Veterans Benefits
The Veterans Administration provides means tested benefits to qualifying individuals who served in the military. A qualifying veteran or the “widow of a qualifying veteran in need of ‘aid and attendance’ who is unmarried,” can receive additional monthly income.
Veterans must have less countable income than they need to expend for their care each month. The cost of long-term care (home care, Assisted Living Facility care or nursing home care) can be considered a “medical expense, and is often likely to reduce countable income to zero.
The VA provides benefits for veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing and undressing or taking care of the needs of nature. It also includes individuals who are blind or patients in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. The benefit is also available to veterans who are 65 or older, who do not meet the disability requirements under certain circumstances.
Discharge, Active Duty and Service Requirements
In addition to asset and income limits, to be eligible for VA Pension a veteran must also have been discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable. The veteran must be permanently and totally disabled or must be age 65 or older. The veteran must have served 90 days or more of active duty, and at least one day of the veteran’s service must have been during a specific period of war.