United States, Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of an index & images of cards used by the Bureau of Pensions and Veterans Administration to record the payment of pensions to veterans, widows and other dependents. The collection is part of RG 15 Records of the Veterans Administration and is NARA microfilm publication M850. The collection covers the years from 1907 to 1933.

A pension card was created for every veteran or veteran’s widow who received a pension. There were four types of cards kept. which are referred to as:

• Army invalids
• Army widows
• Navy invalids
• Navy widows

The form for the four types of cards is practically identical. On the front of the cards for invalid veterans are recorded the name of veteran, his certificate number, his unit or arm of Service, the disability for which pensioned, the law or laws under which pensioned, the class of pension or certificate, the rate of pension, the effective date of pension, the date of the certificate, any fees paid, the name of the pension agency or group transferred from (if applicable), the date of death, the date the Bureau was notified, the former roll number, and 'home.' On the reverse side of the form appears the name of the veteran, his certificate number, and the record of the individual payments. The army and navy widow’s cards are similar to the invalids’ cards with the addition of the widow’s name and occasionally information regarding payments made to minors, but they do not indicate if the veteran had a disability.

Related Articles

• Claire Prechtel-Kluskens. " Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933." NGS Magazine 41 # 3 (July-September 2015): 43-45 FS Library 973 D25ngs
• claire Prechtel-Kluskens. For Love and Money: Pension Laws Affecting Widows of Military Veterans NGS Magazine 42 #1 (January-March 2016): 35-39. FS Library 973 D25ngs

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Additional information about these cards is available in the Wiki Article: Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907–1933.

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1910 Army Widow

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  1918 Army Invalid

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  1903 Army Dependent

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  1897 Navy Widow

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  1907 Navy Invalid

In 1907 the Bureau of Pensions and Veterans Administration began recording payments of pension with a card system. Pensions were granted to army invalids, army widows, navy invalids and navy widows. The nearly 2 million 5x8 cards are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the veteran or widow. In 1923 payments were changed from monthly to quarterly. Payments that extended through this period were recorded on a second card.

The payment cards were created as a method for the government to keep track of the pensions being distributed. The information in these cards is generally reliable.