You May Be Eligible for Aid and Attendance Benefits

VA calls it one of the department’s most underutilized offerings

The veterans of our country are entitled to health benefit programs from the federal government. However, few take advantage of the Non-Service Connected Improved Pension Benefit, commonly referred to as the Aid and Attendance benefits program. The program’s purpose is to assist veterans, as well as their spouses or widows, with paying their out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Veteran Affairs (VA) considers the program one of the department’s most underutilized offerings. Here’s why: most veterans do not know about it or how to apply.

This is a “pension benefit” and is not dependent upon service-related injuries for compensation. This special pension, which is part of the VA Improved Pension program, offers monetary benefits for veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing, undressing, or taking care of the needs of nature. It also covers individuals who are blind or are in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies. Most veterans who are in need of assistance qualify for this tax-free pension.

The program’s financial eligibility is formulated by the cost of all nonreimbursable medical expenses against a veteran’s income, including medications, doctor visits, co-payments, dentist visits, glasses, Medicare deduction, insurance premiums, assisted living facilities, and in-home health care expenses. Any veterans who were denied benefits from the VA health care program because of income level restrictions might still qualify for Aid and Attendance if their medical costs are high enough.

To qualify for this important benefit, the veteran, either alive or deceased, must have served 90 consecutive days of active duty, with at least one day during wartime and have an honorable discharge. The VA's indicated periods of wartime are as follows: Mexican Border Period (April 21, 1898–July 15, 1903), World War I (May 9, 1916–November 11, 1918), World War II (December 7, 1941–December 31, 1946), the Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950–January 31, 1955), the Vietnam Era (August 5, 1964–May 7, 1975), and the Persian Gulf (August 20, 1990–present).

In the case of a surviving spouse, the deceased veteran must have met the service criteria. The widowed spouse must have been married to the veteran at the time of his or her death and never remarried. In addition, he or she must have been married to the veteran for at least one year or have had children by the veteran.

Military retirement pensions do not prevent the eligible veteran or spouse from qualifying for Aid and Attendance. For qualified individuals, the maximum monthly pension amounts are as follows:

• Surviving spouse of a veteran: $1,056.75
• Veteran with no spouse or dependent children: $1,644.66
• A married veteran where the veteran requires care, $1,949.66; or the spouse requires care, $1,291.08

In addition to service criteria, the veteran must also meet medical and financial requirements.

Most veterans who are in need of assistance qualify for this tax-free pension. It can take up to eight months for an application to be processed, but the good news is that it is retroactive to the date of application.

For additional information about the VA benefit, visit Aging with Grace


By Rita Files
Aging with Grace Blog