General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Congressman calls for service members, veterans who stormed the Capitol to be stripped of benefits [View all]Kaleva
(36,595 posts)some info on the current rules:
"A Jail or Prison Sentence Longer than 60 Days May Affect Your Benefits
A conviction for a serious crime will affect your disability compensation and military retirement pay differently. Only felony convictions resulting in imprisonment of more than 60 days will affect your disability compensation. If you are in a work release program, a halfway house, or under community control, your disability compensation will not be affected because this is not considered incarceration.
If your conviction triggers military disability compensation penalties, you will not lose the benefits altogether. Instead, they will be reduced by half. If your disability rating is 40%, for example, you will continue to receive the same benefits that you would if your disability rating was 20%. If you are able to prove that your children and spouses well being will suffer from this decreased compensation, you can request that the amount of reduced compensation be apportioned directly to your family.
Your veterans pension will terminate on day 61 of your incarcerationregardless of whether you are serving time for a misdemeanor or a felony. Upon your release, you may continue to receive your pension if you still meet the eligibility criteria. If you fail to notify the VA about your incarceration, you may be liable to pay them back for the pension payments they made to you while you were behind bars once they find out about your incarceration."
https://www.veteransbenefits.com/news/can-i-lose-my-veterans-benefits-if-i-get-charged-with-a-crime