Life insurance and burial benefits for South Dakota veterans

Military life insurance is federal, so the options are the same in every state: convert SGLI to VGLI after separation, apply for VALife if you have a service-connected rating, or buy private coverage. Healthy veterans often compare VGLI against private term life, since VGLI rates rise every five years.

VA national cemeteries

• Black Hills National Cemetery — Sturgis
• Fort Meade National Cemetery (closed to new burials) — Sturgis
• Hot Springs National Cemetery (closed to new burials) — Hot Springs

State veterans cemeteries

• South Dakota Veterans Cemetery — Sioux Falls
• Akicita Owicahe Lakota Freedom Veterans Cemetery — Kyle
• Sicangu Akicita Owicahe Veterans Cemetery — White River
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Veterans Cemetery — Sisseton

Burial in a VA national cemetery, a government headstone or marker, and a burial flag are available to eligible veterans at no cost; see VA burial benefits for current allowances. Source: VA National Cemetery Administration: Cemeteries in South Dakota

South Dakota may pay up to $100 toward the burial and funeral expenses of an honorably discharged veteran, or a veteran's spouse or widow(er), when the estate or family lacks the funds; the veteran must have lived in South Dakota for one year before entering service or before death, and a county or tribal veterans service officer must apply within one year of burial. Source: South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs: Burial Benefits

Veterans rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability can exempt $200,000 of the full and true value of their owner-occupied home from property taxes; apply on the Department of Revenue form. Source: SDCL 10-4-40: Partial exemption for dwellings of certain disabled veterans

The state pays $200 toward setting a government headstone or marker for a veteran who lived in South Dakota for one year before entering service or before death, or $100 for etching military details on a private headstone. Source: South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs: Headstone Setting Reimbursement

Service members who were South Dakota residents for at least six months before active duty may receive a state bonus of up to $500 for qualifying service, with a separate bonus of up to $500 for Desert Storm-era service. Source: South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs: Veterans Bonus

For help applying, contact the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs.