VA Aid and Attendance is a monthly benefit that can help a wartime veteran or surviving spouse pay for memory care in Virginia, where a secured dementia setting often costs more than most families expect. It is added on top of the basic VA pension for people who need help with daily activities or are housebound.

If you are arranging dementia care for a veteran parent, this guide walks through what the benefit pays in 2026, why a dementia diagnosis so often meets the rules, and how the cost of care itself can help your parent qualify. The help to apply is free, and we will show you where to find it.

In This Guide

Key Takeaways

  • Aid and Attendance pays up to $2,424 a month for a veteran with no dependents in 2026, $2,874 with one dependent, and $1,558 for a surviving spouse.
  • Memory care in Virginia is delivered in a secured "safe, secure environment" within an assisted living facility, and it generally costs more than standard assisted living, which runs about $6,513 a month.
  • A dementia diagnosis often meets the benefit's care requirement, because it can leave a person unable to recognize daily hazards or protect their own safety.
  • The cost of memory care can lower your countable income, so a veteran whose income looks too high can still qualify once those care costs are deducted.
  • Free, accredited help to apply is available from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services — you should never have to pay to file a claim.

How Much Memory Care Costs in Virginia

In Virginia, memory care for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is provided inside a "safe, secure environment" — a locked or secured special care setting that operates within a licensed assisted living facility under Virginia Department of Social Services regulations. A resident can be admitted to that secured setting only after an independent licensed clinical psychologist or physician has assessed the resident as having a serious cognitive impairment due to a primary diagnosis of dementia, with an inability to recognize danger or protect their own safety, and after written approval for the placement is obtained.

These secured settings and their specialized staffing typically push memory care above the standard assisted-living rate. As an anchor, assisted living in Virginia runs about $6,513 a month, or roughly $78,150 a year, according to the Genworth/CareScout 2024 Cost of Care Survey. Northern Virginia tends to run higher than rural parts of the state, and these are industry-survey medians rather than government figures. For comparison, a semi-private nursing home room in Virginia runs about $8,669 a month and a private room about $9,825 a month.

How Aid and Attendance Helps Pay for Memory Care

Aid and Attendance is an increased monthly amount added to the basic VA pension for wartime-era veterans, or their surviving spouses, who have limited income and need help with daily activities or are housebound. The money is paid directly to the veteran or spouse and can be applied to memory care costs. Here are the 2026 monthly maximums, effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026:

Who is receiving the benefit 2026 maximum (monthly)
Veteran, no dependents $2,424
Veteran with one dependent $2,874
Surviving spouse $1,558

These are maximums. VA pension is needs-based, so the VA pays the difference between your countable income and the applicable maximum annual pension rate — which is why lowering your countable income (covered below) matters so much.

Why Veterans With Dementia Often Qualify

To receive Aid and Attendance, a veteran must need help with daily activities — such as bathing, dressing, feeding themselves, or protecting themselves from hazards — or be bedridden, be a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, or have very limited eyesight. Dementia frequently meets this standard. In Virginia, admission to a secured memory care setting itself requires an independent clinician to find that the resident cannot recognize danger or protect their own safety — closely tracking the VA's "protection from daily hazards" criterion.

In practice, that means the same dementia that makes a secured memory care placement necessary is often the same condition that supports an Aid and Attendance claim. The need still has to be documented by a doctor, which we cover in the application section.

How Memory Care Costs Lower Your Countable Income

Because the pension is keyed to countable income, you can reduce that income by deducting continuing, unreimbursed medical expenses (UMEs). The cost of care in an assisted living or residential facility counts as a deductible medical expense when the facility provides health care or custodial care and the veteran either qualifies for Aid and Attendance or has a written statement from a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist that they need that care or must reside in a protected environment due to a cognitive disorder. A secured memory care placement fits squarely within that rule.

There is a floor: only the portion of UMEs that exceeds 5% of the applicable maximum annual pension rate is deductible. For 2026 that annual threshold is $872 for a veteran with no dependents and $1,141 for a veteran with one dependent.

Here is how that works in practice. Say a veteran's mother is in a Virginia memory care community and the family is paying around the assisted-living anchor of $6,513 a month — about $78,150 a year — though a secured dementia setting typically costs more. After setting aside the first $872 (the 5% floor for a veteran with no dependents), nearly all of that yearly cost can be deducted from countable income. The upshot: a veteran whose income looked too high on paper can still qualify once large, recurring care costs are deducted, because those costs can substantially reduce — or zero out — countable income.

Who Qualifies

Beyond needing aid and attendance, a veteran must meet three more tests:

  • Wartime service. At least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period (WWII, Korea, Vietnam, or the Gulf War/post-9/11 era). Gulf War service requires 24 months of continuous active duty or the full period called to active duty.
  • Age or disability. Age 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled.
  • Net worth. Net worth under $163,699 for 2026, which counts assets and annual income but excludes the primary home, vehicles, and basic household items.

The VA also applies a 3-year (36-month) look-back: it reviews any assets transferred for less than fair market value in the three years before filing, and a transfer can trigger a penalty period of up to five years. Surviving spouses are subject to the same $163,699 net worth limit and the same look-back.

How Aid and Attendance Works with Virginia Medicaid

Many families need both VA benefits and Medicaid, and the two programs use different income rules, so coordination matters. VA pension, including the Aid and Attendance increase, generally counts as income when a senior applies for Medicaid long-term care. But because much of the Aid and Attendance amount is often effectively attributable to medical costs, that medical-expense portion can frequently be offset or deducted so that not all of the VA pension counts against Medicaid's much lower income limits. The precise treatment depends on the Medicaid pathway and is determined case by case.

In Virginia, Medicaid is called Cardinal Care and is administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). It provides long-term services and supports — including nursing-facility care and home- and community-based waiver services such as the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus waiver — and DMAS applies special income and resource rules to applicants seeking long-term services and supports. A veteran receiving Aid and Attendance who also needs Medicaid long-term care should have the income and unreimbursed-medical-expense treatment reviewed for their specific situation, ideally with a DVS benefits representative and DMAS.

How to Apply and Get Free Help

There are two main forms. First, VA Form 21-2680 (Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance), completed with a doctor's examination documenting the need for assistance. Second, if the veteran is not already receiving a VA pension, VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension). Forms can be submitted online at va.gov, mailed, or filed through an accredited representative, and claims often take three to six months or longer to process.

You should not have to pay to file. The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) provides free benefits claims assistance through a statewide network of benefit service offices — reported to number around 38 across the Commonwealth. DVS Veterans Service Representatives are trained and accredited to help veterans and their families identify, apply for, and file claims for VA Pension and the Aid and Attendance enhanced pension, all at no charge. DVS encourages veterans to work with a representative before filing rather than self-filing or paying a third party. You can find your nearest office through the DVS Benefits & Services website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a dementia diagnosis automatically qualify a veteran for Aid and Attendance?

Not automatically, but it often does in practice. Aid and Attendance requires a documented need for help with daily activities or protection from hazards, and dementia frequently meets that standard — especially when a veteran already needs a secured memory care setting because they cannot recognize danger or protect their own safety. A doctor still has to document the need on VA Form 21-2680.

Can the cost of memory care help my parent qualify even if their income seems too high?

Yes. The pension is needs-based, and continuing, unreimbursed care costs can be deducted from countable income. Only the amount above 5% of the applicable maximum annual pension rate is deductible — $872 a year for a veteran with no dependents — but memory care costs are large enough that they can substantially reduce or zero out countable income.

How much does Aid and Attendance pay in 2026?

In 2026, the monthly maximum is $2,424 for a veteran with no dependents, $2,874 for a veteran with one dependent, and $1,558 for a surviving spouse. These are maximums; the VA pays the difference between your countable income and the applicable rate.

Can a veteran get both Aid and Attendance and Virginia Medicaid?

Often, yes, but the programs use different income rules. VA pension generally counts as income for Medicaid long-term care, though the medical-expense portion can frequently be offset so that not all of it counts against Medicaid's lower limits — the treatment depends on the pathway and is decided case by case. Have your situation reviewed with a DVS representative and DMAS.

Next Steps

Start by gathering your veteran's discharge papers and a clear picture of monthly memory care costs, then book a doctor's visit to complete VA Form 21-2680. Before you file anything, contact the Virginia Department of Veterans Services for free, accredited help — it costs nothing and a representative can confirm eligibility and prepare the claim.

Compare Care Settings in Virginia

Aid and Attendance can help pay for any care setting. See how it works for the others:

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.

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Brevy Care Team

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