Throughout the inquiries that were made this week in the Ask Dale section of the site, I received numerous questions regarding the asset and income limitations for the Veterans Aid & Attendance ("A&A") Program. Assuming the veteran meets the first four A&A requirements - (1) served at least 90 days of active military service, with at least one day occurring during a wartime, (2) received a military discharge other than dishonorable, (3) is permanently and totally disabled, and (4) is in need of daily aid and attendance of another person in order to avoid the everyday hazards of his or her environment - the question at hand becomes "how does the VA define nominal assets and income?"
The official VA website states that "there is no set limit on how much net worth a veteran...can have, but the net worth cannot be excessive. The decision as to whether a veteran's net worth is excessive depends on the facts of the case." Typically, literature involving A&A planning states that a veteran can have $80,000.00 of liquid assets, along with the value of his or her home - exempt resource. However, as many elder law attorneys and financial professionals know, allowing a veteran to retain $80,000.00 of liquid assets will most likely disqualify him or her. So, what is the magic number? The VA will look at a combination of factors, including but not limited to:
- the claimant's total household assets;
- the claimant's total household gross income;
- the claimant's total household unreimbursed medical expenses ("UME");
- and the life expectancy of the claimant (click here to obtain the VA life expectancy chart).
To illustrate, at age 88, a claimant has a life expectancy of 5 years. Given the claimant's total household assets, total household gross income, and total household UME, if the claimant has enough income and assets to pay for medical expenses for the next five years, the claimant will most likely be denied. In light of the above, an older veteran will be allowed a lesser asset amount than a younger veteran, a veteran with lo UME will be allowed a lesser asset amount than a veteran with high UME, and a veteran with high income will be allowed a lesser asset amount than a veteran with low income.
Countable income for VA purposes is gross household income less the UME. The resulting figure of this calculation is deducted from the Maximum Annual Pension Rate ("MAPR") for that particular category (i.e., single veteran, married veteran, widow, veteran married to veteran, etc.). The claimant is then paid the entire maximum monthly pension rate if the resulting figure is zero. Or, the claimant will receive the difference between the MAPR and the net amount if the resulting figure is between the MAPR and zero, or nothing per month if the resulting figure is over the MAPR.
