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Veterans’ Pension Benefit
May Hold Assistance Key
Special Report South Shore
Senior News Staff
Scituate
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In the
vast forest of federal
programs, a very important
tree is easily overlooked.
One example is the Veterans
Administration’s Aid and
Attendance Pension Benefit,
which provides money for
qualifying veterans or their
surviving spouses who
require help with routine
tasks, or “activities of
daily living,” in official
parlance. That care can be
either in the home or in an
assisted living residence or
nursing home.
The Aid and Attendance
Pension program is not new;
to the contrary, it’s been
legislated for decades.
However, especially in this
region for reasons no one
seems able to account for,
it has not been as
publicized and used as
elsewhere, notably in the
deep south of the U.S.,
where plentiful military
bases and warmer climate
have caused career military
retirees to congregate.
The Veterans Aid and
Attendance Benefit, while
tied to the veteran’s
military service history, is
not restricted to only the
veteran, but also to a
surviving spouse.
“It’s amazing how many
people don’t know about the
benefit,” said Andrea
Langone of Atria Marina
Place, an assisted and
independent living community
in Quincy that also serves
residents with memory
impairments such as
Alzheimer’s disease. “The
benefit has been in place a
long time and we are finding
more people asking about it.
It can be applied to fees in
any assisted living or
Alzheimer’s care residence.
If someone comes to our
residence and money is a
concern, this benefit is one
of the first things I
mention to them.”
John Miller of Home Care
Partners, LLC based in
Scituate, has been helping
veterans or the veteran’s
surviving spouse understand
the benefit and how it can
be applied to in-home care
for assistance with their
activities of daily living.
“The Aid and Attendance
benefit is an established
program for non-service
related disabilities and
provides financial
assistance to help seniors
stay in their home or in an
assisted living residence,”
said Miller. “The benefit is
administered through the
federal government.”
Determining Eligibility
Eligibility to receive the
Aid and Attendance Benefit
Pension is determined by
four qualifying criteria. To
be eligible, a veteran must
meet the following
guidelines:
1. The veteran has to have
served at least 90 days of
active military duty in one
of the five armed services
(Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marines, Coast Guard), only
one day of which must be in
time of declared war. The
declared war time frames are
very specific and determine
eligibility:
a. World War I (April 6,
1917 – Nov. 11, 1918)
b. World War II (Dec. 7,
1941 – Dec. 31, 1946)
c. Korean War (June 27, 1950
– Jan. 31, 1955)
d. Vietnam (Aug. 5, 1964 –
May 7, 1975)
e. Persian Gulf (Aug. 2,
1990 – to be determined)
f. Wartime veterans who
entered active duty on or
after September 8, 1980
(October 16, 1981 for
officers) must have
completed at least 24
continuous months of
military service.
2. Veteran or the surviving
spouse has to have a medical
diagnosis that states they
have a requirement for
assistance with at least two
activities of daily living
(i.e. bathing, feeding,
dressing, attending to the
wants of nature, adjusting
prosthetic devices, or
protecting himself/herself
from the hazards of their
daily environment).
3. Insufficient monthly
income to purchase required
care. According to The
Department of Veterans
Affairs’ Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Jim
Nicholson, the monthly
income threshold level for a
veteran without dependents
is now $18,234 annually. The
threshold increases to
$21,615 if a veteran has one
dependent and by $1,866 for
each additional dependent.
The annual Aid and
Attendance threshold for a
surviving spouse alone is
$11,715. This threshold
increases to $13,976 if
there is one dependent child
and by $1,866 for each
additional child.
4. Liquid asset thresholds
also apply. Liquid assets
include cash on hand,
savings and checking
accounts, stocks, mutual
funds, certificates of
deposit and IRAs. Assets
such as real estate or
personal property are not
included as long as the
veteran or surviving spouse
continues to own the
property. Once it is sold,
it is then considered a
liquid asset.
The liquid asset threshold
is based on a sliding scale
according to Langone. “The
liquid asset guideline is
based on age” said Langone.
“For example, the liquid
asset cap for a veteran or
surviving spouse age 75 – 85
years of age is less than
$40,000, while it decreases
to $20,000 for those age 85
– 90 years of age.”
Langone notes that the
benefit eligibility for an
assisted living residence
has guidelines that
stipulate that the cost of
living in the residence has
to be at least five percent
higher than the veteran or
surviving spouse’s monthly
income. For example, if an
assisted living residence’s
monthly fee is $4,000, the
monthly income can be no
higher than $3,800.
Benefit Amounts
The Veterans Aid and
Attendance Benefit is
distributed monthly. The
maximum monthly benefit
rates are:
• Veteran & spouse $1,801
• Veteran $1,519
• Surviving spouse $976
• Married veterans $2,345
There are “no tax
liabilities” to any received
funds, according to Miller.
“None whatsoever.” He added
that benefit checks are sent
directly to the recipient
monthly, to cover care
expenses for the month of
the dated check.
“There is also a direct
deposit option,” Miller
said, “which enables
paperwork elimination, and
more efficient access to the
funds.”
What is exceptional about
the benefit is that it has
no limitation based on age
or time, according to
Miller. He does note however
that the benefit does
require an annual renewal
process that allows the VA
to keep up to date on any
changes in living
environment, financials and
general health. At the end
of every calendar year, the
VA will issue renewals which
Miller says his firm can
help with to ensure the
continuation of the maximum
pension amount.
 With
any change in income, asset
reallocation or estate
planning, it makes sense to
speak with a qualified elder
law attorney. “I would
simply advise the veteran or
spouse to seek guidance from
a qualified elder law
attorney because veterans’
benefits are just a small
piece of the puzzle,” said
Hingham-based Elder Law
Attorney Judy Flynn. “There
are some strategies that
veterans may employ in order
to secure veterans’ benefits
that may result in a
disqualification for
MassHealth long-term care
benefits if needed in the
future. They need to be
aware of all of the risks
and benefits so that they
may also take steps to
protect themselves for that
potential change in
circumstance.”
“Many veterans are not aware
of the significant benefits
that are available to them,
or they wrongly presume that
they have too much money to
qualify,” said Attorney
Flynn. “There are asset and
income guidelines, but there
are also many simple
strategies that can be
employed to achieve
eligibility. For example,
the Veterans Administration
will deduct any unreimbursed
medical expenses from the
veteran’s income. These can
include doctor’s fees,
dentists, glasses, Medicare
deductions, co-payments,
transportation to doctor’s
visits, health insurance,
adult day health care,
in-home aides, assisted
living facility costs and
even part of the costs of
independent living in some
cases. Veterans can maximize
their eligibility with some
proper guidance regarding
income and asset strategies
and even the timing of
filing an application.”
Application Requirements and
Filing Fees
“The application process
requires a lot of
information about the
veteran or surviving spouse,
the disclosure of finances
and then simple Health
Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA)
and medical release forms,”
explained Langone. “The
discharge paperwork (DD-214)
of the veteran has to be
supplied. For the surviving
spouse, the veteran
discharge paperwork,
marriage license and
veteran’s death certificate
have to be supplied.”
If you visit an elder law
attorney or other firm to
help you prepare and file
the paperwork, they may
charge a fee. However,
assisted living facilities
the veteran or surviving
spouse choose to live in or
the home care provider they
choose for in-home services
may not charge a fee.
“Any person may charge a
veteran for services related
to preparing and filing an
application for benefits, as
that is between the veteran
and the person providing the
service,” said Attorney
Flynn. “However, there is a
prohibition against a person
who is an ‘interested party’
from charging a veteran for
preparing and filing an
application for benefits. A
person providing care to the
veteran may not charge to do
the application.
”Langone said that Atria
Marina Place pays for the
application processing.
Miller said his firm
provides the application
process for no fee as well.
Both will help round up the
appropriate documents for
the application as part of
their service.
“It is a good benefit and
the veterans and their
spouses deserve to take
advantage of this,” said
Langone.
For more information you may
contact any of the following
resources.
• Home
Care Partners, John Miller,
(781) 545-6243,
jdmiller@homecarepartners.biz
•
Atria Marina Place, Andrea
Langone, (617) 770-3264.
Andrea.Langone@atriaseniorliving.com
•
Attorney Judy Flynn (781)
740-2288,
jflynn@massattorneys.net
• The
Veterans Administration,
(202) 273-6000,
www.va.gov
•
Veteran Administration,
Boston VA Healthcare Network
(617) 323-7700
• Your
local veteran’s agent is
also a very good resource. |
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