Veterans home/nursing home care benefits

Courtesy of Jim Stanberry - AAR6TT

Regardless of your personal status, consider passing this along to all veterans, families of veterans or individuals with veterans in their family.

While making nursing home arrangements for my aged father, I recently became aware of a valuable program that I wish to share with you. It is particularly helpful as you consider Long Term Care Plans and should be factored into your decision process.

"Aid and Attendance" is an underutilized special monthly pension benefit offered by the Veterans Administration for veterans and surviving spouses who require in-home care or live in nursing homes. To qualify, a veteran (includes the surviving spouse) must have served at least 90 days of active military service, one day of which is during a period of war, and must be discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. The veteran's benefit is $18,234 annually (paid monthly) and increases to $21,615 if a veteran has one dependent. The surviving spouse alone is $11,715 annually.

For more information, call 1-800-827-1000, visit http://www.va.gov (type "Aid and Attendance" in the search block), or contact your local VA office. You can also apply on-line at: http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp