Eligibility

A VA Pension is a monthly payment given to some wartime veterans or their survivors. To qualify, both of these must be true:

• You did not receive a dishonorable discharge, and
• Your yearly family income and net worth are less than the limit set by Congress, which is called the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR).

And at least one of these must be true, that you:

• Have a permanent and total disability (it doesn't have to be related to your military service)
• Are 65 or older
• Are a patient in a nursing home, or
• Are getting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Plus, at least one of these must be true about your military service:

• You started on active duty before September 8, 1980, you served at least 90 days on active duty, and at least one of those days was during an eligible wartime period
• You started on active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, served at least 24 months or the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty (with some exceptions), with at least one day during an eligible wartime period, or
• You were an officer and started on active duty after October 16, 1981, and you had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months.

It’s a good idea to speak with somebody knowledgeable about VA Pensions who can help you apply for benefits (also called “filing a claim”), especially if you aren’t sure you’ll qualify. After you apply, the VA will decide if you qualify and let you know. If you are denied benefits, you can appeal the VA’s decision.

How the VA Counts Your Net Worth

To get a VA pension, your total net worth must be less than the federal limit. Currently, the VA Pension Net Worth Limit is $155,356.

Your net worth includes your and your spouse’s assets and annual income. However, not everything is counted, and some expenses may be deducted from your total net worth.

How the VA Counts Your Assets

For the VA, your countable assets include:

• The fair market value of any land and buildings you own, and
• Your personal property, like furniture or boats, or any investments you have, like stocks and bonds.

However, when looking at your assets, the VA does not include:

• Your home where you live all or most of the time (your primary residence)
• Your car, or
• Basic home items, like appliances, that you wouldn’t take with you if you moved to a new house.

Learn more about how the VA defines assets.

How the VA Counts Your Income

When the VA counts your income, it includes:

• Anything you earn from working (salary, hourly pay, bonuses, commissions, overtime, tips)
• Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits
  • Note: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are not included as countable income
• Disability and retirement payments
• Investment payments
• Any income your dependent(s) receives
• Net income from farming or business

Then the VA deducts certain types of expenses, which it calls applicable deductible expenses, from your income. These can include:

• Educational expenses
• Medical expenses that you are not reimbursed for

Learn more about how the VA counts your income and which expenses can be deducted from your countable income.

Calculating Your Net Worth

Once the VA determines your countable assets and your countable income, they add the two together to get your countable net worth. If that is below the VA Pension Net Worth Limit of $155,356, then you are eligible for VA Pension Benefits.

Survivors Pension

A VA Survivors pension (sometimes called a death or widow's pension) gives monthly payments to qualified surviving spouses or dependent children of wartime veterans if their income and net worth are less than the federal limits.

Surviving Spouse

To qualify for a VA Pension as a surviving spouse:

• You must have not remarried after the veteran’s death
• Your annual family income and net worth must be less than the federal limit
• The deceased veteran did not receive a dishonorable discharge, and
• At least one of these must be true:
  • The veteran entered active duty on or before September 7, 1980, and served at least 90 days on active military service, with at least one day of that during an eligible wartime period
  • The veteran entered active duty after September 7, 1980, and served at least 24 months or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty (with some exceptions), with at least one day during an eligible wartime period, or
  • The veteran was an officer and started on active duty after October 16, 1981, and did not previously serve on active duty for at least 24 months.

Surviving Child

To qualify for a VA Pension as the child of a deceased wartime veteran, at least one of these must be true:

• You are under age 18
• You are under age 23 and attending a VA-approved school, or
• You are unable to care for yourself due to a disability that happened before age 18.

Generally, the VA calculates income, net worth, and benefits amounts for un-remarried surviving spouses or unmarried children the same way as they do for veterans who are getting a pension.