36 • The Beacon June 6 , 2024

Dear Savvy Senior ,

I understand that the Veterans Administration has a benefit that can help veterans and spouses with long-term care costs . We recently had to move my elderly father into an assisted living memory care facility , and my mother will probably need care too in the near future . What can you tell me ?

Searching for Aid

Dear Searching ,

The Veterans Administration does indeed have an underutilized benefit that

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can help wartime veterans and their surviving spouses pay for a variety of longterm care costs .

This benefit , called Aid and Attendance , is a special pension that ’ s paid on top of existing VA pensions for eligible veterans and surviving spouses . In 2024 it pays a maximum of $ 2,727 a month to married veterans , $ 2,300 a month to single veterans or $ 1,478 a month to a surviving spouse . The money is tax free and can be used to pay for assisted living , memory care , nursing home or inhome care services .

Currently , around 156,000 veterans and survivors are receiving the Aid

and Attendance benefit , but many thousands more are eligible who either don ’ t know about it or don ’ t think they qualify .

Eligibility requirements

To qualify , your dad must have served at least 90 days of active military service with at least one day of service during a period of war and not have been discharged dishonorably . Single surviving spouses of wartime vets are eligible if their marriage ended due to death .

In addition , your dad also will have to meet certain thresholds for medical and financial need to be eligible .

To qualify medically , he must be either disabled or over the age of 65 and need help performing everyday living tasks such as eating , bathing , dressing or going to the bathroom .

Being blind or in a nursing home due to disability or receiving Social Security Disability or SSI also qualifies him . Single surviving spouses have no age restrictions , but they must require help with everyday living tasks to be eligible .

To qualify financially , your parents ’ “ net worth ,” which includes assets and annual income combined , must be below $ 155,356 in 2024 .

To calculate this , add up your parents ’ assets , which includes their personal property — like investments , real estate , et cetera — excluding their primary home and vehicles . Tally up their income over the past year including Social Security , pensions , interest income from investments , annuities , et cetera , minus any out-of-pocket medical expenses , prescription drugs , insurance premiums and long-term care costs over that same period of time .

The VA also has a threeyear lookback to determine if your parents transferred any assets to ensure they would qualify for benefits . If so , they may be subject to a penalty period of up to five years .

How to apply To apply for Aid and Attendance , you ’ ll need to fill out VA Form 21-2680 and mail it to the Pension Management Center for your dad ’ s state . You ’ ll need to have your dad ’ s doctor fill out the examination information section . Or you can apply in person at a VA regional office near your parents .

For more information or to download application forms , visit www . VA . gov / pension / aid-attendancehousebound . You also can call the VA at 800-827- 1000 if you have questions .

If you need some help , you can appoint a veteran service officer , a VA-accredited attorney or claims agent to represent your dad . Visit www . VA . gov / ogc / apps / accreditation / index . asp to locate someone .

If your dad is eligible , it can take months for his application to be processed , so be patient .

You also should know that if your dad ’ s Aid and Attendance application is approved , the VA will send a lump sum retroactive payment covering the time from the day you filed the application until the day it was approved . Then your dad receives monthly payments going forward .

Send your senior questions to Savvy Senior , P . O . Box 5443 , Norman , OK 73070 , or visit www . SavvySenior . org .

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