
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 38USC5120]

 
                      TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
 
               PART IV--GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
 
            CHAPTER 51--CLAIMS, EFFECTIVE DATES, AND PAYMENTS
 
                   SUBCHAPTER III--PAYMENT OF BENEFITS
 
Sec. 5120. Payment of benefits; delivery

    (a) Monetary benefits under laws administered by the Secretary shall 
be paid by checks drawn, pursuant to certification by the Secretary, in 
such form as to protect the United States against loss, and payable by 
the Treasurer of the United States. Such checks shall be payable without 
separate vouchers or receipts except in any case in which the Secretary 
may consider a voucher necessary for the protection of the Government. 
Such checks shall be transmitted by mail to the payee thereof at the 
payee's last known address and, if the payee has moved and filed a 
regular change of address notice with the United States Postal Service, 
shall be forwarded to the payee. The envelope or cover of each such 
checks shall bear on the face thereof the following notice: 
``POSTMASTER: PLEASE FORWARD if addressee has moved and filed a regular 
change-of-address notice. If addressee is deceased, return the letter 
with date of death, if known.''
    (b) Postmasters, delivery clerks, letter carriers, and all other 
postal employees are prohibited from delivering any mail addressed by 
the United States and containing any such check to any person whomsoever 
if such person has died or in the case of a surviving spouse, if the 
postal employee believes that the surviving spouse has remarried (unless 
the mail is addressed to the surviving spouse in the name the surviving 
spouse has acquired by the remarriage). The preceding sentence shall 
apply in the case of checks in payment of benefits other than pension, 
compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and insurance, only 
insofar as the Secretary deems it necessary to protect the United States 
against loss.
    (c) Whenever mail is not delivered because of the prohibition of 
subsection (b), such mail shall be returned forthwith by the postmaster 
with a statement of the reason for so doing, and if because of death or 
remarriage, the date thereof, if known. Checks returned under this 
subsection because of death or remarriage shall be canceled.
    (d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, pursuant to an 
agreement with the Department of the Treasury under which the Secretary 
certifies such benefits for payment, monetary benefits under laws 
administered by the Secretary may be paid other than by check upon the 
written request of the person to whom such benefits are to be paid, if 
such noncheck payment is determined by the Secretary to be in the best 
interest of such payees and the management of monetary benefits programs 
by the Department.
    (e) Whenever the first day of any calendar month falls on a 
Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday (as defined in section 6103 of 
title 5), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
certify benefit payments for such month in such a way that such payments 
will be delivered by mail, or transmitted for credit to the payee's 
account pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, on the Friday 
immediately preceding such Saturday or Sunday, or in the case of a legal 
holiday, the weekday (other than Saturday) immediately preceding such 
legal public holiday, notwithstanding that such delivery or transmission 
of such payments is made in the same calendar month for which such 
payments are issued.
    (f)(1) In the case of a payee who does not have a mailing address, 
payments of monetary benefits under laws administered by the Secretary 
shall be delivered under an appropriate method prescribed pursuant to 
paragraph (2) of this subsection.
    (2) The Secretary shall prescribe an appropriate method or methods 
for the delivery of payments of monetary benefits under laws 
administered by the Secretary in cases described in paragraph (1) of 
this subsection. To the maximum extent practicable, such method or 
methods shall be designed to ensure the delivery of payments in such 
cases.

(Pub. L. 85-857, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1227, Sec. 3020; Pub. L. 95-
117, title IV, Sec. 402(a), (b)(1), Oct. 3, 1977, 91 Stat. 1065, 1066; 
Pub. L. 97-295, Sec. 4(73), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1310; Pub. L. 99-
570, title XI, Sec. 11007(a)(2), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207-170; Pub. 
L. 99-576, title VII, Sec. 701(65), Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3296; 
renumbered Sec. 5120, Pub. L. 102-40, title IV, Sec. 402(b)(1), May 7, 
1991, 105 Stat. 238; Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(1), (3), (4), (b)(1), 
(2)(E), Aug. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 403-405.)


                               Amendments

    1991--Pub. L. 102-40 renumbered section 3020 of this title as this 
section.
    Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator'' in two places.
    Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(1), substituted ``administered by the 
Secretary'' for ``administered by the Veterans' Administration''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator'' in two places.
    Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(3), (4), substituted ``Department'' for 
``Veterans' Administration'' before period at end.
    Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(1), substituted ``administered by the 
Secretary'' for ``administered by the Veterans' Administration''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
    Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(1), substituted 
``administered by the Secretary'' for ``administered by the Veterans' 
Administration''.
    Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted 
``Secretary'' for ``Administrator''.
    Pub. L. 102-83, Sec. 4(a)(1), substituted ``administered by the 
Secretary'' for ``administered by the Veterans' Administration''.
    1986--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 701(65)(A), substituted 
``the payee's'' for ``his'', and ``the payee'' for ``he'' and ``him'' in 
third sentence.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-576, Sec. 701(65)(B), substituted ``such 
person'' for ``he'', ``surviving spouse'' for ``widow'', ``the surviving 
spouse'' for ``she'' in two places, ``to the surviving spouse'' for ``to 
her'', and ``by the'' for ``by her'' in first sentence.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 99-570 added subsec. (f).
    1982--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97-295 substituted ``United States Postal 
Service'' for ``Post Office Department''.
    1977--Pub. L. 95-117, Sec. 402(b)(1), struck out ``by check'' after 
``benefits'' in section catchline.
    Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 95-117, Sec. 402(a), added subsecs. (d) 
and (e).


                    Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

    Section 11007(b)(2) of Pub. L. 99-570 provided that: ``The amendment 
made by subsection (a)(2) [amending this section] shall take effect with 
respect to payments made on or after October 1, 1986.''


                    Effective Date of 1977 Amendment

    Section 402(c) of Pub. L. 95-117 provided that: ``The amendments 
made by this section [amending this section] shall be effective on the 
date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 3, 1977].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 31 section 3332.
