In 2026, an Arkansas wartime veteran with a spouse who needs daily help with bathing or dressing can receive a VA pension of up to $2,874 a month through VA Aid and Attendance. That works out to a ceiling of $34,488 a year on the whole pension. It's one of the most underused VA benefits, and many Arkansas 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 Arkansas, including from the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and your county veterans service officer.

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. Qualifying for it raises the Maximum Annual Pension Rate the VA uses to calculate your pension, so the rates below are ceilings on the whole pension, not a separate check on top of a basic one.

This guide covers the pension route, which is the one most Arkansas families ask about. VA describes Aid and Attendance as a benefit "that will be added to your monthly compensation or pension benefits," so a veteran who receives VA disability compensation rather than a pension can also pursue it.

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).

The money is paid to you in cash and 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 Arkansas 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?

The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge. Beyond that baseline, you have to meet all four of these requirements.

1. Wartime service. How much service is required depends on when the veteran started active duty, not on which war they served in. VA lists three paths. 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, 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. A veteran who started active duty as an officer after October 16, 1981 and had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months follows a third path. Qualifying periods include World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War (which includes all post-9/11 service).

2. Age or disability, or a nursing home stay, or SSDI/SSI. VA lists four alternatives here, and meeting any one of them satisfies the test: the veteran is at least 65 years old; has a permanent and total disability; is a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or is getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. The nursing-home and SSDI/SSI branches stand on their own, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI qualifies 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. The calculation combines the claimant's and dependents' assets and income for VA purposes. Your primary residence, your car, and basic home items don't count as assets.

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. VA publishes the MAPRs as annual amounts, so the monthly figures below are the yearly award divided by 12. These rates are federal, so they're the same in Arkansas as anywhere else.

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
Veteran, no dependents (basic pension) $17,441 $1,453
Each additional dependent +$2,984 +$248

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 the claimant's and their dependents' assets (savings, investments, and property other than the home you live in) with their annual income, so comparing savings alone against the limit 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 as an asset: your primary residence, your car, and basic home items. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit, which matters for the many Arkansas 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 Arkansas

These steps are the pension route, the one VA describes for a veteran who gets (or is applying for) a VA pension. It takes a medical exam and a benefit application, and you can protect your filing date before either is ready.

1
Step 1

File an intent to file, if you're still gathering paperwork

Submit VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first. VA says submitting an intent to file "can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive," so it buys you time to collect records without losing months of back pay.

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. VA uses this form for Aid and Attendance "that will be added to your monthly compensation or pension benefits," so it applies on the compensation route as well as the pension route. Be thorough. The more detail about specific limitations, the stronger the claim.

3
Step 3

Complete the pension application

A wartime veteran going the pension route who is not already receiving VA pension submits VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension), the wartime, means-tested pension application. It covers your service history, income, net worth, and medical conditions. A veteran who receives VA disability compensation rather than a pension does not use this form; for them, Aid and Attendance is added to the monthly compensation instead.

4
Step 4

Submit everything

You can apply online at VA.gov, by mail to the VA Pension Intake Center, or in person at a VA regional office. An accredited attorney, accredited claims agent, or accredited Veterans Service Organization representative, such as your county veterans 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's answer is "It depends." It processes claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing. A complete application with strong medical documentation gives the VA less to follow up on. 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 Arkansas: ADVA and County Veterans Service Officers

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

The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA)

The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, known as ADVA, was formed in 1923 with a mission to connect Arkansas veterans and their eligible dependents to the state and federal benefits they earned, and it carries that mission on through a statewide network of district and county veterans service officers. Those officers are ADVA employees who must meet state employment qualifications and federal accreditation standards, including accreditation through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by way of a recognized veterans service organization. Their responsibilities include helping veterans and their families apply for federal and state benefits, managing claims for compensation and pensions, and representing veterans in appeals and hearings. VA says the services an accredited veterans service organization representative provides on a VA benefit claim are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent may charge fees.

ADVA also operates two state veterans homes: the Arkansas State Veterans Home at North Little Rock and the Arkansas State Veterans Home at Fayetteville. The services ADVA lists for the homes include RN, LPN, and CNA skilled care around the clock, an on-site medical director, hospice care, physical and occupational and speech therapy, daily activities coordinated by a certified activities director, and a licensed clinical social worker. Veterans, veterans' spouses, and Gold Star parents may apply; ADVA's criteria for admission are an honorable discharge and a medical need for nursing home placement. 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 one of these homes.

County Veterans Service Officers

A county veterans service officer can help you apply, manage the claim, and represent you in an appeal or a hearing, and VA says an accredited representative's services on a benefit claim are always free. These officers are accredited representatives, which is what lets them work directly with the VA on your behalf. District veterans service officers sit behind them; their primary job is to provide direct support to the county officers. Because they handle pension and Aid and Attendance claims regularly, they know what evidence the VA looks for and how to document a strong case.

You can find your nearest county veterans service officer through ADVA's service-officer directory. Reaching out early, before a care crisis forces the issue, gives the officer time to gather records and file a complete claim the first time.

Arkansas's Veteran Population

The VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics counts 199,871 veterans in Arkansas in its FY2024 state summary, down from 201,272 in FY2023 and 207,308 in FY2022, with 92,949 of them (46.5 percent) age 65 and over, above the national share of 45.6 percent. Other releases give different totals for different years, so it's worth naming the release and year alongside any figure. Many of them are older wartime veterans living on fixed incomes, exactly the group Aid and Attendance was built for, which is why it's worth checking eligibility even if you assume your income or savings might be too high.

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 your county veterans service officer, ADVA, or a Veterans Service Organization like the VFW, American Legion, or DAV.

How VA Aid and Attendance Works with Arkansas Medicaid

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

  • Arkansas Medicaid long-term care is administered by DHS. The Arkansas Department of Human Services, through its Division of Medical Services, runs Arkansas Medicaid and its long-term services and supports for seniors who need nursing home or home- and community-based care.
  • Arkansas is an income-cap state. For long-term-care Medicaid, applicants whose income is over the limit may still qualify by using a qualified income trust, also called a Miller trust. Confirm the current income limit with Arkansas DHS.
  • 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.
  • How VA pension is counted can vary. Under the general federal rule for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)-related Medicaid, the basic VA pension counts as income, while the Aid and Attendance and housebound portions paid to cover care are generally treated as unreimbursed medical expenses and excluded from countable income. That exclusion is a Medicaid rule rather than a VA one, and it applies only when Medicaid decides eligibility: once a veteran is eligible and living in a nursing facility or other medical institution, income that was disregarded at the eligibility step is counted again in the post-eligibility share-of-cost calculation, 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 the order the regulation sets: (1) a personal needs allowance, reasonable in amount, 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) amounts for 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. All five are deductions the agency must make, not allowances a family has to apply for, and only what remains after them reduces the state's payment to the facility. The spouse and family amounts are not flat sums: each rests on a reasonable assessment of need and is capped by a ceiling the regulation ties to Arkansas's own standards, so a spouse still living at home should have Arkansas DHS compute that maintenance allowance rather than assume the pension goes entirely to the nursing home. That section governs institutional care; 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 DHS work out their share of cost rather than assume the nursing-facility arithmetic. Because the exact treatment varies by state and by case, confirm how your specific benefit is counted with Arkansas DHS or an accredited veterans service officer before applying.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does VA Aid and Attendance pay in Arkansas 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 Arkansas. 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 Arkansas?

Contact your county veterans service officer or the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (ADVA). Their accredited staff prepare and submit VA claims for free. You should never pay to file an initial claim.

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

Yes. VA pension and Arkansas Medicaid are separate programs, and a veteran can receive both. The basic VA pension generally counts as income for Medicaid, while the Aid and Attendance portion paid for care is often excluded as an unreimbursed medical expense, though treatment varies by case. That exclusion applies when eligibility is decided; once the veteran is eligible and living in a nursing facility, the Aid and Attendance amount 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 regulation 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. Those are deductions Arkansas DHS is required to make rather than allowances a family has to request, and DHS computes the spouse and family amounts case by case. Home and community-based waiver services fall under a different federal rule with its own calculation. Because Arkansas is an income-cap state, confirm with Arkansas DHS or a veterans service officer before applying.

How long does it take to get approved?

VA's own answer is "It depends." It processes 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.

That house may be worth something on the tax side, too. Arkansas exempts a qualifying disabled veteran from payment of all state taxes on the homestead, on a track entirely separate from the VA pension you are applying for here, and our guide to the Arkansas disabled veteran property tax exemption covers who can claim it and how to file with your county collector.

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 ArkansasAssisted living in Arkansas runs about $4,562/month, among the most affordable nationally. Level I vs Level II licensing, costs, and where Medicaid helps. Care TypesNursing Homes in ArkansasNursing homes in Arkansas in 2026: a semi-private room runs about $89,425 a year. How to check a facility's record, what it costs, and how Medicaid pays. Care TypesMemory Care in ArkansasArkansas has no separate memory care license. It regulates dementia care through staff training and an Alzheimer's Special Care Unit disclosure statement. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in ArkansasWhat senior care costs in Arkansas in 2026: assisted living runs about $4,562 a month, a nursing home about $89,425 a year. See every setting and how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Homes in ArkansasAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Arkansas turns on level of care and who pays: about $4,562/month vs. roughly $89,425/year for a nursing home.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Arkansas 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.

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