In this Elder Law Minute, from our Veterans Pension Series, Wes Coulson discusses how the VA determines monthly benefits for those who are eligible.
How the VA determines monthly benefits
Transcript:
Hello, this is Wes Coulson with your Elder Law Minute, another in our series on veteran’s pension benefits. Today I’m going to talk about how the VA determines the monthly benefit amount for somebody who is found eligible. This is a situation in which I think a little bit of a visual aid is going to help. Because what the VA is going to do is compare two things – your income to your out-of-pocket medical and care expenses. Your monthly income is going to be a fixed amount, and what we’re going to find is that the VA is going to compare that to the maximum monthly benefit amount for the benefit that you would be eligible for, add a little bit of a notch amount. If those out-of-pocket medical and care expenses are more than that, you’re going to get the maximum benefit. If they are an amount less, that’s more than the monthly benefit amount, you won’t get benefits. If it’s somewhere in between there, you’re going to get some benefits. So if you’re here – a dollar – up to two, three, four, five – up to the maximum amount. Sometimes we can play with those numbers in various ways to get you a better result, and that’s an important part of the planning. Thanks!
For more from the Veterans Pension Benefits series, visit these articles:
- Levels of Benefits
- Difference between Service Connected Disability and Pension Benefits
- Military Service Requirements for Establishing Eligibility
- Will the VA approve a Look-Back rule?
- Protecting your residence while establishing VA benefits
- Understanding the VA Asset Limit
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (877)995-6876 or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.