Long-Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses

Takeaways

• Aid and Attendance provides financial assistance to wartime veterans and their surviving spouses who require long-term care or help with activities of daily living.
• Eligibility depends on financial need. However, it is possible for those who might otherwise exceed the income limit to qualify.

About 70 percent of adults age 65 and older will need long-term care services and supports at some point in their later years. Costs for this type of care can accumulate quickly for families across the United States. For military veterans (and their surviving spouses) who need in-home care or are in a nursing home, help is often available.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has an underused pension benefit called Aid and Attendance. This benefit provides money to those who need assistance performing activities of daily living (ADLs). These kinds of everyday tasks involve personal care including bathing, dressing, and feeding oneself.

Even veterans whose income is above the legal limit for a VA pension may qualify for the Aid and Attendance benefit if they have large medical services expenses for which they do not receive reimbursement.

Aid and Attendance

Aid and Attendance is a pension benefit. This means it is available to military veterans who served at least 90 days, with at least one day during wartime. The veteran does not have to have service-related disabilities to qualify.

Veterans (or their surviving spouse) are eligible if they need help performing ADLs. This includes individuals who are bedridden, blind, or residing in a nursing home.

Income and Asset Limit

To qualify, a veteran (or their spouse) must not have a net worth of more than $163,699 (in 2026). An applicant’s net worth is the total of their assets plus their annual income. A house (up to a 2-acre lot) and one vehicle will not count as an asset even if the applicant currently lives in a nursing home.

Applicants can subtract unreimbursed medical expenses from their income to help them qualify. These can include:

• Medicare, Medigap, and long-term care insurance premiums;
• over-the-counter medications taken at a doctor’s recommendation;
• long-term care costs, such as nursing home fees;
• the cost of an in-home attendant; and
• the cost of an assisted living facility.

Note: The VA only deducts the portion of these expenses that exceed 5 percent of your applicable pension rate. The expenses should be recurring, meaning they happen every month.

Transfers and Penalties

The VA has a three-year lookback to determine whether a veteran transferred assets just to qualify for benefits. Applicants involved in any financial transactions (like large gifts) during the three years before they apply must disclose them.

Applicants who transferred assets within lookback period to meet the net limit will face a penalty period of up to five years. During this time, the person is not eligible for veterans benefits.

The VA determines the penalty period by taking the amount that pushed the applicant over the limit and dividing it by a “penalty rate.” For 2026, the monthly penalty rate is $2,874. It then divides this by the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR).

For example, assume the net worth limit is $163,699, and an applicant has a $130,000 in assets. They gifted $40,000 to a friend during the lookback period. Had they kept the money, their net worth would be $170,000, which exceeds the limit by $6,301.

The VA divides that $6,301 overage by the $2,874 penalty rate, resulting in 2.19. The VA rounds this down to a two-month penalty.

Annual Pension Rate (MAPR)

For 2026, the Maximum Annual Pension Rates (MAPR) for those qualifying for Aid & Attendance are:

• Single veteran = $29,093
• Veteran with one dependent = $34,488
• Single surviving spouse = $18,696
• Surviving spouse with one dependent = $22,304

Think of the MAPR as a financial “safety net” level. The VA uses this number to ensure that a wartime veteran’s total income doesn’t fall below this line.

How It Works

The MAPR is the maximum total income the VA thinks you should have.

1. The Target: The VA looks at your specific MAPR (for example, $29,093 for a single veteran with Aid and Attendance in 2026).
    
2. The Gap: They look at your “countable” income (your Social Security and pensions minus your allowable medical bills). Countable income is your total gross income minus your allowable medical expenses.
    
3. The Check: The VA pays you a monthly amount to fill the gap between your income and the target. If your medical expenses are high enough to bring your countable income to $0, you receive the full monthly check.

Learn More

For additional information, check out the following resources:

• Contact your local VA office.
• The Veterans Administration Guide to Long-Term Care
• Reasons Veterans Miss Out on Veteran Disability Benefits
• CRDP and CRSC Support Retired Disabled Veterans
• Home Health Care Underutilized by Seniors, Study Shows
• Becoming a Family Caregiver for an Ailing Loved One
• The Different Types of Adult Day Care