VA Aid and Attendance can lift a Kansas wartime veteran's pension to as much as $2,874 a month ($34,488 a year) when they need regular help with everyday tasks like bathing or dressing. Yet many Kansas veterans and surviving spouses who qualify never apply, because they don't know the program exists. Aid and Attendance is a federal benefit, so the rates are the same in Kansas as anywhere else.

This guide walks through who qualifies, how much you can receive, how to apply, and where to get free help filing in Kansas, including from the Kansas Office of Veterans Services and its Veteran Service Representatives 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. 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.

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 Kansas families piecing together long-term care.

Do You Qualify?

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

1. Wartime service, with no dishonorable discharge. How much service is required depends on when the veteran started active duty, not on which war they served in. The 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 must not have previously served on active duty for at least 24 months. 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, disability, nursing-home care, or SSDI/SSI. The 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 receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. A wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI qualifies on that branch alone, with no adjudicated disability 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 VA's net worth calculation combines your and your dependents' assets with your annual income, so comparing assets alone against the limit gives you the wrong answer. Your primary home 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.

Surviving spouses qualify too. Filing a new benefit claim in the months after losing a spouse is hard, and it often falls to someone already worn down by grief and caregiving. 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, and a Veteran Service Representative can carry most of the paperwork for them.

2026 VA Aid and Attendance Rates in Kansas

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. The VA publishes the MAPR as a yearly figure; the monthly column below is that yearly amount divided by 12. These rates are federal, so they're the same in Kansas 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. The VA's calculation combines your and your dependents' assets (savings, investments, and property other than your home) with your annual income, and it excludes your primary home and a vehicle.

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 recognizes 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. That is a qualitative test rather than a count, so the rule sets no limit on the number of vehicles. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit, which matters for the many Kansas 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 Kansas

The steps below are the pension route: the VA's condition is that you may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension. VA Form 21-2680 also covers Aid and Attendance that will be added to your monthly compensation, so a veteran who receives VA disability compensation rather than pension uses that form without filing the wartime, means-tested pension application in step 3. Gathering forms and medical records during a care crisis isn't easy, and it's exactly the kind of legwork a Veteran Service Representative is there to take off your plate.

1
Step 1

File an Intent to File if you're still gathering information

Submitting VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive.

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 (pension route)

A wartime veteran pursuing the pension route who is not already receiving VA pension submits VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension), which covers service history, income, net worth, and medical conditions. A veteran whose Aid and Attendance would instead be added to monthly compensation does not file this pension application.

4
Step 4

Submit everything

You can file online at VA.gov, mail the forms to the VA Pension Intake Center, or file in person at a VA regional office; an accredited representative such as a Kansas Veteran Service Representative can also help you file. Filing online lets you save your progress and track the claim.

5
Step 5

Wait for a decision

How long a decision takes, in the VA's own words, "depends." It works claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing.

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 Kansas: KOVS and Veteran Service Representatives

You don't have to file this claim alone. Accredited help is available across Kansas at no charge, and the services an accredited VSO representative provides on a VA benefit claim are always free. Only accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge you at all, and only for representation provided after the VA has issued notice of its initial decision on the claim.

The Kansas Office of Veterans Services (KOVS)

The Kansas Office of Veterans Services, known as KOVS, is the state agency that connects veterans and their families to the federal, state, and local benefits they earned, including federal VA pension benefits like Aid and Attendance. KOVS was renamed from the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office effective July 1, 2024. It doesn't decide your VA claim itself (the federal VA does that), but its Veteran Services Program can assist with filing VA claims, including non-service-connected pension benefits. You can contact your local Veteran Service Representative or call the KOVS main line, (785) 296-3976.

KOVS also operates two state veterans homes. The Kansas Soldiers' Home in Fort Dodge provides restorative care, physical and occupational therapy, nursing, social services, and psychological services, with a modern nursing home, three domiciliary residence halls, a 26-bed special care unit for dementia, 54 cottages, and two further units KOVS lists without a bed count, as a "30 domiciliary unit" and a "30 long-term care unit". The Kansas Veterans' Home in Winfield, which opened in 2000 on 148 acres, has a 48-bed assisted living (domiciliary) neighborhood, a 77-bed long-term care neighborhood, and a 20-bed special care neighborhood for Alzheimer's and related dementia. Veterans applying for admission must have completed active federal service with a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable and must need 24-hour skilled nursing care documented by a physician; spouses, surviving spouses, and Gold Star parents may also qualify on a space-available basis. Kansas residency isn't required, though preference goes to Kansas residents. 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.

Veteran Service Representatives

This is where the state's help reaches you. KOVS makes Veteran Service Representatives (VSRs), whom it describes as trained and accredited, available to assist veterans at its field office locations across Kansas, and its remote claims assistance page states that all services are provided for no charge between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. A VSR can help you prepare and file your VA pension and Aid and Attendance claim and develop the evidence the VA needs, and claims counseling, development, and processing can also be completed from home by video conference or telephone. Some of this coverage is also delivered through grant-supported Veterans Service Organizations such as the American Legion and the VFW.

Kansas's Veteran Population

Kansas is home to a substantial veteran population. The VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics puts the state's veteran count at 177,701 for 2024, down from 182,120 in 2023 and 184,213 in 2022. With that many veterans, it's worth contacting a Veteran Service Representative 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. An accredited attorney or claims agent may charge fees, but only for work done after the VA has issued notice of its initial decision on the claim, so no one should charge you to prepare and file the initial pension application. The services an accredited VSO representative provides on a VA benefit claim are always free, so filing through KOVS, a Kansas Veteran Service Representative, or a Veterans Service Organization like the VFW, American Legion, or DAV costs you nothing.

How Aid and Attendance Works with Kansas Medicaid

Aid and Attendance and Kansas Medicaid, branded KanCare and administered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), are run separately, 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.

  • A&A income doesn't automatically disqualify you from KanCare. At the eligibility step, Kansas applies SSI income rules, under which the Aid and Attendance allowance is not counted as income at all, so only the basic pension counts toward KanCare's Medicaid income limit.
  • The two programs cover different things. A&A can pay for costs KanCare often doesn't, such as room and board in assisted living, while Medicaid may cover the care services themselves and long-term nursing care.
  • A nursing-home pension reduction can apply. Under federal law, a veteran or surviving spouse without a dependent spouse or child who is covered by a Medicaid plan for nursing-facility services may be paid no more than $90 a month in VA pension for any month after the month of admission. Under 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(3), "the amount of the payment paid a nursing facility pursuant to a Medicaid plan for services furnished a veteran may not be reduced by any amount of pension permitted to be paid such veteran under paragraph (2) of this subsection". The VA says the facility "can't count this monthly payment as income toward your cost of care" and that you "would keep the full $90 for personal expenses." The cap also has a setting boundary: 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(1)(B) excludes from the term nursing facility "a facility that is a State home with respect to which the Secretary makes per diem payments for nursing home care pursuant to section 1741(a) of this title". If a Kansas state veterans home is where care would happen, ask a KOVS Veteran Service Representative to have the stay checked against that definition rather than assuming the cap applies. Kansas separately exempts that reduced pension from its patient-liability calculation under KEESM 6410. That exemption is not a veteran-specific personal needs allowance, so don't treat the $90 as Kansas's personal needs allowance or add it to the state's protected standard.
  • Timing matters. Because the two programs assess the same money at different steps, the order in which you apply can affect eligibility for one or both. Confirm the specifics with a KOVS Veteran Service Representative and with KanCare/KDHE before you file.

For planning around assets and eligibility, see our guide to Medicaid planning strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Contact your local Veteran Service Representative, or call the Kansas Office of Veterans Services (KOVS) main line at (785) 296-3976. KOVS describes its VSRs as trained and accredited, and its remote claims assistance page states that all services are provided for no charge between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The services an accredited VSO representative provides on a VA claim are always free; only accredited attorneys and claims agents may charge you, and only for work after the VA has issued notice of its initial decision on the claim, so nobody should charge you to prepare and file the initial application.

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

Yes. A senior can receive both VA pension with Aid and Attendance and Kansas Medicaid (KanCare). At the eligibility step, Kansas applies SSI income rules, under which the Aid and Attendance allowance is not counted as income at all, so only the basic pension counts toward KanCare's Medicaid income limit. Confirm your own figures with a KOVS Veteran Service Representative and KanCare/KDHE before applying.

How long does it take to get approved?

The VA's own answer is "It depends." It works claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing. Submitting a complete claim is still worth the effort, so have the medical examiner be detailed on VA Form 21-2680 and send all supporting documents at once.

What if the VA denies my claim?

A denial isn't the end of the road. If the VA turns down your Aid and Attendance claim or grants less than you expected, you have three decision review options: a Supplemental Claim (submit new and relevant evidence the VA didn't have before), a Higher-Level Review (a higher-level reviewer re-examines the case to determine whether an error or a difference of opinion changes the decision, with no new evidence allowed), or an appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (a Veterans Law Judge reviews your case). For most VA benefits you have 1 year from the date on the decision letter to request a Higher-Level Review or a Board appeal; certain benefits have shorter time limits, and your decision letter states the deadline. A Supplemental Claim can be filed at any time, but only one filed within 1 year of the decision-letter date keeps your effective date. A Kansas Veteran Service Representative can prepare and file the review for you at no charge, and the VA benefits hotline is 800-827-1000 (TTY 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET.

That house may be worth something on the tax side, too. Kansas runs a property tax refund for disabled veterans on a track entirely separate from the VA pension you are applying for here, and our guide to the Kansas disabled veteran property tax exemption covers who qualifies and which form to file.

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 KansasAssisted living in Kansas runs about $5,975 a month, under the national median. How adult care home licensing works, what it costs, and where KanCare helps. Care TypesNursing Homes in KansasNursing homes in Kansas in 2026: a semi-private room runs about $104,025 a year. How to check a facility's record, what it costs, and how KanCare pays. Care TypesMemory Care in KansasKansas has no memory care license. Secure dementia care is a special-care section inside a licensed adult care home. See the rules, cost, and how to vet one. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in KansasCost of senior care in Kansas in 2026: a nursing home runs about $104,025 a year, assisted living $5,975 a month. See every setting and how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in KansasAssisted living vs. nursing home in Kansas: it comes down to level of care and who pays. Compare cost, what each provides, and how KanCare and Medicare fit.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Kansas 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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Brevy Care Team

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