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Last Updated 05.23.22
The Department of Veterans Affairs, commonly referred to as the VA, manages a number of benefits for veterans, including a wide range of healthcare benefits, disability compensation and pensions, home loans, educational benefits, burial benefits, and more. Elderly and disabled veterans should be aware of the benefits available to them and their families, especially Disability Compensation and Pensions.
Disability Compensation
Disability compensation is a benefit paid to veterans who have a "service-connected" disability. To qualify as a service-connected disability, the injury or disease must have developed or been aggravated during a period of active military service. Unlike worker's compensation, where the disability must arise during the course of performing job-related duties, a service-connected disability does not have to be linked to the performance of military duties. Some diseases, even if they are not diagnosed until decades after the veteran's active military service, may be presumed to have been caused by their military service, e.g. conditions linked to Agent Orange exposure, and Gulf War Syndrome.
The amount of disability compensation varies based on the disability rating (a percentage ranging from10% to 100%), and the number of veteran's dependents (if the disability rating is 30% or more). Disability compensation is paid monthly, and the benefit is not subject to federal or state income tax. To be eligible, the veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) may be available to surviving spouses and children if the veteran's death resulted from the service-connected disability, or if the veteran was continuously rated permanently disabled for a certain period of time prior to death. Surviving spouses generally must not have remarried in order to remain eligible for the benefit, although a surviving spouse who remarries on or after December 16, 2003, and on or after attaining age 57, will remain eligible. A surviving child will be eligible if he or she is not included in the surviving spouse's DIC, is unmarried, is under age 18, or is between the ages of 18 and 23 and attending school. A surviving child who is disabled will be eligible, regardless of age, if the disability arose before he or she turned 18. Certain low-income surviving parents may also be eligible.
Disability Pension
Disability pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans, or their surviving spouses, with low incomes, who are (a) 65 or older or (b) permanently and totally disabled, and (c) need human assistance to be safe. The disability does not have to be service connected. The VA often refers to the disability pension as a Special Monthly Pension, or an Improved Pension. Most veterans and civilians refer to the benefit simply as Aid and Attendance.
In order to be eligible, the veteran must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The veteran must have served at least 90 days of active military service, 1 day of which was during a period of war (veterans who entered active duty after September 7, 1980, generally must have served at least 24 months, or the full period for which they were called to active duty). In addition to the disability and low income requirements, a surviving spouse must show that he or she was married to a veteran who met the service eligibility requirements at the time of the veteran’s death (and did not remarry) and that either (1) the veteran was killed while on active duty or (2) the surviving spouse and the veteran were married for at least one year before the veteran’s death. The accepted periods of war to establish service eligibility can be found at https://www.va.gov/pension/eligibility/.
It should be noted, that the Aid and Attendance program is not strictly limited to members of the six traditional military service branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force). Individuals may have served in a limited number of other occupations that aided the United States during a period of wartime who may be considered “veterans” and therefore eligible for benefits under this program. For example, members of the merchant marine and the Public Health Service may be eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits.
The veteran, or surviving spouse, must have countable annual income below a certain level set by Congress. Countable income includes income received by the veteran's spouse and other dependents. Countable income is reduced by unreimbursed medical expenses. Unreimbursed medical expenses include doctor's fees, Medicare and other health insurance premiums and co-pays, prescriptions, transportation to physicians' offices, and the costs of nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in-home aides.
Finally, the veteran, or surviving spouse, must have a limited “net worth” as that term is defined in VA regulations. Caution is advised as the VA definition of “net worth” differs from most common definitions of that term. There are specific adjustments included in the definition that are related to income and unreimbursed medical expenses. In addition, a net worth calculated under VA regulations does not include the value of at least three things: (1) the personal residence (current or former) of the applicant, (2) vehicles owned by the applicant, and (3) fund legally transferred to a qualifying asset protection trust at least 36 months prior to the time of application. Assistance from a qualified Elder Law attorney is recommended for the establishment of a qualifying asset protection trust, as many trusts, including typical revocable living trusts, do not satisfy the qualification requirements. In 2022 the VA “net worth” limit is $138,489, and the amount is inflation-adjusted each year.
The amount of the pension varies depending upon whether the veteran is housebound, in need of regular aid and attendance, or has dependents.
Careful planning for the Aid and Attendance benefit with the assistance of a qualified Elder Law attorney is recommended, as VA regulations impose strict penalties against applicants who have made gifts within thirty-six (36) months of their applications.
A Death Pension is available for surviving spouses and dependent children, under the same general eligibility criteria as used for DIC.
The 2021 Edition of Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents, published by the Department of Veterans Affairs, provides a comprehensive explanation of the various VA benefits, and is available for download online at https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book.asp