In 2026, an Alaska wartime veteran who needs daily help with bathing or dressing can receive up to $2,874 a month through VA Aid and Attendance. That works out to $34,488 a year for a veteran with a spouse. It's one of the most underused VA benefits, and many Alaska veterans and surviving spouses who qualify never apply because they don't know it exists.

This guide walks through who qualifies, how much you can receive, how to apply, and where to get free help filing in Alaska, including from the Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs and the Veteran Service Officers it works with statewide.

In This Guide

What Is Aid and Attendance?

Aid and Attendance (A&A) is an enhanced VA pension benefit for wartime veterans and their surviving spouses who need help with everyday activities. It isn't a separate program. It's the same VA pension paid at a higher maximum rate when you need regular care, so the Aid and Attendance figures in this guide are what the pension itself can reach, not sums that sit on top of the basic rate. This guide covers that pension route. The same examination form, VA Form 21-2680, is also used to apply for Aid and Attendance that will be added to monthly VA compensation, so a veteran who receives disability compensation rather than pension should ask an accredited representative which route applies.

You may qualify if you need help with daily activities such as:

  • Bathing or showering
  • Dressing and undressing
  • Eating or preparing meals
  • Using the toilet
  • Adjusting prosthetic devices
  • Protecting yourself from everyday hazards

You can also qualify if you're bedridden, spend a large part of the day in bed because of illness, live in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, or have severely limited eyesight (5/200 or less in both eyes).

A&A is tax-free, and the money can go toward any purpose, including in-home care, assisted living, or nursing home costs. That flexibility is part of what makes it so useful for Alaska families piecing together long-term care.

Not sure whether your parent qualifies for Aid and Attendance? Check with Brevy's care navigator at brevy.com.

Do You Qualify?

To receive Aid and Attendance, you have to meet all four of these requirements.

1. Wartime service. At least one of three branches must be true. A veteran who started active duty before September 8, 1980 must have served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period. A veteran who started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980 generally needs at least 24 months of active duty, or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty (with some exceptions), again with at least one day during wartime. And a veteran who was an officer and started active duty after October 16, 1981, having not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months, falls under a third branch. Recognized wartime periods include World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War era, and the Gulf War, which began August 2, 1990 and runs through a future date to be set by law or presidential proclamation, so it covers post-9/11 service.

2. Discharge, age, or disability. The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and at least one of these four must be true: they're at least 65 years old; they have a permanent and total disability; they're a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or they're getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. These branches are independent, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSDI or SSI meets this test without any adjudicated permanent-and-total rating.

3. Need for assistance. The veteran or surviving spouse must need regular help with daily activities, be bedridden, be in a nursing home, or have severely limited eyesight as described above.

4. Net worth under $163,699. This is the 2026 limit. VA's net worth calculation includes your and your dependents' assets plus your annual income for VA purposes, combined. Your primary residence doesn't count, and VA recognizes one primary residence per claimant. Neither do personal effects suitable to and consistent with a reasonable mode of life, which the regulation illustrates as appliances and family transportation vehicles, so the test is what fits a reasonable mode of life rather than a count of vehicles.

Surviving spouses qualify too. If the veteran has passed away and the surviving spouse needs help with daily activities, they can apply for the Survivors Pension with Aid and Attendance, worth up to $1,558 a month in 2026.

2026 Aid and Attendance Rates

The VA calculates your payment as the difference between your countable income and the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) for your category. If your income is low enough, you receive the full amount. These rates are federal, so they're the same in Alaska as anywhere else. The VA publishes them as annual amounts; the monthly figure is simply the yearly award divided by 12.

Category Annual Rate Monthly Rate
Veteran, no dependents $29,093 $2,424
Veteran with spouse $34,488 $2,874
Two veterans married to each other (both A&A) $46,143 $3,845
Surviving spouse $18,697 $1,558
Veteran, no dependents (Housebound) $21,313 $1,776

Here's how the math works. If a veteran with a spouse has $12,000 in annual countable income and qualifies for A&A, the VA pays the difference: $34,488 minus $12,000 leaves $22,488 a year, or about $1,874 a month. Out-of-pocket medical expenses, including what you pay for care, reduce your countable income, which raises your benefit.

The Net Worth Limit and 3-Year Lookback

The 2026 net worth limit is $163,699. VA's calculation combines your and your dependents' assets (savings, investments, and property other than your home) with your annual income for VA purposes, so comparing your assets alone against $163,699 gives you the wrong answer.

What counts: bank accounts, stocks, bonds, investment property, IRAs, and other financial assets, plus your annual income.

What doesn't count: your primary residence, which VA counts as one per claimant, plus personal effects suitable to and consistent with a reasonable mode of life, which the regulation illustrates as appliances and family transportation vehicles. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit, which matters for the many Alaska veterans who own their homes outright but live on a modest fixed income.

The 3-Year Lookback Rule

The VA reviews any assets you transferred for less than fair market value in the three years before you file your claim. If you gave away or sold assets below market value to get under the net worth limit, the VA may impose a penalty period of up to five years during which you won't receive pension benefits.

This rule exists to stop people from simply giving away savings to qualify. If you're thinking about transferring assets, talk to a VA-accredited attorney or an elder law attorney first. The penalty can be steep, so it's worth getting advice before you move money.

How to Apply for VA Aid and Attendance in Alaska

These steps are the pension route, the one this guide covers: VA says you may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension. Form 21-2680 is also used for Aid and Attendance that will be added to monthly compensation, so a veteran who receives VA disability compensation rather than pension files it against that claim instead of filing the pension application below.

1
Step 1

File an intent to file if you're still gathering information

VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) starts the process while you collect records. VA says submitting an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive, and the form covers disability, Veterans pension, survivors pension, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation claims.

2
Step 2

Get a medical examination

A medical examiner fills out the examination information section of VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), documenting which daily activities you need help with and why. Be thorough. The more detail about specific limitations, the stronger the claim.

3
Step 3

Complete the pension application

A wartime veteran pursuing the pension route who isn't already receiving VA pension also submits VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension), which covers service history, income, net worth, and medical conditions. This is the means-tested wartime pension application, so a veteran seeking Aid and Attendance added to disability compensation rather than pension doesn't use it.

4
Step 4

Submit everything

You can file online at va.gov, mail the forms to the VA Pension Intake Center, or apply in person at a VA regional office; an accredited representative such as an Alaska veteran service officer can also help you file. Filing online lets you save your progress and track the claim.

5
Step 5

Wait for a decision

Asked how long a decision takes, VA answers, "It depends." It processes claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing. A complete application with strong medical documentation avoids the back-and-forth that adds time. Incomplete submissions are the most common reason for delays.

Documents to Gather First

  • DD-214 (discharge papers) showing wartime service dates
  • Medical records documenting the need for daily help
  • Income documentation (Social Security and pension statements)
  • Asset information (bank and investment statements)
  • Marriage certificate, if claiming as a veteran with a spouse
  • Death certificate, if applying as a surviving spouse

Free Help in Alaska: The Office of Veterans Affairs and Service Officers

You don't have to file this claim alone, and you should never pay to file an initial VA claim. Free help is available across Alaska.

The Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs

The Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs helps veterans file claims for education, medical, or other benefits. It doesn't decide your VA claim itself (the federal VA does that), but it works with Veteran Service Officers located statewide who provide benefit counseling and claim service free of charge, and who are trained to help veterans find the benefits they're entitled to and claim them. In Alaska, those service officers are provided through the four veteran service organizations the Office of Veterans Affairs works with.

The Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home

Alaska's state-operated veterans home is the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home in Palmer, which has 79 beds, of which 75 percent are designated for veterans. It's worth knowing exactly who runs it: the home is operated by the Division of Alaska Pioneer Homes, part of the state Department of Family and Community Services, not by the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. It is an Eden Alternative Registered Home, and it serves elders ranging from fully independent to those needing in-depth physical and memory care. To be admitted, an applicant generally must be 60 or older and have lived in Alaska continuously for at least one year before applying. For a veteran weighing assisted living or nursing care, an A&A award can help cover costs whether they stay at home or move into this home.

Alaska's Veteran Population

Alaska has one of the highest shares of veterans of any state: veterans made up 10.7 percent of Alaska's adult population as of September 30, 2019, roughly one in ten adults, against 6.8 percent nationally, according to the VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. With that many veterans spread across a large and often remote state, it's worth contacting a service officer early rather than waiting until a care crisis forces the issue.

A word of caution: be wary of companies that charge fees to help with VA claims. VA-accredited attorneys may charge for appeals, but the initial claim filing should be free through the Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs or one of the Veteran Service Officers it works with.

How VA Aid and Attendance Works with Alaska Medicaid

Aid and Attendance and Alaska Medicaid are run separately, by different agencies and under different rules. A veteran may be able to receive both at the same time, but the two count money differently, so a few points are worth understanding.

  • A&A income may not automatically disqualify you from Alaska Medicaid. For VA pension purposes, unreimbursed medical and care expenses above 5 percent of the applicable MAPR can be deducted from your countable income, so much of a veteran's care cost can offset income on the VA side.
  • The two programs cover different things. A&A can pay for costs Medicaid often doesn't, such as room and board in assisted living, while Medicaid may cover the care services themselves and long-term nursing care.
  • Alaska Medicaid long-term care is administered by the Department of Health. Long-term care for seniors runs through the state Department of Health (Division of Public Assistance, with service authorization by the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services) and is needs-based on income and assets.
  • The income treatment can vary by case. As a general federal rule, the Aid and Attendance allowance and the unreimbursed-medical-expense portion are generally not counted as income for the long-term care Medicaid pathway, but that exclusion applies at the eligibility step only. Once someone is eligible and living in a nursing facility or other medical institution under Alaska Medicaid, income that was disregarded in determining eligibility must be counted again in the post-eligibility share-of-cost calculation (42 CFR 435.725), so the Aid and Attendance amount does count at that stage. It does not all reach the facility, though. Before the state reduces its payment to the nursing home, 42 CFR 435.725(c) requires the agency to deduct five amounts from the resident's total income, in this order: (1) a personal needs allowance for clothing and other personal needs while in the institution; (2) for a resident with only a spouse at home, an amount for that spouse's maintenance needs; (3) for a resident with a family at home, an amount for the family's maintenance needs; (4) incurred expenses for medical or remedial care that no third party will pay; and (5) the full amount of any SSI and state supplementary payments the resident continues to receive. The regulation requires all five of the agency, so they are deductions owed rather than allowances a family has to apply for, and the share of cost is only what is left after them. The amounts are not fixed federally: the rule states a minimum for the personal needs allowance rather than the amount Alaska applies, and the spouse's amount rests on a reasonable assessment of need capped by a standard Alaska's own program uses, so have the Alaska Division of Public Assistance compute both for your case. That section covers people in medical institutions and intermediate care facilities; a person receiving home and community-based waiver services has a separate post-eligibility calculation under a different federal rule, so a waiver family should have the state work out their share of cost rather than assume the nursing-facility arithmetic. Because the exact treatment can vary, confirm with the Alaska Division of Public Assistance and an accredited service officer before you file.

For the bigger picture of how to protect assets and qualify for care coverage, start with our guide to Medicaid planning strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does VA Aid and Attendance pay in Alaska in 2026?

The maximum depends on your situation. A veteran alone gets up to $2,424 a month, a veteran with a spouse gets up to $2,874 a month, and a surviving spouse gets up to $1,558 a month. These are federal rates, identical in Alaska. Your actual payment is reduced by your countable income, and out-of-pocket medical expenses can lower that income and raise your benefit.

Where can I get free help applying in Alaska?

Contact the Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs, which works with Veteran Service Officers located statewide. These service officers, provided through the four veteran service organizations that office works with, give benefit counseling and claim service for free. You should never pay to file an initial claim.

Can I receive Aid and Attendance and Alaska Medicaid at the same time?

A veteran may be able to receive both. For VA purposes, unreimbursed medical expenses can be deducted from countable income, and the programs can complement each other, with A&A covering costs Medicaid doesn't, like assisted living room and board. Keep in mind that the A&A allowance is set aside only when Alaska decides whether you qualify; once you are eligible and living in a nursing facility, it counts in the post-eligibility share-of-cost calculation under 42 CFR 435.725. Not all of it reaches the facility: the agency must first deduct five amounts in the order the rule sets, beginning with a personal needs allowance, then a maintenance needs allowance for a spouse at home and one for a family at home, then incurred medical or remedial care expenses no third party will pay, and finally any SSI and state supplementary payments still being received. The rule requires those deductions of the state rather than leaving a family to ask for them, and Alaska sets the amounts, so have the Division of Public Assistance compute yours. Home and community-based waiver services fall under a different federal rule with its own calculation. Because the income treatment can vary by case, confirm with the Alaska Division of Public Assistance and an accredited service officer before applying.

How long does it take to get approved?

VA's own answer is "It depends." It works claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing. The most common cause of delay is an incomplete application, so have the medical examiner be detailed on VA Form 21-2680 and submit all supporting documents at once.

Learn More

MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house. Care TypesAssisted Living in AlaskaAssisted living in Alaska runs about $9,882 a month, the nation's second highest. What it costs, how the state licenses homes, and what Medicaid covers. Care TypesNursing Homes in AlaskaNursing homes in Alaska in 2026: a room runs about $333,975/year, the highest in the nation. What it costs, who pays, and how to vet a facility. Care TypesMemory Care in AlaskaAlaska issues no separate memory care license. Dementia care lives inside the assisted living home license, so families must vet each home themselves. Care TypesThe Cost of Senior Care in AlaskaWhat senior care costs in Alaska: a nursing home runs about $333,975 a year, the highest in the nation, and assisted living about $118,578. See how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in AlaskaAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Alaska turns on level of care and who pays: about $9,882/month private-pay vs. a nursing home near $333,975 a year.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Alaska at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

BC

Brevy Care Team

Expert eldercare guidance from Brevy's team of healthcare professionals and researchers.