What it is
VA Aid & Attendance is a monthly pension benefit paid on top of the base VA pension to wartime-era veterans — and their surviving spouses — who need help with activities of daily living or are otherwise housebound.
The benefit is chronically under-claimed. Many eligible veterans and surviving spouses have never heard of it, or assume it is only for those with service-connected disabilities. It is not — eligibility is based on wartime service, health need, net worth, and unreimbursed medical expenses.
The benefit can be used to offset the cost of in-home care, assisted living, or memory care, and is often the difference between running out of assets in two years versus five.
VA benefits work alongside — not in place of — other funding sources. They coordinate especially well with Medicaid planning when done thoughtfully.
Any wartime veteran or their surviving spouse who needs help with ADLs and meets net-worth and medical-expense rules.