M21-1 Manual  /  Part I, Subpart ii, Chapter 1, Section C

Pension Management Center (PMC) Procedures

M21-1, Part I, Subpart ii, Chapter 1, Section C

Overview

In This Section

This section contains the following topics:
TopicTopic Name
1PMC Jurisdiction of Cases
2PMC Reporting Requirements
3Disposition of PMC Documents Scanned Into the Federal Tax Information (FTI) File Repository (FFR)

1. PMC Jurisdiction of Cases

Introduction

This topic contains information on the jurisdiction of cases at the PMCs, including
  • type of work
    • performed by the PMCs, and
    • not performed by the PMCs
  • electric claims folders (eFolders)
  • mandatory use of eFolders
  • compensation claims received after Veterans Pension entitlement is established
  • claims for both compensation and Veterans Pension
  • pension-related end product (EP) 330 established by automation
  • reviewing and disposing of EP 330 for pension-related hospital reports
  • burial claims
  • claims for Parents’ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), and
  • matching programs reports processed by PMCs.

Change Date

February 14, 2025

I.ii.1.C.1.a. Type of Work Performed by the PMCs

The pension management centers (PMCs) perform work related to pension awards and all survivors claims. Limited disability compensation issues may be processed at the PMCs. The type of pension work performed by the PMCs includesNotes: References: For more information on

I.ii.1.C.1.b. Type of Work Not Performed by the PMCs

The PMCs do not perform work which requires establishing service connection for living Veterans. VSCs must process these claims.

I.ii.1.C.1.c. eFolders

The PMCs maintain electronic claims folders (eFolders) in the FTI File Repository (FFR) within the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). This allows images scanned from original source documents to be stored electronically.Documents and forms which are generated or received that contain FTI must be imaged and stored in the FFR and can be viewed via the FTI DOCUMENTS tab in VBMS.

I.ii.1.C.1.d. Mandatory Use of eFolders

It is mandatory that VSCs review the eFolder in VBMS before contacting PMCs to request PMC-related documentation, or respond to PMC claim inquiries. PMCs will not provide information by telephone if the documentation needed is in the eFolder. If an RO is unable to answer a PMC inquiry after reviewing the eFolder, the RO should request PMC personnel at one of the following e-mail addresses to respond to the inquiry:
  • VAVBAPHI/RO/Pension Center (Philadelphia)
  • VAVBAMIW/PMC/PCTC (Milwaukee), or
  • VAVBASPL/RO/Pension (St. Paul).

I.ii.1.C.1.e. Compensation Claims Received After Veterans Pension Entitlement Is Established

VSCs are responsible for processing claims for compensation, even if the claimant is receiving pension.When a PMC receives a compensation claim in the Centralized Mail (CM) portal, the PMC will transfer the claim to the appropriate VSC CM portal queue.Reference: For more information on CM, see

I.ii.1.C.1.f. Claims for Both Compensation and Veterans Pension

When a Veteran claims entitlement to both Veterans Pension and compensation benefits, separate EPs are required to control for the compensation and pension claims. Each EP is then processed separately by the PMC and VSC. Reference: For more information on concurrent compensation and pension rating claims, see M21-4, Appendix B.1.g and h.

I.ii.1.C.1.g. Pension-Related EP 330 Established by Automation

Hospital reports generated by automation are established as an EP 330. The date of claim is the corresponding date of hospital admission. All pension-related hospital adjustments established by automation will have an appropriate claim label corresponding to the specific hospital report and adjustment needed. The table below describes the claim labels associated with each type of hospital report.
Type of Hospital ReportClaim Label
Special Report for aid and attendance (A&A)
  • PMC A&A Admission Report, or
  • PMC A&A Discharge Report
Pension Report (admission/discharges)
  • PMC Improved Pension Admission Report
  • PMC Improved Pension Discharge Report
  • PMC Section 306 Pension Admission Report, or
  • PMC Section 306 Pension Discharge Report
Re-Admission Report
  • PMC A&A Re-Admission Report
  • PMC A&A Re-Admission Discharge Report
  • PMC Improved Pension Re-Admission Report
  • PMC Improved Pension Re-Admission Discharge
  • PMC Section 306 Pension Re-Admission Report, or
  • PMC Section 306 Pension Re-Admission Discharge
Contract Nursing Home (CNH) Report (admission/discharges)
  • PMC CNH Admission Report, or
  • PMC CNH Discharge Report

I.ii.1.C.1.h. Reviewing and Disposing of EP 330 for Pension- Related Hospital Reports

The Milwaukee and St. Paul PMCs are responsible for making hospital adjustments to pension awards and disposing of EP 330. Upon receipt of an EP 330, the claims processor shall access the Compensation and Pension Record Interchange (CAPRI) to review the hospital report and determine if a hospital adjustment is required. Refer to VBMS notes for information about the location of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center at which the hospitalization occurred.Use the table below to determine proper disposition of EP 330.
If a hospital adjustment is ...Then ...
required
  • upload all relevant records from CAPRI to include the hospital report and all admission and/or discharge summaries, to the eFolder, and
  • when
    • reduction is required, clear EP 330 and establish EP 600 to issue due process
    • a rating is required, change EP 330 to EP 120 before sending claim to rating activity, or
    • restoring benefits due to discharge or authorized absence of 30 days or more, change EP 330 to EP 135.
not required
  • annotate No Action Necessary (date of admission or date of discharge) in VBMS notes, and
  • clear EP 330.
Important: Do not upload CAPRI records to the eFolder.
Note: Cancellation of EP 330 is only appropriate when a previous EP 330 was established for the same period of hospitalization. When canceling the EP, the user must annotate the reason in VBMS notes. References: For more information on
  • granting A&A during hospitalization, see M21-1, Part IX, Subpart ii, 1.B.2
  • restoring an award after discharge, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart iii, 1.D.6, and
  • sending due process, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart iii, 1.D.1.f.

I.ii.1.C.1.i. Burial Claims

Although most burial claims are automated, there are certain claims that will require manual processing. Those burial claims will reroute to the Philadelphia PMC for review and processing.A burial claim received in the CM portal at an RO will be transferred to the Philadelphia PMC queue. If physical mail is received, forward the mail to the scanning vendor. References: For more information on

I.ii.1.C.1.j. Claims for Parents’ DIC

Parents’ DIC claims are under the jurisdiction of the PMC.VSCs will forward these claims, to the appropriate PMC, for resolution of the Parents’ DIC claim.References: For more information on

I.ii.1.C.1.k. Matching Program Reports Processed by PMCs

The PMCs receive and process all reports from matching programs involving pension and survivor benefit recipients. Matches involving compensation entitlement must be processed at a VSC. Reference: For more information on matching program processing, see M21-1, Part XIV, 1.

2. PMC Reporting Requirements

Change Date

September 12, 2022
I.ii.1.C.2.a. PMC Reporting Requirements PMCs are required to provide Pension and Fiduciary Service with periodic reports and logs. The table below describes which reports and logs are due and when they are due.
Report/LogFrequency of ReportingReference
erroneous payments logquarterlyM21-1, Part VI, Subpart i, 2.B
training compliance reportquarterlyM21-3, Part II, A.6.b
FTI internal inspections reporttriannuallyM21-1, Part XIV, 4.B.5


3. Disposition of PMC Documents Scanned Into the FFR

Introduction

This topic contains information on the following topics, including
  • requirements for destruction of PMC documents scanned into the FFR
  • disposition of
    • documents that require retention, and
    • previously scanned documents
    • quality assurance reviews during the scanning process
    • document retention requirement for scanned documents
    • weekly accuracy logs for quality assurance reviews of scanned documents, and
    • sample weekly scanning accuracy log.

Change Date

January 6, 2022

I.ii.1.C.3.a. Requirements for Destruction of PMC Documents Scanned Into the FFR

The following requirements exist for the destruction of PMC documents scanned into the FFR.Important: Records pertaining to FTI should be

I.ii.1.C.3.b. Disposition of Documents That Require Retention

All service treatment records and personnel records, including all media (such as microfiche, compact discs, x-rays, and photos) will be removed from the records management box and transferred to the VA Records Management Center.

I.ii.1.C.3.c. Disposition of Previously Scanned Documents

All PMC documents previously scanned into the old Legacy Content Manager under appropriate quality assurance procedures (and were later migrated to FFR), whether scanned by a vendor or VA, may be destroyed without further review.

I.ii.1.C.3.d. Quality Assurance Reviews During the Scanning Process

PMC Capture Units will conduct quality reviews each week during the scanning process. The following sample selection procedures apply for each weekly review:
  • randomly select a sufficient number of imaged document batches in order to ensure a weekly sampling of 385 documents, and
  • perform a 100 percent review of the documents in each batch until 385 documents have been reviewed for that week's sampling.
The following accuracy requirements apply for each valid sample review of scanned documents on a weekly basis:
  • a 99 percent or higher accuracy rate is required, and
  • for any week that the accuracy rate is below 99 percent, all documents scanned during that sample week must be reviewed before any documents may be destroyed.
Scanning sites will correct any scanning errors found during quality assurance reviews.

I.ii.1.C.3.e. Document Retention Requirement for Scanned Documents

PMC Capture Units must retain all paper documents scanned into FFR that meet the criteria for destruction for 90 days, after which they will be destroyed, according to the guidance contained in M21-1, Part I, Subpart ii, 1.C.3.a.

I.ii.1.C.3.f. Weekly Accuracy Logs for Quality Assurance Reviews of Scanned Documents

PMC Capture Units will maintain a weekly scanning accuracy log for a period of three years. A supervisor at the PMC Capture Unit who has direct knowledge of the process shall certify the accuracy of the scanning log. Reference: For a sample weekly accuracy scanning log, see M21-1, Part I, Subpart ii, 1.C.3.g.

I.ii.1.C.3.g. Sample Weekly Scanning Accuracy Log

A sample weekly scanning accuracy log for quality assurance reviews during the process of scanning documents into the FFR is shown below.

Source: VA M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, M21-1, Part I, Subpart ii, Chapter 1, Section C (U.S. government work, reproduced for reference). Browse all sections →