Massachusetts Veteran Annuity: Who Gets $2,500 and How to Apply

If VA rates your father 100% disabled, or you lost a child or spouse to wartime or combat service, the Massachusetts veteran annuity may owe your family $2,500 every August.1 A veteran's Massachusetts annuity is payable only from the date of the application, so a family that thinks Dad might qualify gains nothing by waiting.1 New applications for that August payment must be received and approved by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services by June 30.2 Here's how to tell whether your family fits, what to send, and what to do when circumstances change.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Which Veterans Qualify for the Massachusetts Veteran Annuity
• What 100 Percent Means Here, and Where TDIU Fits
• Can Gold Star Parents and Spouses Get the Annuity?
• What to Gather Before You Apply
• How to Apply for the Massachusetts Veteran Annuity
• Keeping the Annuity Paid Year to Year
• When the Annuity Recipient Dies
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Which Veterans Qualify for the Massachusetts Veteran Annuity

The Massachusetts veteran annuity is run by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS), and its rules come from two places, the statute and EOVS's own checklist, that word the test a little differently. It helps to read both before deciding whether your family fits.

Section 6B of the state's veterans' benefits law names three groups of veterans. The first is a veteran who "has lost both legs or is otherwise determined to be 100 per cent disabled" by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs "as a result of enemy action or an accident certified by said Veterans' Administration to be service connected." The second is a veteran with service-connected blindness of both eyes at the vision levels the statute sets, recorded by VA. The third is a veteran with service-connected permanent paralysis of both legs and the lower body. Each of these veterans is paid the $2,500 Massachusetts annuity in one payment on August 1, and the blindness and paralysis annuities continue for as long as the condition exists.1

EOVS states its own eligibility test on its application page. A veteran applicant must:

• Have a 100% service-connected disability or be "compensated at 100%" from VA.
• Have been discharged under conditions not characterized as dishonorable.
• Be a Massachusetts resident at the time of application and remain one while receiving the annuity.
• Meet the statutory requirements of sections 6B and 6C.1

Notice that the statute ties the 100% route to "enemy action or an accident" certified as service connected, while EOVS's list speaks more broadly of a 100% service-connected disability. Neither source settles the other. If your father's 100% rating comes from a condition that wasn't an injury in combat or an accident, the practical move is to apply and let EOVS decide, or to ask a local Veterans' Service Officer (VSO) first.1

One more rule shapes the timing. The statute makes a veteran's annuity "due and payable from the date of the veteran's application."1 In plain terms, the clock starts when EOVS has your application, which is the best reason not to put this off while you gather paperwork for other benefits.

What 100 Percent Means Here, and Where TDIU Fits

If your veteran receives Individual Unemployability (TDIU), you may wonder whether that counts. It's a fair question, because TDIU pays a veteran at the 100% level without a 100% rating.3

Here's how TDIU works on the federal side. VA can pay a veteran whose schedular rating is less than total at the same level as a veteran rated 100% when service-connected disabilities keep them from holding a substantially gainful job. The usual thresholds are one service-connected disability rated 60% or more, or two or more disabilities with at least one at 40% or more and a combined rating of 70% or more. VA says that when a veteran is approved, the monthly payment changes but the disability rating itself stays the same.3 Our guide to TDIU covers the federal rules in depth.

That last detail is where the Massachusetts annuity gets unclear. EOVS's checklist accepts a veteran who is "compensated at 100%" from VA, which reads as reaching veterans paid at the 100% rate, and that is what TDIU pays.1 But EOVS's list doesn't spell out whether TDIU is included, and the statute's own phrase is "100 per cent disabled." We can't tell you the answer either way. If your veteran is on TDIU, ask EOVS or a VSO before assuming, and consider applying so EOVS makes the call on the actual record. For how other states treat TDIU, see state benefits by VA rating.

Can Gold Star Parents and Spouses Get the Annuity?

If you're reading this after losing a son, daughter or spouse in service, this section is written for you, and the paperwork is lighter than it may look. Section 6B also pays the parents and the surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed forces "whose death occurred as a result of injury sustained or disease contracted during active service in time of war or insurrection or combat." The Gold Star parent and spouse annuity is the same $2,500 a year, paid in one payment on August 1.1

That test is specific. It is about how and when the service member died, during active service in time of war, insurrection or combat. It is not the same as being the widow of a veteran who had a 100% rating and died years later at home. If that describes your mother, the section 6B spouse annuity turns on how the service member died, so it's worth checking with EOVS or a VSO about what else may apply, such as federal Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC).1

Two more rules matter for survivors:

• Retroactive first payment. Payments are due from the date of the parent's or spouse's application, but the first payment is retroactive to the applicant's initial date of eligibility if the service member or the applicant was a Massachusetts resident at the time of death, and the applicant is a resident when applying. The statute sets the initial date of eligibility as the later of the date of death or a floor date: July 1, 1998 for parents, and November 11, 2005 for a spouse.1
• Remarriage no longer ends it. The statute's earlier text limited the annuity to a surviving spouse who did not remarry. EOVS says that effective July 1, 2025, surviving spouses "can continue receiving annuity benefits even if they remarry."1

If you read an older town page or flyer that still says "unremarried spouse," it predates that change.

What to Gather Before You Apply

EOVS processes the annuity as a single packet, and it asks for everything at once. The packet's three forms are the Annuity Application, a Direct Deposit (EFT) form and a W-9 form.4

For a veteran, EOVS lists two supporting documents:

• DD Form 214 (Member 4 copy) showing character of service.
• VA Rating Decision showing 100% service-connected.4

Send the Rating Decision, not just a summary letter. VA.gov offers a downloadable Benefit Summary Letter, sometimes called an award letter, that some benefits use as proof of status, and you'll need an identity-verified VA.gov account to get it.5 EOVS's list names the VA Rating Decision instead, so that's the document to find. If you can't locate it, a VSO can help you request it.

For Gold Star parents and spouses, EOVS's supporting-document list adds:

• A death certificate or casualty report, if applicable.
• For a widow or widower, a marriage certificate and a VA DIC Rating Decision.1
• For a parent, a birth certificate of the service member who died.4

For any applicant, EOVS also suggests, but doesn't require, a voided check or a bank letter to go with the direct deposit form.4

How to Apply for the Massachusetts Veteran Annuity

EOVS says applying online is "the quickest and most secure way" to submit, and its online application runs through Adobe Sign. If that doesn't work for you, there are three other routes, and the same rule applies to all of them: "All forms and supporting documents must be submitted together for your application to be processed."4

Applying for a parent who can't complete the forms

If you're handling this for a mother or father who can't fill out or sign the packet, EOVS's application page and form don't say whether it accepts a power of attorney or a VA fiduciary's signature. Call the annuity line at 617-210-5480 before you submit and ask what EOVS needs from you. A local VSO can also sit down with you, walk through the application and help gather the documents, at no cost.4

Behind the scenes, section 6C has evidence of the service and disability go to the secretary of veterans' services, who examines it and certifies to the state comptroller. The commonwealth then pays the annuity, subject to appropriation, from the veterans' services fund.4

If your family is weighing other Massachusetts benefits at the same time, our guide to VA benefits you can use for senior care in Massachusetts explains what a VSO can help with beyond this one form.

Keeping the Annuity Paid Year to Year

Once the annuity starts, EOVS asks you to keep your file current. Its application instructions say recipients must notify EOVS of any address changes, banking changes, or updates to their VA benefits "by June 30th to ensure processing." If you've moved or changed banks, submit updated forms so the payment isn't interrupted.2

If the August payment doesn't arrive when you expect it, EOVS asks you to allow 7 business days from the expected payment date before checking on its status. Checks aren't handed out at EOVS offices, so call or email the annuity department instead.2

Residency matters too. EOVS's test asks veterans to remain Massachusetts residents while receiving the annuity, so a move out of state is something to raise with EOVS, not just a change of address.1

Does it count as income for other benefits?

Section 6B says that "an annuity payment made to a recipient pursuant to this section shall not constitute income in an application or formula utilized by the commonwealth or a political subdivision to determine eligibility for a program or service funded or provided by the commonwealth."1 The protection reaches state-funded and state-provided programs. The same section says the payment may count as income where not counting it would, under federal law, block eligibility or otherwise hurt the recipient's benefits, and in that case the commonwealth must seek a federal waiver.1 For a program with federal rules of its own, such as MassHealth or VA's needs-based Aid and Attendance, don't assume; ask the agency or a VSO how the annuity is counted in your case. Our Massachusetts Aid and Attendance guide covers that program.

When the Annuity Recipient Dies

If someone you love has just died, this is one of several calls your family will make in the first weeks, and it's a short one. EOVS's application instructions say "Family members must inform EOVS if the annuity recipient passes away," and that "the annuity is non-transferable."2 When you're ready, call the annuity line at 617-210-5480 or email VetsAnnuity@Mass.Gov, and have the recipient's name and date of death at hand.4

On spouses, the instructions add: "If a recipient’s spouse passes away, the surviving spouse must reapply on their own behalf."2 The only route section 6B writes for a surviving spouse is the Gold Star route above, which depends on how and when the service member died, so check that test before you apply.

Many surviving spouses will also want to look at federal survivor benefits. Our guide to DIC covers who qualifies and how VA pays it.

Learn More

Find personalized help applying for the Massachusetts veteran annuity, or finding a VSO near you, 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.