U.S. Treasury regulation (31 CFR Part 208) requires that on or after May 1, 2011, all recipients applying for or receiving benefits from a Federal agency by paper check, must be informed by the agency that they are required to receive their payments electronically. Their choices are either via electronic funds transfer or Direct Express ® Debit MasterCard® issued by Comerica Bank. If the claimant does not provide VA with their banking information to allow their federal benefits to be sent directly to their bank, they will receive their initial VA benefit in the form of a paper check, for…
The greatest fears of seniors are one, running out of money, and two, ending up in a nursing home. Consequently, they lose their personal independence. Also, the loss of their hard earned savings. The average cost of nursing home care in Maryland is approximately $100,000 to $150,000 per year, dependent on your location, within the state. Unfortunately, most seniors pay for nursing home care utilizing their savings until it’s depleted. Subsequently, they qualify for Medicaid. Therefore, Medicaid will pay the cost of the nursing home, less all the senior’s income. With asset planning, whether in advance or in response to…
For veterans and the veteran’s surviving spouses who want in-home care or are in an assisted residing facility, help is available. The Veterans Administration has an underused pension called Aid and Attendance. This benefit gives money to those that require help performing regular basis tasks, bathing, feeding, dressing, or going to the bathroom, bedridden, blind, or residing in an assisted living facility or nursing home. However, you have to further qualify for this benefit. Aid and Attendance is available to veterans who served not less than 90 days, with at least one day during World War II, Korea, Vietnam or…
By Rita Files … Too often, veterans go without services they need simply because they are unaware of benefits they earned through their service. Consider the Aid and Attendance benefit, which is meant to help aging veterans and their surviving spouses pay for care at home, in a nursing home, or in an assisted-living facility. Millions of veterans and their families are failing to take advantage of it. According to a recent report, about 105,000 veterans were using the benefit last year. Yet the pool of potential recipients could be much bigger. There are 2.3 million World War II vets…
When a veteran files an application for NSC pension, the veteran must be eligible as of the date of entitlement i.e. informal or primary application. Income is then projected outwards from the effective date (first day of the next month). For instance, if the VA received an application on February 20th, the date of entitlement is the 20th, but the effective date (retro-active payment date) would be March 1st, so all income from March 1st would be countable, but none before. However, a potential issues arises problem. Because, every claim is audited every two to four years. Therefore, the VA cross…
If a war time veteran who served 90 days active duty with one day during war time, an honorable discharge, AND have limited financial resources and gross income, the veteran can file for non-service connected pension benefits and use the cost of home care etc. to offset their total household gross income to receive the pension. If the veteran is independent, the maximium per month is $1,291.00 or $15,493.00 annually. If the veteran, also requires assistance, can qualify for up to $1,949.00 per month or $23,396.00 annually.
Yes. See following from 38 CFR 3.262 (i) Compensation ( civilian ) for injury or death. (1) Compensation paid by the Bureau of Employees' Compensation, Department of Labor (of the United States), or by Social Security Administration, or by Railroad Retirement Board, or pursuant to any workmen's compensation or employer's liability statute, or damages collected because of personal injury or death, less medical, legal, or other expenses incident to the injury or death, or the collection or recovery of such moneys will be considered income as received, except as provided in paragraph (i)(2) of this section. The criteria of paragraph…
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs Web site, the benefit is paid in addition to monthly pension benefits. To qualify for the aid benefit, the veteran must generally be 65 or older (if not permanently disabled), have served during wartime and meet certain other income and asset requirements and medical requirements. In particular, annual income for the veteran and his or her spouse — not counting unreimbursed medical expenses — must be below a certain level. As for medical requirements, the veteran must require the aid of someone else to perform everyday “personal functions,” be bedridden, live in a…
Vietnam-era Veterans whose service involved duty on or near the perimeters of military bases in Thailand anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975 may have been exposed to herbicides and may qualify for VA benefits. The following Veterans may have been exposed to herbicides: U.S. Air Force Veterans who served on Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) bases at U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang, near the air base perimeter anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975. U.S. Army Veterans who provided perimeter security on RTAF bases in Thailand anytime between February 28,…
The $90.00 personal allowance reduction is not countable as income towards Medicaid, M21-1MR, Part V, Subpart iii, Chapter 3 1. General Information on Pension Reductions for Medicaid-Covered Nursing Facility Care Change Date May 14, 2007 a. Provisions for Pension Reduction 38 CFR 3.551(i) limits to $90 per month the amount of Improved Pension that can be paid to a veteran (or surviving spouse) with no dependents who • is in a Medicaid-approved nursing facility, and • is covered by a Medicaid plan for services furnished by the nursing facility. No part of the $90 monthly Improved Pension may be used…
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