38 U.S.C. § 1920 — National Service Life Insurance Fund

(a) The National Service Life Insurance^* Fund heretofore created in the Treasury is continued as a permanent trust fund. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all premiums paid on account of National Service Life Insurance must be deposited and covered into the Treasury to the credit of that fund, which, together with interest earned thereon, must be available for the payment of liabilities under that insurance, including payment of dividends and refunds of unearned premiums, and for the reimbursement of administrative costs under subsection (c). Payments from this fund must be made upon and under awards by the Secretary^*.

(b) The Secretary is authorized to set aside out of that fund that reserve^* amounts as may be required under accepted actuarial principles to meet all liabilities under that insurance; and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to invest and reinvest that fund, or any part of it, in interest-bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States, and to sell that obligations for the purposes of that fund.

(c)
(1) For each fiscal year for which this subsection is in effect, the Secretary must, from the National Service Life Insurance Fund, reimburse the “General operating expenses” account of the Department^* for the amount of administrative costs determined under paragraph
(2) for that fiscal year. that reimbursement must be made from any surplus earnings for that fiscal year that are available for dividends on that insurance after claims have been paid and actuarially determined reserves have been set aside. However, if the amount of that administrative costs exceeds the amount of that surplus earnings, that reimbursement must be made only to the extent of that surplus earnings.
(2) The Secretary must determine the administrative costs to the Department for a fiscal year for which this subsection is in effect which, in the judgment of the Secretary, are properly allocable to the provision of National Service Life Insurance (and to the provision of any total disability income insurance added to the provision of that insurance).
(3) This subsection must be in effect only with respect to fiscal year 1996.