VA pension with Aid and Attendance

What is Aid and Attendance?

Aid and Attendance is a higher rate of VA pension for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need another person's help with daily activities, are bedridden, live in a nursing home because of disability, or have severely limited eyesight; it raises the maximum pension rather than paying a separate benefit.

VA pension rates effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026.

The pension pays the difference between the maximum rate and the household's countable income, and unreimbursed medical expenses, including assisted living or home care costs, can be deducted from income in that calculation.

What is the net worth limit?

VA's net worth limit effective December 1, 2025 is $163,699, counting assets and annual income together but excluding the primary home and a reasonable lot; assets transferred in the three years before applying in order to get under the limit are reviewed and can trigger a penalty.

Selling a Volusia or Flagler home after moving to assisted living turns an excluded asset into a counted one, so plan the timing with a VA-accredited representative.

Who qualifies?

Generally a veteran with at least 90 days of active duty including at least one day during a wartime period, a discharge other than dishonorable, and either age 65 or a permanent disability, plus income and net worth within limits and a medical need for aid and attendance; surviving spouses qualify through the veteran.

The veteran did not need to serve in combat or overseas. A doctor's statement describing the need for help with daily activities is the core of the medical evidence.

Where can veterans get free help with a claim?

Each county's veterans service office, in Volusia and in Flagler, helps veterans and surviving spouses file pension and Aid and Attendance claims at no charge, as do VA-accredited representatives of veterans service organizations; no one may charge a fee to prepare an initial claim.

Be wary of anyone who offers to reposition assets for a fee to qualify a parent for VA pension. Those arrangements can create transfer penalties for both VA and Medicaid.

Does VA pension affect Florida Medicaid?

Yes: VA pension counts as income for Medicaid, and for a Medicaid nursing home resident VA generally reduces the pension to $90 a month, so the two programs should be planned together.

For a veteran in assisted living, the pension can make the difference between paying privately and needing OSS or Medicaid at all.