Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) and Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) Programs - Updated January 28, 2026

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) and Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) provide cash and higher-education assistance to eligible public safety personnel and, in the PSOEA case, to children and spouses of qualifying officers. The DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance administers the programs, and claimants may pursue administrative appeals and judicial review. Congress appropriates PSOB death benefits as mandatory spending, while disability and PSOEA benefits depend on annual appropriations. For FY2026, the document details benefit amounts and describes expansions under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program

Eligible Public Safety Officers

Law Enforcement Officer, Firefighter, or Chaplain

Emergency Management Agency Employee

Emergency Medical Services Member

Department of Energy Employee

Injury Requirement

Physical Injury

Mental Health Conditions

Cardiovascular Conditions, COVID-19, and Cancer

Line of Duty Requirement

Presumption of Eligibility for Heart Attack, Stroke, or Vascular Rupture

Presumption of Eligibility for COVID-19

Presumption of Eligibility for Mental Health Conditions and Suicide

Presumption of Eligibility for Cancer

Actions Outside of Jurisdiction

Benefit Amount

Payments to Survivors

Definition of Disability

Application Process

Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance Program

Eligibility

Amount of Benefits

Duration of Benefits

PSOB and PSOEA Appeals Process

Budget and Appropriations

Tables

Table 1. Exposure-Related Cancers for Presumption of Public Safety Officers’Benefits Eligibility

Contacts

Author Information

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) and Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) Programs Updated January 28, 2026 Congressional Research Service [https://crsreports.congress.gov](https://crsreports.congress.gov)[ ](https://crsreports.congress.gov)R45327 Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) and Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) Programs The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program provides cash benefits to federal, state, and local law enforcement officers; firefighters; employees of emergency management agencies; and members of emergency medical services agencies who are killed or permanently and totally disabled as the result of personal injuries sustained in the line of duty. The Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance (PSOEA) program, a component of the PSOB program, provides higher education assistance to the children and spouses of public safety officers killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty. R45327 January 28, 2026 Scott D. Szymendera Specialist in Disability Policy The PSOB and PSOEA programs are administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) . Claimants dissatisfied with denials of benefits may pursue administrative appeals within DOJ and may seek judicial review before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Each year, Congress appropriates funding for PSOB death benefits, which is considered mandatory spending, and for PSOB disability benefits and PSOEA benefits, which is subject to annual appropriations. For FY2026, the one-time lump sum PSOB death and disability benefit is $461,656, and the PSOEA monthly benefit for a student attending an educational institution full time is $1,574 . Two provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (P.L. 119-60), enacted on December 18, 2025, extended PSOB eligibility to retired public law enforcement officers with personal injuries caused by targeted attacks due to their prior law enforcement service and created presumptive eligibility for public safety officers with certain cancers linked to exposure to carcinogens. Contents Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program........................................................................................ 1 Eligible Public Safety Officers.................................................................................................. 1 Law Enforcement Officer, Firefighter, or Chaplain ............................................................ 1 Emergency Management Agency Employee ...................................................................... 3 Emergency Medical Services Member ............................................................................... 3 Department of Energy Employee........................................................................................ 3 Injury Requirement ................................................................................................................... 3 Physical Injury .................................................................................................................... 3 Mental Health Conditions ................................................................................................... 4 Cardiovascular Conditions, COVID-19, and Cancer .......................................................... 4 Line of Duty Requirement ........................................................................................................ 4 Presumption of Eligibility for Heart Attack, Stroke, or Vascular Rupture.......................... 4 Presumption of Eligibility for COVID-19 .......................................................................... 5 Presumption of Eligibility for Mental Health Conditions and Suicide ............................... 5 Presumption of Eligibility for Cancer ...........................................

FAQs

What benefits do the PSOB and PSOEA programs provide?

PSOB provides cash benefits to eligible law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency management agency employees, and emergency medical services members who are killed or permanently and totally disabled from line-of-duty injuries. PSOEA provides higher-education assistance to children and spouses of qualifying public safety officers killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty.

Who administers the PSOB and PSOEA programs, and what recourse exists after a denial?

The programs are administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Claimants who disagree with denials may pursue administrative appeals within DOJ and may seek judicial review before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

What changes to PSOB eligibility were enacted for Fiscal Year 2026?

Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 extended PSOB eligibility to retired public law enforcement officers with qualifying personal injuries from targeted attacks tied to prior law enforcement service. The act also created presumptive eligibility for certain cancers linked to exposure to carcinogens.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle