VA Aid and Attendance for Triad Veterans: How It Helps Pay for Care

A benefit many families miss

Aid and Attendance is not a separate check. It raises the maximum VA pension for a wartime veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with daily activities, is bedridden, lives in a nursing home or has limited eyesight. VA pays the difference between that maximum and the claimant's countable income.

The key detail is that unreimbursed care costs, including adult care home fees and in-home care, reduce countable income. A surviving spouse with Social Security that seems too high for a pension may qualify once care costs are counted.

The 2026 maximums

Source: VA pension rate tables, effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026. The net worth limit, counting income with assets, is $163,699.

Who qualifies

A veteran with at least 90 days of active duty, including at least one day during a wartime period (24 months for later service, with exceptions), discharged other than dishonorably, who is 65 or older or disabled, and within the net worth limit. Surviving spouses qualify on the veteran's service if they meet the financial rules.

VA reviews asset transfers in the three years before a claim and can impose a penalty period for gifts. A home and car are generally excluded.

How it fits with Special Assistance and Medicaid

VA pension counts as income for Special Assistance and Medicaid. For a surviving spouse with modest income in an adult care home, VA pension with Aid and Attendance may pay more than Special Assistance's $1,397 Basic Rate would make up. For a veteran with almost no income, Special Assistance plus Medicaid may be the better path.

Run both calculations before applying for either, ideally with the county veterans services officer and the DSS caseworker.

A worked example

Take a surviving spouse in a Greensboro adult care home with $1,800 a month of Social Security and care costs of $5,000 a month. Her unreimbursed care costs exceed her income, so her countable income for VA purposes can fall to zero, and she may receive up to the $1,558 monthly maximum for a surviving spouse with Aid and Attendance.

The real calculation uses VA's deduction rules and annual figures, so treat this as an illustration. It shows why families who assume their parent's income is too high should still ask.

Timing the claim

VA generally pays from the month after a complete claim is received, so filing an intent to file early can protect the start date while documents are gathered. The county veterans services officer can submit it.

Processing takes months. Plan to cover care costs privately in the meantime, and keep receipts, since they support the claim.

Avoiding costly mistakes

Be cautious of anyone who offers to restructure a veteran's assets to qualify for a pension, especially if it involves annuities or trusts sold for a fee. VA's three-year look-back can penalize transfers, and such products can also cause problems for Medicaid later.

Free, accredited help from the county veterans services officer is the safest starting point. If legal planning is truly needed, an elder law attorney who understands both VA and Medicaid rules can weigh the trade-offs without selling a product.

Getting help in Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham

Each county has a veterans services officer who prepares and files VA pension claims at no charge, and accredited representatives of veterans service organizations do the same. No one may charge to prepare an initial pension claim.

Gather the DD-214, marriage and death certificates where relevant, income and asset records, and a statement of monthly care costs from the adult care home or home care agency. The Kernersville VA Health Care Center serves Triad veterans for medical care, separately from the pension claim.