Latest USVSST news: what changed
Newest first. Last updated . Each entry links to where we read it.
- : seventh-round total set at $320 million. The Fund announced that $320 million is available for the seventh distribution. By law it is split in half: $160 million for 9/11-related claimants and $160 million for non-9/11-related claimants. In July the Fund had said at least $275 million; it says the final amount grew with continuing deposits from qualifying cases. In December 2026 the Fund will tell claimants authorized for a seventh-round payment how much they will receive, and it will announce on its site when payments start going out on a rolling basis. The same day it posted new claimant counts and, separately, balances as of September 30 (both below). We updated this page October 20. Source: Special Master's Announcement Regarding the Total Amount Available for the Seventh Distribution, October 16, 2026, read October 20, 2026.
- : no change at the Fund. We re-read the Fund's site. The final seventh-round amount is still not posted, the latest announcement is still the one from July 17, and the balance page still shows June 30 figures. Source: usvsst.com and its fund balance page, read October 9, 2026.
- : fiscal year 2026 closed. The Fund had said the final amount for the seventh round would be posted after this close; it was, on October 16. Source: usvsst.com, announcement of July 17, 2026.
- : late claims allowed in the bitcoin forfeiture case. The federal court in Brooklyn granted 26 motions to file claims late, and 9/11 family groups were among them. It is not a ruling on any claim's amount or priority, it is not money, and it says nothing about the USVSST Fund. Source: E.D.N.Y. No. 1:25-cv-05745, text order entered September 30, 2026.
- : H.R. 9795 introduced. The bill that would add money to the Fund was introduced and sent to the House Judiciary Committee the same day. There has been no action since (details below). Source: congress.gov, H.R. 9795 all actions.
- : seventh round announced. Payments for all eligible claims are to be authorized by January 1, 2027, and the Fund said at the time it expected at least $275 million to be available. The Fund also posted claimant counts then: 22,782 eligible. Source: usvsst.com announcement and distributions and payments.
- : balance as of this date. $299,256,818 remaining after the amounts the Fund holds back. The Fund has since posted September 30 figures (below). Source: usvsst.com fund balance.
- : seventh-round application deadline passed. New claimants after this date are considered for later rounds. Source: usvsst.com, Important Dates.
- : sixth-round payments began. The Fund started paying the $2.825 billion sixth round on a rolling basis and, by its own account, paid nearly 90% of eligible claims that day. That is history, not a forecast for the seventh round. Source: usvsst.com, announcement of January 8, 2026.
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The short version, as of October 20, 2026
A seventh round of payments has been announced but not paid. On October 16, 2026 the Fund said $320 million is available for it: $160 million for 9/11-related claimants and $160 million for non-9/11-related claimants. The Special Master will authorize seventh-round payments for all eligible claims by January 1, 2027, and the Fund will tell claimants their payment amounts in December 2026. No payment percentage has been published.
The bill that would put more money into the Fund, H.R. 9795, has not moved since it was introduced on July 21, 2026. It has 17 cosponsors.
The seventh distribution
Announced, not paid. On July 17, 2026 the Special Master announced she will authorize seventh-round payments for all eligible claims by January 1, 2027. Authorising a payment and issuing it are different steps, and the Fund issues payments on a rolling basis once a claimant or their counsel has provided everything required.
The size is now set: $320 million. On October 16, 2026 the Fund announced that $320 million is available for the seventh distribution. The law requires it to be split in half, so $160 million goes to 9/11-related claimants and $160 million to non-9/11-related claimants. In July the Fund had said "at least $275 million"; it says the final amount resulted from continuing deposits from qualifying cases.
What happens next, in the Fund's words. In December 2026 the Fund will notify claimants authorized to receive seventh-round payments of their payment amounts. It will announce on its website when it begins issuing those payments, which go out on a rolling basis.
No percentage has been published. Payments are pro rata from each half of the pool, at a percentage the Special Master sets for each round. As of October 20, 2026 the Fund's own Payment Calculation Explanations still end at the Sixth Distribution. We have worked out a rough estimate, 0.186%, from the Fund's own numbers; the estimate and its method are on our 9/11 families page, and it can come in lower. The Fund's December letters are where your own amount will come from.
For scale: the sixth round distributed $2.825 billion in January 2026 and paid the 9/11 side 1.64% of capped compensatory damages (which leave out interest and punitive damages). The seventh round's $320 million is about a ninth of that, and the 9/11 half ($160 million) is about 11% of the sixth round's 9/11 half ($1.4125 billion). The number of eligible claimants has also grown since then. The Fund states plainly that there is no way to predict what percentage of eligible claims will be paid until it sunsets in 2039. Our seventh-round estimate is worked back from these figures and is labelled as an estimate.
The application deadline has passed. New claimants can no longer apply to be considered for the seventh round. The Fund continues to accept applications for future rounds; in general an application is due no later than 90 days after the final judgment is obtained.
Sources: Special Master's Announcement Regarding the Total Amount Available for the Seventh Distribution, October 16, 2026, read at the source October 20, 2026; and usvsst.com, Special Master's Announcement Regarding the Seventh Distribution, July 17, 2026.
What the Fund is holding
These are the Fund's published balances, accurate as of September 30, 2026. The Fund updates them after each fiscal quarter.
- $536,274,976 total balance
- less $73,714,692 held back to run the Fund through its 2039 sunset
- less $12,012,730 held for claimants who applied conditionally
- less $109,168 allocated but not yet issued
- less $116,367,440 calculated by the GAO for 274 claimants it determined were not eligible for the Beirut and Khobar lump-sum catch-up payments
- $334,070,946 remaining
At June 30 the remaining figure was $299,256,818. The Fund has not explained how its September 30 balance relates to the $320 million it set for the seventh round, and we are not going to guess.
Source: usvsst.com fund balance. Read at the source October 20, 2026.
Who is eligible
Claimant counts as published by the Fund, accurate as of October 16, 2026:
- 22,894 total eligible claimants
- 13,083 9/11-related
- 9,816 non-9/11-related
- 1,171 newly eligible for the seventh distribution, on top of 21,723 from the first six
Those two middle numbers are why the split matters. The statute requires the Fund to divide the available money in half, 50% to the 9/11 side and 50% to everyone else. The 9/11 group is the larger one, so an equal half divides further. That is arithmetic, not a complaint about the Fund.
Source: usvsst.com distributions and payments. The Fund footnotes these figures "accurate as of October 16, 2026" and warns that later data may differ. Five claimants are counted on both sides because they hold judgments for both kinds of attack, which is why the two sides add to more than the total. Read at the source October 20, 2026.
The bill: H.R. 9795
The Never Forget the Victims of Terrorism: Joseph D. Mistrulli and Alan Kleinberg USVSST Fund Solvency Act was introduced by Representative Laura Gillen of New York on July 21, 2026 and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary the same day. It has 17 cosponsors.
Nothing has happened since. As of October 20, 2026 the bill's entire action history is two entries, both dated July 21, 2026: introduced, and referred to committee. Its status is "Introduced". There has been no hearing, no markup, and no Congressional Budget Office cost estimate.
We are saying that plainly because "no movement" is the honest answer and it is hard to find. A bill sitting in committee is the normal state of most bills, and it changes nothing about the seventh round.
Source: congress.gov, H.R. 9795 all actions and cosponsors. Read at the source October 20, 2026.
What has not changed
A status page is only useful if it tells you when nothing happened. As of October 20, 2026:
- No seventh-round payment percentage has been published.
- No seventh-round payments have been authorised or issued, and no claimant has been told an amount yet; the Fund says that comes in December.
- H.R. 9795 has had no action since the day it was introduced.
- The Fund's most recent announcement is the October 16 one on the $320 million total.
What to watch next
December 2026: payment amounts. The Fund says it will notify claimants authorized to receive seventh-round payments of their amounts in December. That letter, not any estimate, is what tells a family what it will receive. The Fund will then announce on its site when it starts issuing payments on a rolling basis.
By January 1, 2027. The Special Master has said she will authorize seventh-round payments for all eligible claims by then.
January 2, 2039. The Fund is set to stop making obligations. The holdback in the balance above exists to keep it running until then.
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Reviewed by William Harrison, Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Sirmium Capital.
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Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Tax laws are subject to change. Please consult with a qualified tax professional regarding your specific situation.