Only a fraction of eligible veteran Americans over 65, and their spouses, know about the availability of the VA's Aid & Attendance pension program.
Providing non medical care and assistance
Allow us to help you determine if you or your spouse qualify of the Aid and Attendance Pension benefits.
Today the worlds “Aid and Attendance” should be common place, considering the 1952 Congress passed a law called “Title 38 to provide a non-service connected pension for war era veterans and surviving spouses. VCCF Home Care will help with this process.
“Aid & Attendance” provide assistance with activities of daily living – home care – to veterans or their surviving spouses. Qualifying hinges on the “3 Ms”.
Military Active service during wartime with an honorable discharge.
Medical A chronic illness or condition..
Monetarily Limited financial resources in relation to medical expenses.
You Probably Know Someone We Can Help VCCF home Care’s mission is to assist veterans who protected our freedom to stay in their homes and live with dignity.
We treat every client with respect and work tirelessly to help them get the benefits they’ve earned and the care they need.
To qualify for Aid and Attendance, veterans or their spouses must meet one or more of the following requirements:
To receive a rating that qualifies for Aid and Attendance, many times an applicant will need to have an exam completed by a physician who will certify the claimant using VA Form 21-2680.
Many people overlook applying for Aid and Attendance if the veteran is still healthy, but the spouse is in poor health. If the spouse has a significant impact on the couple’s income and meet the disability tests, the veteran can file a claim on behalf of their sick spouse.
Financial criteria to determine eligibility for Aid and Attendance is broken into two components – assets and income. Because Aid and Attendance is “means tested” and is granted only to those who genuinely need this benefit, not all who apply will receive an award.
While guidelines are in place, there are no completely hard and fast rules when it comes to granting an Aid and Attendance benefit, so potential applicants who are at designated thresholds or even slightly over are encouraged to apply since decisions are made case-by case.
Assets – In general, the VA uses $80,000 as a limiting amount. This does not include a home that the veteran or their spouse lives in, a single car and other personal goods such as furniture, household goods and jewelry.
If an applicant has more than $80,000 in assets such as stocks, bonds, savings accounts or a 401k, there’s a good chance their application will be denied.
Income – Congress determines the maximum countable income and to qualify, a veteran or their widow must have an amount below what is allowed. Countable income includes:
For 2015, the maximum annual pension income amounts including the Aid and Attendance benefits set by Congress are:
| Annual | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Veteran with no dependents | $21,446 | $1,788 |
| Veteran with spouse or child | $25,448 | $2,120 |
| Two veterans married to each other | $33,702 | $2,809 |
| Surviving spouse/death pension | $13,794 | $1,149 |
When determining countable income, applicants can deduct cost of care and out-of-pocket medical expenses from their gross income. These expenses can include things such as Medicare premiums, prescription drug costs, Medicare supplement premiums, and expected assisted living costs.
A couple of examples may help illustrate what is acceptable:
Example 1 - Bob is a veteran with no dependents and has an annual income of $40,000, but has $25,000 in medical and related living expenses. His net countable income is $15,000, which is $6,446 below the maximum annual pension amount for his particular status. He would be entitled to a monthly award of $537.
Example 2 – Jeff and his wife Teresa have an annual income of $30,000, but they also have $15,000 in annual allowable expenses. Their net countable income is $15,000. However, they also have $125,000 in a 401k and savings accounts. Because they are above the $80,000 asset threshold limit, their application for Aid and Attendance would be denied.
This is where we come in. The process for applications is simple, we do all the work by the following.....(Contact Us Below)