For qualifying veterans and surviving spouses, the Aid and Attendance (A&A) Pension provides funds to pay for in-home care when a veteran, or surviving spouse, is in need of assistance for daily living activities such as dressing, eating, cooking, bathing and toileting.  The veteran does NOT need to require assistance with all of these things to qualify.  It also pays for the care of veterans who are blind, are a patient in a nursing home, or for assisted care in an assisted living facility.  A&A can also help with care for a veteran’s sick spouse when the veteran is still independent if the spouse’s medical expenses reach an amount that depletes their monthly income.

In order for a veteran to qualify for the A&A benefit, a doctor needs to determine that the veteran cannot completely function on their own and is in need of the assistance of another person.  This other person does not need to be a licensed health aid, it can be anyone hired to provide care for the veteran.  These benefits are available to any War-Time Veteran with 90 days of active duty, or their surviving spouse, and meet the medical and financial requirements.*

It may take four months or more for an application to be processed and eligibility to be determined.   The good news is that all benefits are retro-dated back to the original filing date.  It may take the veteran or family member some time to locate all the required paperwork needed to make a claim, but the process can be started by submitting a one page form, VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim) which will get the claim into the system.  Once this form has been submitted, the veteran will have one year to file the packet and supporting documents.  Please visit www.veteranaid.org for more information about the Aid and Attendance Pension or contact the local Contra Costa VA office at (925) 313-1490.  The VA administration can assist in completing and submitting the needed forms.

By Amber Triebull

*Information in this article was provided by www.veteranaid.org