Veterans Pension Can Help With Assisted Living or Nursing Home Care
If you, or someone you know, served in the military during just about any American conflict going back as far as the Indian wars (1817-1898), up through the Gulf War, the VA Pension could help with “aid and attendance”, which may include assisted living, or nursing home care.
As of December 1, 2008 the pension can pay as much as $23,396 for aid and attendance for a veteran and their spouse, assuming that medical expenses, including necessary medical care, consumes all of their income. The amount varies based on need. You can see some examples of how the pension is calculated here.
In order to qualify for the pension, there are a number of service, medical and financial requirements that have to be met. According to the VA site:
Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans who have limited or no income, and who are age 65 or older, or, if under 65, who are permanently and totally disabled. Veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits. These are benefits that are paid in addition to the basic pension rate.
Generally, you may be eligible if:
* you were discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable,
AND
* you served at least 90 days of active military service 1 day of which was during a war time period. If you entered active duty after September 7, 1980, generally you must have served at least 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty (There are exceptions to this rule),AND
* your countable family income is below a yearly limit set by law (The yearly limit on income is set by Congress),AND
* you are age 65 or older, OR, you are permanently and totally disabled, not due to your own willful misconduct.
If qualified based on service, the financial situation of the veteran and whether there is still a spouse in the picture will determine how much the government is likely to pay.
You can read more about it on the Department of Veterans Affairs site.
I’ve heard from some that it can take as much as 12 months to be approved for the pension. The catch is that the veteran often has to be incurring assisted living, or nursing home, costs to qualify for the pension, meaning that those expenses have to be funded out of pocket until (if) the pension is approved. One approach is to apply for the pension before it is needed financially in order to determine that the veteran qualifies based on the military service first. Assuming that they were rejected for financial reasons only, they can reapply for the pension once they move into a care facility.
The only advice that SHF gives to veterans with regard to the pension is to see a Veteran Service Officer near you. They are trained to give veterans the guidance they need.
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