New Jersey VA Aid & Attendance: 2026 Rates & How to Apply

New Jersey VA Aid and Attendance can add up to $2,424 a month to a wartime veteran's income in 2026, and the help to apply for it is free. It's money many veteran families paying for daily care never claim.

Aid and Attendance is an enhancement to the VA pension, not a separate program. It pays more each month to a veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with everyday activities like bathing, dressing, or eating, or who is housebound. This guide covers the 2026 rates, who qualifies, the net-worth limit, how to apply, and where to get free, accredited help in New Jersey, because no one should ever charge you to file.

In This Guide

• What Aid and Attendance is
• Whether you qualify
• The 2026 rates
• The net-worth limit and lookback
• How to apply
• What to do if you're denied
• Free help in New Jersey
• How it works with New Jersey Medicaid

What Is Aid and Attendance?

Aid and Attendance isn't a standalone benefit you apply for on its own. It's an increase added to the VA pension for veterans, or to the Survivors Pension for surviving spouses, when the person needs another person's help with everyday activities or is largely confined to home. Because it raises the monthly pension, it can meaningfully offset the cost of in-home care, assisted living, or a nursing home.

Do You Qualify?

There are three pieces, and you need all of them.2

• Service: the veteran served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period (an honorable or general discharge).
• Clinical need: you need help from another person with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, or eating, or you need care to protect yourself from everyday hazards, or you're housebound. A physician documents this.
• Financial: your countable income, after subtracting unreimbursed medical and care expenses, is within the pension limits, and your net worth is under the limit below.

For many families paying privately for care, those care costs are deductible against income, which is what brings a seemingly over-income applicant within reach.

The 2026 Aid and Attendance Rates

These are the maximum annual pension amounts with Aid and Attendance for the period December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026, shown as monthly figures.1

The pension pays the difference between your countable income and the maximum, so a veteran with little countable income receives close to the full amount.

The Net Worth Limit and 3-Year Lookback

For 2026, the VA net-worth limit is $163,699, which combines countable assets and annual income.1 Your primary home, vehicles, and basic household items don't count. The VA also applies a 3-year lookback: assets you gave away for less than fair value in the three years before applying can create a penalty period. This is a different rule from Medicaid's five-year lookback, so don't assume they work the same way.

How to Apply for VA Aid and Attendance

You apply for the pension with Aid and Attendance through the VA. A county Veterans Service Officer (see the next section) can walk through all of this with you for free, but here is what the process involves.

What to Do If Your Claim Is Denied

If the VA denies your claim or grants less than you expected, you have three decision review options, and you generally have one year from the date on the decision letter to act.5

• Supplemental Claim: submit new and relevant evidence the VA didn't have when it reviewed your case before.
• Higher-Level Review: ask a more senior reviewer to look at the same evidence (you can't add new evidence with this option).
• Board Appeal: appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals and have a Veterans Law Judge review your case.

A county Veterans Service Officer or another VA-accredited representative can prepare and file the review for you at no charge.5

Free Help in New Jersey: County Veterans Service Officers

The New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs operates a County Veterans Service Office in every one of the state's 21 counties, staffed by trained, VA-accredited Veterans Service Officers. They will help you gather documents, prepare the claim, file it, and track it, all at no charge.3 The statewide line is 1-844-671-1019.

Be careful of anyone who offers to file your Aid and Attendance claim for a fee or who ties the benefit to buying a financial product. Accredited representatives and county Veterans Service Officers cannot charge to prepare a claim, and the free help is as good as or better than the paid kind.

How Aid and Attendance Works with New Jersey Medicaid

Aid and Attendance and Medicaid are separate programs with separate rules, and many families use them at different stages. A&A can help cover assisted living or in-home care while a veteran's assets are above the Medicaid limit; later, if care needs and costs grow, New Jersey Medicaid and its Managed Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) program may take over. The income counted by each program is figured differently, so it's worth talking through the timing with a county Veterans Service Officer or an elder-law attorney before you make moves with assets.

Learn More

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.