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What Can Veterans Who Don’t Qualify for Aid and Attendance Do to Help Others Who Might?

Veteran's Care: Pension Benefits in Columbia, SC
Veteran's Care: Pension Benefits in Columbia, SC

There are many veterans who won’t qualify for various pensions. One of those pensions is known as Aid and Attendance. The Aid and Attendance pension benefit was designed to help veterans get home care when they needed it.

It was originally developed following World War I. Its initial purpose was to help soldiers who had been injured in combat get veteran’s care when they returned home. Since that time, though, it has expanded repeatedly through the years and now provides financial support for veterans of all ages, whether they were injured or disabled during active duty service or not.

What veterans qualify for Aid and Attendance benefits?

In brief, a veteran who is under 65 needs to be considered completely disabled in order to be eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits. For veterans 65 and over, they need to show a documentable requirement for some type of in-home care. This is most commonly provided by a doctor’s recommendation.

Is that all? No, it’s not.

They must be considered wartime veterans to be eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits. That basically means the veteran needs to have served at least one day of their active duty service during a time when United States was engaged in combat somewhere in the world. They do not need to have seen combat or been in a forward combat situation for this pension. They simply need to have served a minimum of one day during either World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, or the Gulf War.

As far as income and assets are concerned, this is one of the most confusing aspects for aging seniors and other veterans who may need some type of in-home care. The VA (Veterans Administration) puts forth a figure each year of combined income and assets that veterans should not exceed in order to be eligible for some type of financial support through the Aid and Attendance benefit.

The assets that the VA looks for are those that can be quickly converted into cash. They do not take into consideration a primary residence, which Medicaid does when determining whether they will cover long-term care expenses for regular citizens.

What if a veteran realizes he or she won’t be eligible for Aid and Attendance?

There are numerous veterans who would not be eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits. However, many of those same veterans know other veterans, through friendships, service, or other programs designed for veterans.

What they can do is to help share whatever information they learn about Aid and Attendance benefits with those who may benefit from them, either now or at some point in the future. Keep in mind that even though it has been around for over 100 years now, not all veterans realize there are pensions that could help them during difficult times in their life.

So, for those who may not be eligible for Aid and Attendance pension benefits that can be used to pay for veteran’s home care when needed, they could share the word with those they know who are also veterans and get the word out about this valuable pension program.

 

If you or an aging loved one are considering Veteran’s Care in Columbia, SC please contact the caring staff at Avodah Home Care. Call (877) 4-AVODAH

Avodah Home Care is a Trusted Home Care Agency serving Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Barnwell, Calhoun County, Chesterfield County, Darlington, Dillon, Edgefield, Batesburg-Leesville, Florence, Greenville, Greenwood, Columbia, Lexington, Camden, Blythewood, Winnsboro, Orangeburg, Sumter, Gaston, Hopkins, Bishopville and surrounding areas.

Katrecia Belgrave

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