For the worried children of seniors, this question arises if a parent lives long enough. I’ve encountered the situation twice in my own family, with my mother and aunt, and even with my wife’s family. Almost every time, seniors faced with the option to move into a retirement community, react with hesitation or even hostile refusal. But at some point, living at home is no longer a good option.
The major issues involved in the decision are safety, comfort, finances and social issues. Each of the directors at any of our Veteran First Communities will be happy to discuss these options with you in order to come to a workable solution. You probably already know that if you are reading this page, its likely time for a big change.
SAFETY: This is the most important issue. When we first began this work, we were helping the son of a veteran look for assisted living after his dad had ended his first round of chemotherapy for stomach cancer. Dad had spent the last 20 years living comfortably in retirement, taking care of his blind wife. And he refused to consider leaving the house.
He had enough money, given his pension and social security check, his $170,000 or so in assets and the value of his house that would be sold. Add to that the tax free income of almost $24,000 per year from the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance benefit (2011 amount) and he and his wife could have lived comfortably for many years and left a fine legacy for the grandchildren.
Unfortunately, while his son was trying to convince him to even consider living in a retirement community, dad suffered a fall as he tried to help mom out of her chair. He fell backwards, hit his head and suffered a 1X2 inch brain bleed. For the next week he was getting blood and platelets in a furious attempt to save his life. By the time this episode was over, mom and dad were living in a Medicaid facility, their life savings had been depleted and the accommodations they were faced with for the rest of their lives was “dreary” to say the least.
COMFORT: One day, get up in the morning and don’t drink anything. Not coffee, juice or water. See how long you can go. For many seniors, the simple act of getting out of a chair may be so exhausting that they simply stay there for a few hours until they have the strength.More on When is Home Care Not Enough?
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The types of income items the VA looks for are quite specific. Unfortunately, by the time most veterans get help applying for the benefit, some of the important paperwork is lost, buried or forgotten.
Here’s a guide to looking for the most important papers you’ll need.
Aid and Attendance Income Documentation
The most important income documents for VA purposes center around regular, certain payments made by pensions, institutions or the Social Security Administration.
Social Security: Every year, the Administration sends a letter informing retirees of the amount of money they can expect next year form Social Security. Hopefully, this is one of those “Important Papers” that your parents keep around. If it isn’t anywhere to be found, you have two alternatives:
You can look for the W4 from the Social Security Administration that should be stapled to last year’s tax return.
You can call or write to the Social Security Administration and request another letter or statement.
It's easy to get the papers you need for income verification.
Pensions: Many veterans rely on pension income for day to day living. Like Social Security, each pension company produces a letter informing the4 pensioner of the expected income for the next year. Each company from which a pension is received also produces a W4 form and if neither of these documents is present, you can write or call the company.
Annuities: Annuities generally pay fixed amounts to retirees and while the income amount is important, in these cases, you’ll want to find the front page of the policy. Unlike pensions or Social Security, annuities may have cash value also. You don’t have to analyze these papers; we’ll do it for you. But do take the time to dig around and find the contract so we can prepare a complete application for you right away.
Interest Income: This is generally paid by banks, and in some cases by bonds held in a brokerage account. Locate the latest statement you can find.
You don’t need to bring these papers to the information workshop. Just have an idea of what they say. Once you’ve spoken with us there, you can bring all of the papers with you to the attorney meeting. At that point we’ll examine them with a fine toothed comb and determine how each aspect should be reported or considered.
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In 2008, the Veteran's Administration changed the way that Aid and Attendance (Improved Pension) benefits would be applied for by various individuals.
The new rules allow anyone to talk about the benefit. (That's a First Amendment Right!)
But only the following persons or parties can actually do an intake and create or assist in the application itself:
Only a properly certified agent or attorney should file your claim.
Veterans: The veteran or widow may apply for this benefit him or herself. That's kind of a Catch-22, brought to you by the people who created the first one. Most every veteran or widow who qulifies for this benefit needs a lot of help form a concerned family member in order to get it. It's almost impossible for an 80 year-old person to complete these forms unaided.
A Family member: A family member may do this for one person, one time. So you could help mom or dad out, but you can't make a career out of doing this for people. That was one of the problems that the new rules seek to alleviate.
A Veteran Services Officer: A specially trained Veteran Services Officer (VSO) can assist you with the forms for the Aid and Attendance Benefit. However, even the VA admits that some VSO's aren't as well-versed in this benefit as they perhaps ought to be. VSO's are inundated with requests to help homeless vets, injured Iraqui veterans and so many young men and women who are returning form the present war with acute problems. This aspect of veteran's services may not be uppermost on their mind.
Veteran Affairs Accredited Attorneys: By far your best option. VA Accredited attorneys can not only assist families who qualify for the benefit, but they are also helpful to those who don't qualify yet, but could easily with some proper estate or financial planning. These cases must necessarily pass by a VSO, who is not qualified or licensed to give the right legal or financial advice that could help a family get the benefit.
As you go through the process for qualifying your family member, you'll be able to meet with a VA Accredited attorney at no charge, no matter what your situation. So relax and let us do the work!
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Aid and Attendance Errors Corrected
An old saying goes, “A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.” Many misconceptions abound about what the requirements, procedures and qualifications are for the Aid and Attendance benefit.
While the internet has been the backbone of the information age, it has also been a source of misinformation for families looking for answers about aid and attendance.
Here are some of the most common myths…. Exploded.
Each of these common beliefs is FALSE:
• To get this benefit the veteran must have suffered an injury, been wounded or died during service.
• To get this benefit the veteran must have been in battle.
• To get this benefit the veteran must have served during the whole war.
• To get this benefit the veteran or spouse must be out of money.
• To get this benefit the veteran must be living in a nursing home or assisted living complex.
• To get this benefit the veteran can't be getting a military pension?
• If the Veteran is receiving a partial VA disability they can't get this benefit.
The purpose of the AAWV is to place the RIGHT information in the hands of those who need it most, the families of wartime veterans.. If you have any other questions about qualifications, be sure to leave a comment so that we can answer your questions properly and accurately.
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The VA Aid and Attendance benefit (or Improved Pension Program) includes cost of living ( COLA ) adjustments each year. In 2009, the rates were almost 5% higher than in 2008.
2010 Aid and Attendance Rates are unchanged, due to the economic crisis and the low rate of inflation calculated by the OMB.
| Veteran, Married ( 1 Dependent) | $1,945 |
| Veteran, Single | $1,644 |
| Surviving Spouse | $1,055 |
| Veterans married to another Veteran | $2,580 |
These benefit payments are TAX FREE, and do not affect taxes on other pensions programs, such as Social Security Income.
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