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Understanding the Aid & Attendance Benefit for Veterans

Are you a military veteran in need of home care? The Aid & Attendance benefit may help reduce the cost of care.

Many military veterans and their family are unaware of the Aid & Attendance benefits program for which they could be eligible. The Veterans Aid & Attendance Pension is a little-known existing benefit which helps reduce the cost of care for older veterans and their surviving spouses.

Aid & Attendance is available to eligible veterans and spouses who require home care – including assistance with eating, bathing, and medication reminders – even if the assistance is not a direct result of a service-related injury.

The Aid & Attendance (A&A) increased monthly pension amount may be added to your monthly pension if you meet one of the following conditions:

  • You require the aid of another person to perform personal functions required in everyday living, such as bathing, feeding, dressing and transferring; or you need help protecting yourself from the hazards of your daily environment – for example, if you have an increased risk for falls.
  • You are bedridden, in that your disability or disabilities requires that you remain in bed apart from any prescribed course of convalescence or treatment.
  • You are a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity.
  • Your eyesight is limited to a corrected 5/200 visual acuity or less in both eyes, or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less.

Veterans or the veteran’s surviving spouse could be eligible if the veteran:

  • Was discharged from a branch of the United States Armed Forces under conditions that were not dishonorable
  • Served 90 days of continuous military service (active duty), with at least one day during the following wartime periods (did not have to serve in combat):
    • World War I: April 6, 1917, through November 11, 1918
    • World War II: December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946
    • Korean War: June 27, 1950, through January 31, 1955
    • Vietnam War: August 5, 1964 (February 28, 1961, for veterans who served “in country” before August 5, 1964), through May 7, 1975
    • Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990, through a date to be set by Presidential Proclamation or Law.

If the veteran entered active duty after September 7, 1980, generally he/she must have served at least 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

You may apply for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits by writing to the Pension Management Center (PMC) that serves your state.

At FirstLight we are proud to serve many veteran families with personal and customized care. If you are a family caregiver and need assistance with your aging veteran or their spouse, such as getting them to and from medical appointments, personal care, or care around the home, we can help. FirstLight offers many Veteran Care Services to support you.

For more articles and information like this, subscribe to our weekly Home Care News.

Sources

www.veteransaidbenefit.org

www.benefits.va.gov

www.veteranaid.org

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