Long Term Care Benefits Available to Surviving Spouses of Wartime Veterans

There are over 9 million surviving spouses of veterans currently living in the United States. Many of these surviving spouses are receiving long term care or will need some type of long term care in the near future, and there are funds available from the Veterans Administration (“VA”) to help pay for that care. Unfortunately, many of those who are eligible have no idea that any benefits exist for them or that an attorney can help them become eligible.

Benefits Available

There are three types of pension benefits available that provide monthly cash payments to surviving spouses who either have low income, long term health care needs, or both. The pension benefit is referred to as “Death Pension.” Below is an overview of the three benefits, and more detail will be provided on each benefit in the following paragraphs.

Death Pension. The VA provides a monthly cash payment to surviving spouses of veterans who meet active duty and discharge requirements, who are either 65 or older or disabled, and who have limited income and assets. A surviving spouse can receive up to $661 per month (with additional payments available if dependent children are present in the home).

Death Pension with Housebound Allowance. A slightly higher monthly payment is available to surviving spouses of wartime veterans (who meet the same service requirements as Service Pension) but who are confined to their home for medical reasons. A surviving spouse can receive up to $808 per month (with additional payments available if dependent children are present in the home).

Death Pension with Aid and Attendance. The highest monthly benefit is available when a surviving spouse requires the assistance of another person to perform activities of daily living, or is blind or nearly so, or is a patient in a nursing home. This benefit, often referred to simply as “Aid and Attendance” is the most widely-known and talked-about benefit as it offers the highest possible monthly payment. A surviving spouse can receive up to $1176 per month (with additional payments available for dependent children).

Eligibility Requirements

• Valid Marriage. Although there are exceptions, generally, the surviving spouse must have been married to and living with the veteran at the time of his death and not remarried.

Wartime service and discharge. The deceased veteran must have met certain service and discharge requirements before the surviving spouse can be considered for any type of pension benefit.

Disability. To qualify for any type of pension benefit, a surviving spouse must also be 65 or older or be permanent and totally disabled.

Permanent and total disability includes a claimant who is:

• In a nursing home;
• Determined disabled by the Social Security Administration;
• Unemployable and reasonably certain to continue so throughout life; or
• Suffering from a disability that makes it impossible for the average person to stay gainfully employed.

Asset and Income Requirements

The financial eligibility requirements of any pension benefit address a claimant’s net worth and income. A claimant is the individual filing for benefits. Many times, the most difficult task in this area is to reduce a claimant’s assets down to the applicable level. The assistance of legal counsel is important to insure the right strategies are used with minimal impact on Medicaid in the future.

A surviving spouse must have Income for VA Purposes (“IVAP”) that is less than the benefit for which he or she is applying. IVAP is calculated by taking a claimant’s gross income from all sources less countable medical expenses

Medical Need Requirements

There are different levels of aid and attendance pension. A surviving spouse qualifies for regular death pension and is housebound, pursuant to the VA definition, her maximum allowable income increases (as does the annual benefit amount).

In order to get the maximum pension, the surviving spouse must demonstrate that he or she requires the aid and attendance of another person to perform activities of daily living, that surviving spouse may qualify for an additional monthly death pension allowance commonly referred to as “aid and attendance.”

The Application Process

While the application process for special monthly pension can be agonizingly slow – some applications take over a year before the VA makes a decision – the benefit is retroactive to the month after application submission. Having the proper documentation in place at the time of application (for example, discharge papers, medical evidence, proof of medical expenses, death certificate, marriage certificate and a properly completed application) can cut the processing time in half.