The Veterans' administration offers a special pension with Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit to veterans and their spouses, or to surviving spouses, who require regular attendance of another person to assist with activities of daily living (ADL's) which can include eating, bathing, dressing, undressing, medication management, or other needs. Many families overlook this benefit with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones. Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, assisted living facilities including residential care homes, and nursing homes.
The benefit is available to those individuals or their surviving spouses that served ninety (90) consecutive days of active duty, at least one (1) of those days occurring during a period of "wartime" as declared by Congress.
The following is a list of periods of "wartime" designated by Congress for pension purposes:
World War II: December 7, 1941 through July 25, 1947 as long as continuous active duty started before December 31, 1946.
Korean Conflict: June 27, 1950 through January 31, 1955.
Vietnam Era: August 5,1964 through May 7, 1975 or active service in the Republic of Vietnam from February 28, 1961 through May 7, 1975.
VA Aid and Attendance maximum monthly pension rates for 2009 are:
| Veteran with Spouse | $1949 | |
| Single Veteran | $1632 | |
| Surviving Spouse | $1055 |
We recommend that you contact Transitions For Veterans, a free service, for further information and assistance in applying for this benefit. They can be reached toll free 888-929-6055.