What Is Veterans Pension with Aid and Attendance?

April 4, 2018 | by the National Care Planning Council

Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension are disability income programs available to veterans or to the single surviving spouses of deceased veterans. Pension is often referred to as "The Aid and Attendance Benefit." This is a misnomer, but nonetheless this title is the predominant way that this benefit is recognized in the community. Veterans pension provides tax-free income ranging from $1,097 per/month to $2,903 per month. For a younger totally disabled veteran, the benefit can also be available to his or her dependent children. Eligibility requirements include active duty service for at least 90 days - with at least will one of those days during a period of war - and an honorable discharge or a discharged classified as other than dishonorable. Service in combat is not required. For veterans of the Gulf War, the service requirement is 24 months or completion of the requirement for active duty service, whichever comes first. Here is the Period of War chart for benefit purposes .

Period of War	Beginning and Ending Dates
World War II	December 7, 1941 through December 31, 1946
Korean Conflict	June 27, 1950 through January 31, 1955
Vietnam Era	August 5, 1964 through May 7, 1975; for veterans who served "in country" before August 5, 1964, February 28, 1961 through May 7, 1975
Gulf War	August 2, 1990 through a date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation

Veterans Pension is the companion benefit to VA Disability Compensation, where pension is for veterans who are disabled but not because of service. Compensation is for veterans who are disabled because of injuries or illnesses incurred or aggravated while on active duty. A veteran household cannot receive both Veterans Pension and Compensation at the same time. A decision must be made as to which benefit is better and the veteran must choose only that benefit. Fortunately, the veteran may switch back and forth between the two benefits. Here is a list of the most common monetary benefits available to veterans and how many beneficiaries are receiving those benefits.

	2015 Actual	2016 Estimate	2017 Request
Compensation / D I C  Beneficiaries	4,541,903	4,641,415	4,833,379
Pension Beneficiaries	500,291	503,390	506,699
Education Program Trainees	1,019,191	1,063,110	1,082,328
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Beneficiaries	131,647	135,120	140,704
New Housing Loans	614,514	541,865	429,079
Insured Persons	6,473,869	6,553,040	6,479,349

Veterans Pension will pay the difference between the veteran's gross household income and the applicable Pension rate in the table below. There is a special provision, which we will explain in another article, that allows claimants to deduct ongoing care and medical expenses from their income. These claimants must generally be "medically rated" in order to make these deductions and the medical rating will also qualify for a higher paying benefit. Veterans Pension and Survivor's (Death) Pension are sometimes called the "Aid and Attendance Benefit." This misnomer has become common place due to a general need for an aid and attendance rating to qualify for Pension. The "Aid and attendance" or "housebound" allowances with pension and survivors pension pertain to medical ratings and 6 different monetary allowances available with Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension. There are also 9 additional monetary allowances for aid and attendance ratings or housebound ratings with Disability Compensation, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) and certain forms of Special Monthly Compensation (SMC). Application for Veterans Pension is made on VA Form 21-527EZ.

2018 Maximum Annual Veterans Pension Rates (MAPR)   Effective December 1, 2017 – 2.0% COLA Increase
If you are a veteran...		Annual	Monthly
Without Spouse or Child		$13,166	$1,097
No dependents, medical expenses must exceed 5% of MAPR		$659	$55
With One Dependent		$17,241	$1,436
With dependents, medical expenses must exceed 5% of MAPR		$863	$71
Housebound Without Dependents		$16,089	$1,340
Housebound With One Dependent		$20,166	$1,680
A&A Without Dependents		$21,962	$1,830
A&A With One Dependent		$26,036	$2,169
Two Vets Married to Each Other		$17,241	$1,436
Two Vets Married to Each Other One H/B		$20,166	$1,680
Two Vets Married to Each Other Both H/B		$23,087	$1,923
Two Vets Married to Each Other One A/A		$26,036	$2,169
Two Vets Married to Each Other One A/A One H/B		$28,953	$2,412
Two Vets Married to Each Other Both A/A		$34,837	$2,903
Add for Mexican Border Period or WW1 to any category above		$2,991	$249
Add for Each Additional Child to any category above		$2,250	$187