cash values will not accrue and will not be payable until the completion of the two-year waiting period imposed by 38 U.S.C. 1922B(c)(2) . If a VALife policy lapses or is surrendered before completion of the two-year waiting period, then any amounts that VA has collected, such as premium payments, shall be returned to the credit of the VALife revolving fund that is established under 38 U.S.C. 1922B(a)(5)(A)(i) . If a veteran enrolls in VALife for an amount less than the statutory maximum and elects to apply for additional coverage at a later date, the cash value on the additional amount of coverage would not begin accruing until the end of the two-year waiting period for the additional coverage.
(k) The United States will pay the cash value, in full or in part, of any VALife policy, subject to the limitations in § 8.11(j) , to insureds upon request through electronic medium or other method prescribed by the Secretary. Unless otherwise requested by the insured, a surrender will be deemed effective as of the end of the premium month in which the application for cash surrender is delivered to the Department of Veterans Affairs, or as of the date of payment for the cash value, whichever is later.

38 C.F.R. §8.11

61 FR 29292, June 10, 1996. Redesignated at 65 FR 7437 , Feb. 15, 2000; 65 FR 19659 , Apr. 12, 2000; 87 FR 73654 , Dec. 1, 2022

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1906

87 FR 73654 , 1/3/2023

The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information collection provisions in this section under control number 2900-0918