If a wartime veteran in Vermont needs regular help with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, or eating, VA Aid and Attendance can bring their pension up to $34,488 a year ($2,874 a month) in 2026. It's one of the most underused VA benefits, and many Vermont 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 Vermont, including from the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs and its accredited veterans service officers.

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 figure is the ceiling on the pension, with the basic rate already inside it rather than added to it. This guide covers that pension route, the one the VA describes when it says 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" benefits, so a veteran who receives VA disability compensation rather than a pension is on a different route from the pension steps below.

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 award arrives as cash in the monthly pension check, so Vermont families commonly put it toward in-home care, assisted living, or nursing home costs.

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. The length of service the VA requires turns on when active duty started, not on which war the veteran served in.

  • Started active duty before September 8, 1980: at least 90 days of active duty, with at least one day during a wartime period.
  • Started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980: generally at least 24 months, or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, with at least one day during wartime.
  • Started active duty as an officer after October 16, 1981, without having previously served on active duty for at least 24 months.

Recognized wartime periods include World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War era, and the Gulf War, which runs from August 2, 1990 through a future date to be set by law or presidential proclamation.

2. Discharge, age, or disability. The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and at least one of these four must be true: at least 65 years old; a permanent and total disability; a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. Any one of the four satisfies this test on its own, so a wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI qualifies here without any permanent and total 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. It counts your assets and income together with your dependents', as the VA figures them. Your primary residence, your car, and basic home items 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, worth up to $18,697 a year 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. These rates are federal, so they're the same in Vermont as anywhere else.

Category Maximum Annual Rate Monthly (annual / 12)
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

The VA publishes these figures as maximum annual pension rates. The monthly column is the annual amount divided by 12, which is how the VA itself works out a monthly payment.

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. Unreimbursed medical expenses can lower your countable income, which raises the payment, but only the portion above 5% of your MAPR counts. The VA puts it this way: you may deduct only the amount that is above 5% of your MAPR, which is $872 for a veteran with no spouse or child.

The Net Worth Limit and 3-Year Lookback

The 2026 net worth limit is $163,699. This combines your assets (savings, investments, and property other than your home) with your income, and it counts your dependents' assets and income too.

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. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit, which matters for the many Vermont 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 Vermont

These are the steps on the pension route, which is the path for a wartime veteran seeking Aid and Attendance as part of a VA pension. It takes two forms and a medical exam.

1
Step 1

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

Submit VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first. The VA says submitting an intent to file can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive, and the form covers disability, Veterans pension, survivors pension, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation claims.

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

A wartime veteran on 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. It is the wartime, means-tested pension claim, so it isn't the form for a veteran seeking Aid and Attendance added to VA disability compensation.

4
Step 4

Submit everything

You can file online at va.gov, mail the forms to the VA Pension Intake Center, file in person at a VA regional office, or work through an accredited representative such as a Vermont veterans service officer. Filing online lets you save your progress and track the claim.

5
Step 5

Wait for a decision

Asked how long a decision takes, the VA answers, "It depends." It works through claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim qualifies for priority processing. A complete application with strong medical documentation gives the VA less to come back for; 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 Vermont: The Office of Veterans Affairs and the Vermont Veterans' Home

You don't have to file this claim alone. The Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs advises veterans not to apply by themselves, and an accredited VSO representative's services on a VA benefit claim are always free.

The Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs

The Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs runs a Veteran Service Officer (VSO) program for veterans applying for federal VA benefits. It advises that veterans applying for Disability Compensation or Improved Pension from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should not do this by themselves: its certified service officers will complete the application and make sure the VA has all the information needed to process it, which increases the chances of success and helps prevent delays. An accredited VSO representative's services on a VA benefit claim are always free, though an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge fees. To speak with a Veteran Service Officer, call 802-828-1082. The office is at 118 State Street in Montpelier; its main line is (802) 828-3379 and its toll-free number, for Vermont only, is (888) 666-9844.

Because Vermont is a small state, you may not have a county-level office like veterans in larger states do, so the state Office of Veterans Affairs is the central place to start. The VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics counted 37,445 veterans living in Vermont in fiscal year 2024, out of 17,921,245 nationwide. Reaching out early, rather than waiting until a care crisis forces the issue, gives the office time to build a strong claim.

The Vermont Veterans' Home

Vermont also operates a home for veterans. The Vermont Veterans' Home in Bennington is a residential and healthcare campus serving veterans, their spouses, and Gold Star parents. It is a licensed healthcare facility whose services include short-term and long-term care, post-operative wound care, intravenous medications, physical, speech, and occupational therapy, and a certified dementia unit, with nursing care supervised by a registered nurse twenty-four hours a day, year-round. The National Association of State Veterans Homes lists its capacity as 130 nursing care beds and 8 domiciliary beds. Eligible veterans are those who served at least ninety days in the Armed Forces of the United States and were discharged under honorable conditions; spouses of qualified veterans and Gold Star parents are also eligible for admission, and Vermont veterans have priority. The Home accepts private payment, Medicare, and Vermont Medicaid (other insurers may require special arrangements), and the VA will cover the stay of a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 70% or higher. For a veteran weighing nursing care, an A&A award can help cover costs whether they stay at home or move into the Home.

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 the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs or a Veterans Service Organization like the VFW, American Legion, or DAV.

How VA Aid and Attendance Works with Vermont Medicaid

Aid and Attendance and Vermont Medicaid are run separately, by different agencies and under different rules. Vermont's long-term care Medicaid is administered by the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) through Green Mountain Care, primarily under the Choices for Care program. A veteran can potentially 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 Vermont Medicaid. At the eligibility step, a state applies SSI income methodology to aged, blind, and disabled applicants, and under SSI rules a VA aid-and-attendance or housebound allowance is not income, so generally only the basic pension amount, not the A&A increase, counts toward the Medicaid income limit. States that use eligibility criteria more restrictive than SSI may count it, so the state's own rule governs there. Separately, for VA purposes, unreimbursed medical expenses can be deducted from countable income, but only the part above 5% of your MAPR.
  • The two programs cover different things. A&A can pay for costs Vermont 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.
  • VA pension income affects your Medicaid share of cost, but Vermont deducts before it bills you. At the post-eligibility step, income that was disregarded in determining eligibility must be counted back in. Vermont then applies its own list of "Allowable deductions from patient-share" at rule § 24.04: "When determining the actual patient share payable by an individual, the following are deducted from the individual's gross income," and that list includes "a standard personal needs deduction (PNA)" for an individual receiving Medicaid long-term care in an institutional setting, plus "VA payments for aid and attendance paid to a veteran residing in a nursing facility or to the veteran's surviving spouse residing in a nursing facility." So for a Vermont nursing-facility resident, the Aid and Attendance payment is deducted at the patient-share step rather than counted toward what is owed the facility, and DVHA owes the personal needs deduction on top of whatever incurred medical expenses it deducts. Vermont has not published a PNA figure in this rule, so ask DVHA for the deductions and amounts that apply to your case before you budget. Ask specifically about a home and community-based setting such as Choices for Care: § 24.04 writes the Aid and Attendance deduction for nursing-facility residents, so that setting is DVHA's to confirm. Separately, 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, and that reduced pension is treated as an aid and attendance allowance rather than income, so it is not applied to the cost of care. Whether that $90 comes in addition to Vermont's personal needs deduction or instead of it is governed by Vermont's own post-eligibility rules: never assume the two stack, and never add them together. Confirm with DVHA.
  • Timing matters. Because VA pension income factors into Vermont Medicaid, the order in which you apply can affect eligibility for one or both. Because the precise treatment varies by situation, confirm how DVHA will treat the benefit before you file, ideally with an accredited Vermont veterans service officer or DVHA itself.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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

The maximum 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. The VA sets these as maximum annual pension rates and pays one-twelfth of the award each month. These are federal rates, identical in Vermont. Your actual payment is reduced by your countable income, and unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of your MAPR can be deducted from that income.

Where can I get free help applying in Vermont?

Contact the Vermont Office of Veterans Affairs. To speak with a Veteran Service Officer, call 802-828-1082; the office's main line is (802) 828-3379 and its toll-free number, for Vermont only, is (888) 666-9844. Its certified service officers complete the application and make sure the VA has all the information it needs, and an accredited VSO representative's services on a VA benefit claim are always free.

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

Potentially, yes. At the eligibility step, generally only the basic VA pension counts toward the Medicaid income limit, because under SSI income methodology a VA aid-and-attendance allowance is not income; the Aid and Attendance amount is counted back in once you are eligible, in the share-of-cost calculation, and DVHA must then take the deductions Vermont's patient-share rule requires, including a standard personal needs deduction for someone in an institutional setting and, for a nursing-facility resident, the Aid and Attendance payment itself. Ask DVHA which of those deductions apply to your setting, since Choices for Care at home is a separate question. The programs can also complement each other, with A&A covering costs Medicaid doesn't, like assisted living room and board. Because the precise treatment varies, talk to an accredited veterans service officer or the Department of Vermont Health Access before applying, since timing can affect eligibility.

How long does it take to get approved?

The VA's own answer is "It depends." It works through claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim qualifies for 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.

Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in Vermont 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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