Veterans Benefits

If you are a Veteran or a spouse of a Veteran you may qualify for Veteran Administration (VA) benefits to assist you in paying for your long-term care.

VA pension is available to a Veteran or the surviving spouse of a Veteran so long as they were married to the Veteran for at least one year since the Veteran’s death, and are not remarried. To qualify, you must be a United States Citizen, 65 years or older or permanently disabled. The Veteran must have served active duty for 90 days, and one of those days must have been during an official period of war. The Veteran must also have a discharge other than dishonorable.

These is also an income limit set by Congress each year, and asset requirement.  Generally, for income, your out of pocket medical expenses must be higher than your gross monthly income. There are no definite rules that set a cap on assets, but assets cannot be “excessive.” Typically this means that your assets must be less than $80,000.  The VA will look as household assets, household gross income, and total unreimbursed medical expenses to determine your net worth.

If you require the daily aid and assistance of another person and satisfy the criteria above you may qualify for base pension plus “Aid and Attendance.” The benefit amount for base pension and “Aid and Attendance” change slightly each year.