If you are a Pennsylvania veteran who needs help with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, or eating, VA Aid and Attendance can add hundreds of dollars a month to your VA pension. With Aid and Attendance, the maximum pension in 2026 is $34,488 a year for a veteran with a spouse, about $2,874 a month; for a veteran alone it is $29,093 a year, about $2,424 a month. It's one of the most underused VA benefits, and many Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania, including from the state's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and your County Director of Veterans Affairs.

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 rate is the maximum pension payable rather than an amount added to the basic rate.

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, are a patient in a nursing home because of a loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability, or have severely limited eyesight (5/200 or less in both eyes, or a visual field contracted to 5 degrees or less).

This guide covers that pension route. VA also uses the same Aid and Attendance examination form, VA Form 21-2680, to apply for the benefit added to monthly compensation, so a veteran who receives disability compensation rather than pension is not shut out.

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 Pennsylvania 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, without a dishonorable discharge. The service test depends on when the veteran started active duty, and at least one of three branches has to be true. If they started before September 8, 1980, they must have served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period. If they started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, they generally must have served at least 24 months, or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, again with at least one day during wartime. If they were an officer who started on active duty after October 16, 1981, they must not have previously served on active duty for at least 24 months. The veteran also must not have received a dishonorable discharge. Recognized wartime periods include World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War era, and the Gulf War, which the VA counts from August 2, 1990 through a future date to be set by law or presidential proclamation, so it covers post-9/11 service.

2. Age, disability, nursing home, or SSDI/SSI. Only one of four things has to be true: 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. These branches are independent, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI meets this test without any 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. VA's net worth calculation counts your and your dependents' assets plus your annual income, so comparing savings alone against the limit gives you the wrong answer. Your primary residence, your car, and basic home items like appliances you wouldn't take with you if you moved don't count.

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.

2026 Aid and Attendance Rates in Pennsylvania

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 VA Aid and Attendance in Pennsylvania pays exactly what it pays in any other state. The VA publishes each one as a Maximum Annual Pension Rate, and the monthly payment is that yearly award divided by 12.

Category Maximum Annual Rate Monthly Equivalent
Veteran, no dependents $29,093 About $2,424
Veteran with spouse $34,488 About $2,874
Two veterans married to each other (both A&A) $46,143 About $3,845
Surviving spouse $18,697 About $1,558
Veteran, no dependents (basic pension) $17,441 About $1,453
Each additional dependent +$2,984 About +$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 your and your dependents' assets (savings, investments, and property other than your home) with your annual income.

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

What doesn't count: your primary residence, your car, and basic home items like appliances you wouldn't take with you if you moved. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit, which matters for the many Pennsylvania families whose main asset is a long-held home.

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 VA lookback is separate from Pennsylvania Medicaid's own five-year lookback, and the two sets of rules don't line up, so a move that helps with one can hurt the other.

How to Apply for VA Aid and Attendance in Pennsylvania

These steps describe the pension route, the one VA states as "You may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension."

1
Step 1

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

A claimant still collecting records can 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 protects your place in line while you assemble the rest.

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. VA uses this same form for Aid and Attendance "that will be added to your monthly compensation or pension benefits," so it serves a compensation claim as well as a pension one.

3
Step 3

Complete the pension application, on the pension route

A wartime veteran who is not already receiving VA pension also files a pension claim on VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension), which covers service history, income, net worth, and medical conditions. If you receive VA disability compensation rather than pension, that form is not yours to file: 21P-527EZ is the wartime, means-tested pension application, and Form 21-2680 is what covers Aid and Attendance added to compensation.

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 your County Director of Veterans Affairs can also file for you. 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 stretches a claim out. 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 Pennsylvania: DMVA and County Directors of Veterans Affairs

You don't have to file this claim alone, and you should never pay to file an initial VA claim. As of January 2026, DMVA reported more than 200 accredited veterans service officers across Pennsylvania, all available to assist veterans for free.

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA)

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, known as DMVA, calls itself the commonwealth's number one advocate for its nearly 700,000 veterans; the VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics put the count at 667,099 for 2024, down from 697,655 in 2023. DMVA connects veterans and families to earned state and federal benefits and recommends visiting your county director of veterans affairs for hands-on claim help. In figures the department reported in November 2025, accredited veteran service officers supported by DMVA distributed compensation and pension benefits to an average of 192,000 veterans a month, totaling nearly $1.4 billion for the year. You can reach DMVA's toll-free line at 800-547-2838.

DMVA also runs six Pennsylvania state veterans homes: the Delaware Valley Veterans' Home in Philadelphia, the Gino J. Merli Veterans' Center in Scranton, the Hollidaysburg Veterans' Home near Altoona, the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Erie, the Southeastern Veterans' Center in Spring City, and the Southwestern Veterans' Center near Pittsburgh. DMVA defines four levels of care across the homes (domiciliary care, memory care, personal care, and nursing care), and the levels available differ by home. 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 Directors of Veterans Affairs

DMVA recommends that veterans visit their local county director of veterans affairs, often located at the county courthouse. These directors are accredited veterans service officers, and they give veterans and their dependents direct assistance to identify benefits, determine eligibility, and prepare applications for county, state, and federal veterans benefits, including the non-service-connected disability pension that Aid and Attendance is paid through. They never charge veterans for that assistance, and DMVA is blunt that you should never pay for help applying for the benefits you earned. Help is also available through DMVA itself and several veteran service organizations, and the VA states that the services an accredited VSO representative provides on your VA benefit claims are always free.

Pennsylvania Programs That Stack on Top of A&A

Pennsylvania runs its own veteran programs that can sit alongside a federal A&A award:

Our guide to Pennsylvania's disabled veteran property tax exemption walks through the qualifying criteria, the surviving-spouse rules, and how to file with your county.

Eligibility and dollar limits for these state programs change, so confirm current criteria with your County Director of Veterans Affairs or DMVA before counting on them.

How VA Aid and Attendance Works with Pennsylvania Medical Assistance

Aid and Attendance and Pennsylvania Medical Assistance, the state's Medicaid program, are administered by different agencies under different applications and different rules, and a veteran or surviving spouse can receive both at the same time. What trips families up is that Medical Assistance handles VA pension income in two separate steps, and the Aid and Attendance increase is treated differently at each.

  • At initial eligibility, the Aid and Attendance increase generally isn't counted. Pennsylvania applies SSI income methodologies to aged, blind, and disabled applicants (42 CFR 435.601), and under SSI methodology VA aid and attendance and housebound allowances are not income (SSA POMS SI 00830.308). So it is the basic VA pension amount, not the Aid and Attendance increase, that counts toward the income limit.
  • At the share-of-cost step, it does count. Once someone is already eligible and living in a medical institution or intermediate care facility, such as a Medicaid-covered nursing home, income that was disregarded in determining eligibility must be considered (42 CFR 435.725). The Aid and Attendance amount then counts toward what the resident owes the facility, but not all of it reaches the facility: the state must deduct incurred medical expenses that no third party pays before anything goes to the home, and it may be required to protect other amounts as well. Those are deductions the agency has to make, not benefits a family applies for, so ask DHS what comes off in your case rather than assuming only medical bills do. Someone receiving home and community-based waiver services through Community HealthChoices is in a different position, because that section is written for residents of medical institutions and intermediate care facilities, so ask DHS which post-eligibility rule governs a waiver case.
  • For the VA, care costs cut the other way. Unreimbursed medical and care expenses can be deducted from countable income for the VA pension, which can raise the benefit amount.
  • Timing matters. Because the two programs count income and assets differently, VA pension income can affect Medical Assistance eligibility or a person's share of long-term-care cost, so the order in which you apply can matter. Confirm with DHS how a VA pension will be counted in your own case, and talk to a VA-accredited representative or an elder law attorney before you file.

For the bigger picture of how Medical Assistance pays for care, see our guide to Pennsylvania Medicaid and our funding map for paying for senior care in Pennsylvania.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

The maximum pension with Aid and Attendance depends on your situation. A veteran alone gets up to $29,093 a year, a veteran with a spouse up to $34,488, and a surviving spouse up to $18,697, paid monthly at about $2,424, $2,874, and $1,558. These are federal rates, identical in Pennsylvania. Your actual payment is reduced by your countable income, and out-of-pocket medical expenses can lower that income and raise your benefit.

Can I receive Aid and Attendance and Pennsylvania Medical Assistance at the same time?

Yes. A veteran or surviving spouse can receive both at the same time. How the VA money counts depends on the step. At initial Medical Assistance eligibility, Pennsylvania applies SSI methodology, under which the Aid and Attendance allowance is not income, so only the basic pension counts toward the income limit. At the share-of-cost step, once someone is already eligible and living in a Medicaid-covered nursing home, that income does count toward what they owe the facility, though the state must first deduct incurred medical expenses that no third party pays and may have to protect other amounts too. A Community HealthChoices waiver participant should ask DHS which post-eligibility rule applies, because 42 CFR 435.725 is written for residents of medical institutions and intermediate care facilities. Confirm with DHS how your VA pension will be counted, and talk to a VA-accredited representative or an elder law attorney before you file.

Where can I get free help applying in Pennsylvania?

Contact your county director of veterans affairs, often located at the county courthouse, or the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs at 800-547-2838. These accredited veterans service officers help prepare benefit applications and never charge veterans for that assistance. You should never pay to file an initial claim.

How long does it take to get approved?

Asked how long a decision takes, VA answers, "It depends." It works through 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

MedicareMedicare Plans and Coverage in PennsylvaniaMedicare in Pennsylvania for 2026: Part A, Part B, Medicare Advantage, Part D and Medigap, plus PACE/PACENET and programs that help pay your costs. MedicaidPennsylvania Medicaid: The Brevy Pillar GuidePennsylvania Medical Assistance for seniors: 2026 income and two-tier asset limits, a daily penalty divisor, probate-only estate recovery, and how to apply. FinancialHow to Pay for Senior Care in PennsylvaniaThe seven funding pathways Pennsylvania families use to pay for senior care in 2026: Medicaid via Community HealthChoices, VA pension, LTCI, and more. Care TypesNursing Homes in PennsylvaniaWhat Pennsylvania nursing homes cost in 2026, how PA Medicaid pays through Community HealthChoices, and the spousal and estate-recovery rules families need. CaregiverYour Complete Guide to Being a Family Caregiver in PennsylvaniaRoughly 1.5 million Pennsylvanians care for an aging or disabled loved one unpaid. This 2026 guide maps how to get paid, find respite, and who to call first.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Pennsylvania 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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