Veterans Benefits and Estate Planning

The Veterans Administration has multiple pension programs, specifically Aid & Attendance. Attorney Todd Sivia talks about the importance of these pension programs, how to apply to such programs, and who can qualify.

The importance of A&A benefit

Aid and Attendance benefits can help seniors pay for private care such as in-home, assisted living, or in a nursing home, it can also free up cash flow for other purposes, it helps home care and assisted living facilities maintain more private pay clients for longer periods of time, and in combination with other financial strategies, can cover a majority of in-home long term care services.

Who qualifies for Veterans Benefits?

Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of a caregiver to assist with the basic action of daily living such as:

• Eating
• Bathing
• Dressing
• Transferring
• Taking care of the needs of nature



This can also include individuals who are blind, a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity, and any assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies.



When it comes to Aid & Attendance benefits, Veterans must have served one day during an active war and had no less than a 90 day service. The surviving spouses must still have been married to the veteran when they passed, they must have a doctor’s order insisting they need the aid and attendance of a caregiver every day, and they must have less than 129K in assets, even less if they are applying as a single person (not including their home or vehicles). IRAs and CDs are included as assets. The Veteran must be honorably discharged or general discharge under honorable conditions. They can choose where to live as long as it is a credible facility or community or home care company. However, the Veteran may not qualify if they are on state assistance.

How much is the benefit?

The benefit is:

• Up to $1,644 per month for a wartime veteran; OR
• Up to $1,056 per month for a surviving spouse; OR
• Up to $1,949 per month for a qualifying couple.



Because of the A&A Special Pension, many veterans will not have to live out their lives in Medicaid or VA nursing homes. Instead, assisted living (or home care) will be an affordable option.

An Example

Take a look at this example: A 76 year old senior with 40K in savings (IRA’s, CD’s, Savings, and Annuity) may be a good candidate, but a 92 year old man may be considered to have enough money (due to the fact he is over life expectancy in the eyes of the VA.) The same goes for the married couples. 80K may be fine for a 76 and 74 year old married couple, but in their upper 80’s-90, you may want to consider the possibility of denial due to high savings.

Moving assets to qualify

The VA does look back on what the Veteran had before they applied for it, it is a Three-Year lookback. Medicaid is a Five-Year Lookback. Problems can occur when an untrained financial advisor makes inappropriate annuity suggestions, or inadvertently ends up disqualifying a Veteran for Medicaid down the road. Be careful because that poor decision making can affect asset transfers.

Application Process for Veterans Benefits

You will need some paperwork while filling out the application.

• Your most recent tax return
• Social security numbers for yourself and your qualified dependents
• DD214
• Accounts umbers for any current health insurance you already have (like Medicare, private insurance, or insurance from your employer)

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