va pension processing time

Here are answers to some of the most common ones. Watch your mailbox carefully during this time, so you can respond promptly to any requests. When you use our help with the Aid & Attendance benefits application process, you can be more confident that your application will be approved. To collect the veteran's pension, you must have a total household income below a certain threshold; Congress sets this threshold each year and periodically adjusts it for inflation. a current bank statement, social security statement, insurance statement, asset statement(s), or supplemental insurance statement. | Contact Us at A Place For Mom, This site is dedicated to the loving memory of Frank and Lillie Cicirelli, 2018 Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors. To qualify for a veteran's pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs, you must first be a wartime veteran. Its similar to hiring an accountant to do your taxes. from the University of Southern California. For those who entered the military prior to September 7th, 1980, you must have served at least 90 days on active duty, one day of which must have been during wartime. Join, How to Apply for VA Benefits for Veterans and Their Survivors, Authorization to Disclose Personal Information to a Third Party. They ensure that the Aid & Attendance pension benefit goes to Veterans who truly need the financial assistance and prevent people from abusing it. The Housebound pension benefit is available for qualified veterans and surviving spouses who are substantially confined to your immediate premises because of permanent disability. For example, a veteran who needs care at home because he only leaves the house to go to doctor appointments and physical therapy could be eligible for Housebound benefits. No, VA benefits, including the Aid and Attendance benefit, are not taxable. Adjudicators are required to look for instances of suspicious death, homicide, and whether or not the death was service connected). Terms of Use is receiving aid and attendance services. You cannot receive disability compensation and the A&A pension benefit at the same time. All assisted living costs can be deducted from your countable expenses. There are two tiers of service requirements to qualify for the veteran's pension, depending on when you entered the military. Veterans who served on active duty for at least 90 consecutive days, including at least one day during wartime, may be eligible for Aid and Attendance if they also qualify for the basic Veterans Pension and meet the A&A clinical and financial requirements. If youre a Veteran or a surviving spouse who wants to apply for Aid & Attendance, reach out to us for a screening today. If youre eligible for this benefit, well work with you throughout the application process, and then well connect you with home care providers in your area. Be sure to includeVA form 21-0845(Authorization to Disclose Personal Information to a Third Party) if you are filing for your loved one and need to oversee the application process. Although the Veterans Administration typically requires six to eight months to process a new application, there are some things you can do to help speed the process: Gather your needed documents at the beginning of the process. Copyright 2022 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy Figuring out yourcountable incomeis easy, but youll need to be able to show the VA how you got your total. What Benefits Can Veterans Surviving Spouses Receive? You must have been honorably discharged, or discharged under honorable conditions. Fill out the correct application form to submit to the VA with the necessary documents. For veterans pensions, you will not only need your DD-214, but also birth certificates and marriage certificates to document your dependents. For those who entered service on September 7th, 1980 or later, you must generally have served at least 24 months on active duty. You can find a complete list on our "How to Apply" page. *Figures are from the Veteran's Administration as of 01/01/15 Please contact the VA to verify current Aid and Attendance monthly payments. That way, we make sure your application moves through each step of the approval process in a timely fashion. It includes the majority of the income you receive, including your earnings as well as Social Security, retirement, and pension payments. Cir. The A&A application form requests a VA file number only if youve filed a VA claim before. You can submit the one-pageVA Form 21-0966 to get your claim into the system. Why are these financial checks necessary? VeteranAid.org cannot answer any legal or medical questions. This benefit could make the difference between a veteran or surviving spouse living in a high-quality assisted living facility or in a Veterans with dependents can show a higher income and still maintain eligibility. However, if you have significant medical expenses and they are in excess of $531 for the year, you may be able to deduct this amount from your income for the purposes of calculating veteran's pension eligibility. Youre not required to submit the worksheet with your application but you will need to provide proof of your income when you apply. However, we at AVCC have applied for Aid & Attendance many times on behalf of our clients, so we give them a clearer picture of how long the process takes. 2022 A Place for Mom, Inc. All rights reserved. VeteranAid.org was created to provide information, free of charge, to veterans, their spouses and families. Without this authorization, the VA cannot discuss the application with you. They can also find different ways to reject claims. Find out whether youre eligible for Aid & Attendance with one of our screenings. Even if you have power of attorney for emergencies, its more efficient to have your parent or loved one handle and sign their own application if theyre capable of doing so. Cir. The current A&A benefit amounts can be found on our "Eligibility" page. If the money they make from the sale of their home puts them over the eligibility limit, benefit payments will be suspended until those assets are spent down. Your case will move through the system a lot faster if you turn in your application fully filled out, with all required documents, all at once. They also examine your net worth over the past 36 months to ensure it doesnt exceed $129,094. a death certificate with a cause of death shown (VA must be able to clearly read the cause of death. Make sure you follow directions from the outset. For comprehensive information on VA benefit programs for veterans and their families, you can read the VA 2018 Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors handbook online. Strengthening a Caregivers Relationship With You and Your Loved One, Guide to Home Safety for Elderly Loved Ones. You must submit the full application within a year. If your parents have already been approved for A&A, the VA will count the net proceeds from the sale of their home as assets unless they spend down that money within the same calendar year that they sell their home. | Do Not Sell My Personal Information Specifically, they will look at your countable income. Its a good idea to include VA Form 21-4138(Statement in Support of Claim) and use it to explain that you receive disability compensation but you want the VA to pick the benefit you qualify for which pays the most. Its possible, but it may not be worth the effort and time to apply for A&A if you already receive Medicaid. If this is your first time filing an application, leave the VA file number box empty. Adjudicators will also check to see if the veteran was married at the time of death. The VA is supposed to prioritize applications from veterans age 90 and older. However, the qualifying income limits are lower for Housebound than for A&A. Call now to speak to an Elder Care Advisor for FREE: (866) 913-2555. meets the medical requirement for a rating. There are at least nine forms and documents youll need to include in your A&A application. You could apply to the VA for Aid & Attendance, but without anyone checking on your applications status, it could languish in the process and never get approved. We are paid by our participating communities, therefore our service is offered at no charge to families. The VA will pay you the higher amount if it approves your application. The VA does not recognize power of attorney and has its own procedure for appointing a fiduciary representative for a veteran or spouse who cannot manage their affairs. 303 2007), examiners need to consider lay statements describing relevant symptoms, examiners need to provide clear conclusions with supporting data and a reasoned medical explanation concerning the service connection, medical examiners may not decide the veracity of non-medical facts, a medical opinion is inadequate if it is based on inaccurate factual premises, a medical opinion is inadequate if the examiner can't reach a conclusion, examiners can't use an evidentiary standard greater than the reasonable doubt principle, examiners need to address all legal theories of entitlement to service connection. Our team at AVCC pushes through the application processs waiting period by contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs constantly. can demonstrate having paid at least one month's worth of unfavorable services, meets the Net Worth limit (asset test) and. the surviving spouse of a veteran, or the responsible family member of a veteran, we urge you to apply for the VA Aid and Attendance 2006), It must make a credibility determination as to whether the evidence supports a finding of service connection and a continuity of symptomology (Barr v. Nicholson, 21. Dont let this discourage you from applying. To be eligible for the Housebound Benefit: This worksheet can help youcalculate your countableincome. You can find more information on the VA fiduciary process here, or contact your regions VA Fiduciary Hub office to begin the fiduciary application process. The VA looks at your annual countable income and makes sure that it does not exceed what you receive in your VA pension. For many applicants, it takes roughly nine months to get approved. According to the VAs website, their official answer is It depends. Mail your application form and all the documents to the correct pension processing center. That number will increase if you include all the highly suggested forms and relevant supporting documentation. Otherwise, your case can get bogged down in back-and-forth requests for additional information. However, you must meet certain requirements in order to become eligible for this particular VA benefit. We process claims in the order we receive them, unless a claim requires priority processing. If that sounds vague, thats because it is. detailed and well-argued lay statements where lay statements are needed, copies of your medical records that you have obtained on your own and organized in a way that the adjudicators can find the pertinent information pertaining to your claim, copies of other documents or forms that you know the VSRs in the regional office will need to make a decision, well-reasoned and documented medical opinions that you provide yourself and, support from credible medical literature where necessary, It must determine if the lay evidence is competent and provides an adequate explanation of determination (Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 Fed. The fiduciary selection process includes in-person interviews, a background check, and periodic reviews. Checks For Vets: VA Shortens Forms and Waiting Time for Aid and Attendance Pensions, Imperial County, California: Tips for Veterans Applying for VA Benefits. If they leave it vague, then they can get away with taking as long as they want to process claims. Service in a combat zone is not an eligibility requirement. If you apply for A&A in this situation, keep in mind that your current disability compensation is not countable income. Make sure youre already receiving the maximum possible disability compensation before you apply for A&A so that you have a valid basis for comparison. You are bedridden or spend a lot of time in bed due to illness. If you want to know how to apply for Aid & Attendance, you may wonder how long the application process takes before you receive its funds. You have limited eyesight, specifically 5/200 vision in both eyes even with glasses or contact lenses, or your visual field has concentrically contracted to 5 or fewer degrees. A licensed life and health insurance agent, McClintock holds a B.A. They ensure that the Aid & Attendance pension benefit goes to Veterans who truly need the financial assistance and prevent people from abusing it. If you are a veteran, If you have questions about health issues that are secondary to a service-connected disability or whether you qualify for Special Monthly Compensation in addition to disability compensation, talk to a Veteran Service Officer to go over the specifics of your situation. We also keep a VA-certified attorney on staff to ensure your application is ready before we submit it. 12300 Old Tesson Rd., Suite 400C St. Louis, MO 63128. The VA will check that you didnt transfer any assets to lower your net worth to make yourself eligible for Aid & Attendance. Vet App. The Veteran's Pension Program is one of two pension programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. If the applicant is over 90 years old, you can include a letter with the application requesting that it be expedited. How Can You Grow Your Home Care Business? But the VA will expedite your application if you are over 90 years old or in hospice so you can receive this monetary pension benefit more quickly. All Content Copyright VeteranAid.org | All Rights Reserved, All Logos, Banners and Legal Names Their Respective Owners. The Department of Veterans Affairs is notoriously slow to process applications for its programs, and the Veteran's Pension Program is no exception. To qualify for VA Aid & Attendance benefits, you must meet at least one of following physical requirements: If you meet at least one requirement here and youre already eligible for a VA pension, you should apply for Aid & Attendance because you can use this monetary benefit for whatever you want after basic medical expenses are paid. It is distinct from the Veteran's Disability Compensation Program in that the benefits are restricted to wartime veterans. Once you or your loved one have A&A approval, the first benefit payment is a lump sum covering all the time between the date you filed the application and the date of approval. How long does it take before you receive the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit? It is also means-tested, meaning that you cannot qualify for the program unless you have a very low income.