03-11-2022, 08:38 PM
Special Benefits for Elderly Wartime Veteran Population
As a follow up to the 14 AUG National Financial Awareness Day, the Department of Veterans Affairs is
launching an awareness campaign to inform elderly wartime Veterans and their families of their lesser
known pension, funeral, burial and survivor benefits. “VA’s pension benefit helps Veterans and their
families cope with financial challenges by providing supplemental income,” said Acting Under Secretary
for Benefits Thomas Murphy. “Currently, only 189,800 wartime Veterans and 139,800 surviving spouses
are using their needs-based pension benefits that are meant to ease the burden on them, their families and
caregivers. We need to ensure all of our wartime Veterans and their survivors are aware of their benefits.”
The following benefits are available through VA’s Pension and Fiduciary Service as noted in the
guide at https://benefits.va.gov/FIDUCIARY/docs/V...pr2020.pdf for use in planning
and preparing for the future.
VA pension is payable to wartime Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to
non service connected disability, or who are age 65 years old or older, and who meet certain income
and net worth limits. Refer to https://www.va.gov/pension.
Special monthly pension is an additional benefit for Veterans in receipt of pension who are
housebound, require the aid and attendance of another person to help them with daily activities (such
as eating, bathing and dressing), have very limited eyesight or require nursing home care. See
https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factshe...ension.pdf.
For surviving spouses, there are two types of benefits P&F Service offers. Survivors Pension
(https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension) provides monthly payments to qualified surviving
spouses and unmarried dependent children of wartime Veterans who meet certain income and net
worth limits. Special monthly pension is also available to surviving spouses who are housebound or
require the aid and attendance of another person.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is available to dependents and parents and generally is
not based on income and assets (except the income limits apply to parents). DIC is a monthly
monetary benefit paid to a surviving spouse, child or parent of a Veteran who died from a service related
injury or illness, or when an active-duty service member dies in the line of duty. Special
monthly DIC is also available to surviving spouses who are housebound or require the aid and
attendance of another person. See www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation.
A surviving spouse of a Veteran who served on a Blue Water Navy vessel offshore of the Republic
of Vietnam, or on another U.S. Navy or Coast Guard ship operating in the coastal waterways of
Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, may be eligible for DIC benefits — even if they
were previously denied. See https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibilit...ent-orange
VA’s funeral and burial benefits are available for both service-related and non-service-related
deaths. New regulations allow a flat-rate burial and plot or interment allowance with decreased
paperwork and maximum payment permitted by law. See https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials.
For those interested in burial benefits such as a Presidential Memorial Certificate, burial flag,
headstone or marker, the National Cemetery Administration has information about pre-need
eligibility. See https://www.cem.va.gov/burial_benefits/index.asp.
Many vulnerable senior wartime Veterans are targeted with misinformation. In many cases, this is
because they are not fully aware of their benefits, which increases the chances of them being taken advantage
of and/or defrauded. VA encourages elderly wartime Veterans and their family members to consult a VA accredited
representative (https://www.benefits.va.gov/vso/index.asp) if they want or need help filing a
claim. They are reminded to beware of individuals or companies that promise benefits or ask for money
upfront, as only VA can make final determinations on eligibility.
Factsheets at https://benefits.va.gov/benefits/factsheets.asp#BM3 are available to assist Veterans with
limited resources. Pension eligibility information with details on how Veterans and their families can get
help filing their claim for free can be found at
https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/fac...tation.pdf.
As a follow up to the 14 AUG National Financial Awareness Day, the Department of Veterans Affairs is
launching an awareness campaign to inform elderly wartime Veterans and their families of their lesser
known pension, funeral, burial and survivor benefits. “VA’s pension benefit helps Veterans and their
families cope with financial challenges by providing supplemental income,” said Acting Under Secretary
for Benefits Thomas Murphy. “Currently, only 189,800 wartime Veterans and 139,800 surviving spouses
are using their needs-based pension benefits that are meant to ease the burden on them, their families and
caregivers. We need to ensure all of our wartime Veterans and their survivors are aware of their benefits.”
The following benefits are available through VA’s Pension and Fiduciary Service as noted in the
guide at https://benefits.va.gov/FIDUCIARY/docs/V...pr2020.pdf for use in planning
and preparing for the future.
VA pension is payable to wartime Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to
non service connected disability, or who are age 65 years old or older, and who meet certain income
and net worth limits. Refer to https://www.va.gov/pension.
Special monthly pension is an additional benefit for Veterans in receipt of pension who are
housebound, require the aid and attendance of another person to help them with daily activities (such
as eating, bathing and dressing), have very limited eyesight or require nursing home care. See
https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factshe...ension.pdf.
For surviving spouses, there are two types of benefits P&F Service offers. Survivors Pension
(https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension) provides monthly payments to qualified surviving
spouses and unmarried dependent children of wartime Veterans who meet certain income and net
worth limits. Special monthly pension is also available to surviving spouses who are housebound or
require the aid and attendance of another person.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation is available to dependents and parents and generally is
not based on income and assets (except the income limits apply to parents). DIC is a monthly
monetary benefit paid to a surviving spouse, child or parent of a Veteran who died from a service related
injury or illness, or when an active-duty service member dies in the line of duty. Special
monthly DIC is also available to surviving spouses who are housebound or require the aid and
attendance of another person. See www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation.
A surviving spouse of a Veteran who served on a Blue Water Navy vessel offshore of the Republic
of Vietnam, or on another U.S. Navy or Coast Guard ship operating in the coastal waterways of
Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, may be eligible for DIC benefits — even if they
were previously denied. See https://www.va.gov/disability/eligibilit...ent-orange
VA’s funeral and burial benefits are available for both service-related and non-service-related
deaths. New regulations allow a flat-rate burial and plot or interment allowance with decreased
paperwork and maximum payment permitted by law. See https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials.
For those interested in burial benefits such as a Presidential Memorial Certificate, burial flag,
headstone or marker, the National Cemetery Administration has information about pre-need
eligibility. See https://www.cem.va.gov/burial_benefits/index.asp.
Many vulnerable senior wartime Veterans are targeted with misinformation. In many cases, this is
because they are not fully aware of their benefits, which increases the chances of them being taken advantage
of and/or defrauded. VA encourages elderly wartime Veterans and their family members to consult a VA accredited
representative (https://www.benefits.va.gov/vso/index.asp) if they want or need help filing a
claim. They are reminded to beware of individuals or companies that promise benefits or ask for money
upfront, as only VA can make final determinations on eligibility.
Factsheets at https://benefits.va.gov/benefits/factsheets.asp#BM3 are available to assist Veterans with
limited resources. Pension eligibility information with details on how Veterans and their families can get
help filing their claim for free can be found at
https://www.benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/fac...tation.pdf.