Public Safety Officers’ Benefits and Public Safety Officers’ Educational Assistance 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 disabled in the line of duty.

Both programs are administered by the PSOB Office of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Congress appropriates funds for these programs in the annual Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. For FY2022, the one-time lump-sum PSOB benefit is $389,825 and the monthly full-time attendance PSOEA benefits is $1,298. The PSOB and PSOEA benefit amounts are indexed to reflect changes in the cost of living.