A wartime veteran with a spouse in West Virginia who needs daily help bathing, dressing, or eating can draw a VA pension of up to $34,488 a year in 2026. That ceiling comes from VA Aid and Attendance, which raises the maximum pension the VA will pay when a veteran needs regular help with everyday tasks. The pension itself is paid monthly.

This guide walks through who qualifies, how much you can receive, how to apply, and where to get help filing in West Virginia, including from the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance and its accredited veteran 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. Qualifying for it lifts the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR), the ceiling Congress sets on your whole pension, from $17,441 to $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents.

You may qualify if you need another person's help with daily activities such as these, which the VA weighs when it rates the need for care:

  • Bathing or keeping yourself clean
  • Dressing and undressing
  • Feeding yourself
  • Using the toilet
  • Adjusting prosthetic devices
  • Protecting yourself from everyday hazards

You can also qualify if you have to stay in bed, or spend a large part of the day in bed, because of illness; if you're a nursing-home patient because of lost mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or if your eyesight is limited, even with glasses or contacts, to 5/200 or less in both eyes or a visual field of 5 degrees or less.

The increase is paid as part of your monthly VA pension payment.

Not sure whether your parent qualifies for Aid and Attendance? Check with Brevy's care navigator at brevy.com.

Do You Qualify?

The VA's baseline condition is that the veteran did not receive a dishonorable discharge. On top of that, you have to meet all four of these requirements.

1. Wartime service. What matters here is when the veteran started active duty, not which war they served in. The VA lists three paths. A veteran who started active duty before September 8, 1980 needs at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a recognized wartime period. A veteran who started active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980 needs at least 24 months (with some exceptions), or the full period they were called or ordered to active duty, with at least one day during wartime. And a veteran who started active duty as an officer after October 16, 1981 qualifies on this path only if they had not previously served on active duty for at least 24 months, again with at least one day during wartime. Recognized wartime periods include World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War era, and the Gulf War, which began August 2, 1990 and runs through a future date still to be set by law or presidential proclamation.

2. Age, disability, or benefit status. The VA gives four alternatives here, and meeting any one of them satisfies the test: being at least 65 years old; having a permanent and total disability; being a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability; or getting Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. A wartime veteran under 65 who receives SSI, for instance, meets this requirement without any adjudicated disability rating.

3. Need for assistance. The veteran or surviving spouse must need another person's help with daily activities, have to stay in bed because of illness, be a nursing-home patient because of disability-related loss of abilities, or have limited eyesight as described above.

4. Net worth under $163,699. This is the 2026 limit. The VA's net worth calculation combines the claimant's and their dependents' assets with their annual income, so comparing assets alone against $163,699 gives you the wrong answer. Your primary home and your vehicle are excluded.

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, with a ceiling of $18,697 a year in 2026.

2026 Aid and Attendance Rates

The Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) for your category is the maximum amount of pension payable, and the VA pays the difference between your income for VA purposes and that limit. The lower your countable income, the closer your pension comes to the ceiling. These rates are federal, so they're the same in West Virginia as anywhere else.

One note on the table below: the VA publishes these rates as annual amounts. Your monthly payment is worked out from them by a set rule in federal regulation: your rate minus your countable income, divided by 12, and rounded down to the whole dollar.

Category Maximum Annual Rate
Veteran, no dependents $29,093
Veteran with spouse $34,488
Two veterans married to each other (both A&A) $46,143
Surviving spouse $18,697
Veteran, no dependents (Housebound) $21,313
Veteran, no dependents (basic pension) $17,441
Each additional dependent +$2,984

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, which VA then divides by 12 to set the monthly payment. Unreimbursed medical expenses can lower your countable income, which raises your benefit, but only the part above 5% of your rate counts, a threshold of $1,141 for a veteran with one dependent and $872 for a veteran with none.

The Net Worth Limit and 3-Year Lookback

The 2026 net worth limit is $163,699. This combines the assets of the claimant and their dependents (savings, investments, and property other than the primary home) with their annual income, so it is not an assets-only test.

What counts: the fair market value of what you and your spouse own, such as bank accounts, investments, and property other than your home, less any mortgage on that property, plus your annual income after deductible expenses such as unreimbursed medical costs.

What doesn't count: your primary residence and its lot, your car, and basic home items like appliances. The house you live in doesn't push you over the limit.

The 3-Year Lookback Rule

The VA reviews any assets you transferred for less than fair market value in the 36 months (three years) before it receives your claim. If you gave away or sold assets below market value and keeping them would have put you over the net worth limit, the VA will assess a penalty period of up to five years during which you won't receive pension benefits. Buying an annuity, funding a trust, or another investment that lowers your net worth counts as a transfer too, unless you can cash out the whole balance for yourself, in which case it counts as net worth.

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.

How to Apply for VA Aid and Attendance in West Virginia

The steps below are the pension route, the one most West Virginia families are asking about: the VA's own condition is that you may be eligible for this benefit if you get a VA pension. That is not the only route, though. VA Form 21-2680 also covers Aid and Attendance that will be added to your monthly compensation benefits, so a veteran already receiving VA disability compensation rather than a pension uses that examination form without filing the wartime pension application in step 3.

1
Step 1

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

Submitting VA Form 21-0966 (Intent to File) first can secure the earliest possible effective date for any retroactive payments you may be eligible to receive, which protects you while you round up records.

2
Step 2

Get a medical examination

A medical examiner fills out the examination 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. If the veteran is a nursing-home patient, a nursing home official also completes VA Form 21-0779 to verify that stay.

3
Step 3

Complete the pension application, if you're taking the pension route

A wartime veteran who is not already receiving a VA pension also files a pension claim on VA Form 21P-527EZ (Application for Veterans Pension). A veteran whose Aid and Attendance would instead be added to monthly compensation does not file this form.

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 get help filing from an accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization representative. In West Virginia, a WVDVA Veterans Service Officer can also help you file.

5
Step 5

Wait for a decision

Asked how long a decision takes, the VA answers, "It depends." It processes claims in the order it receives them, unless a claim requires priority processing. Send a complete application with strong medical documentation, since an incomplete submission gives the VA more to ask you for.

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

Help Filing in West Virginia: WVDVA Veteran Service Officers

You don't have to file this claim alone, and you don't have to hire a paid consultant to do it. VA says the services an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative provides on your claims are always free, while an accredited attorney or claims agent can charge fees, but federal law bars an attorney or agent from charging for any work done before VA notifies you of its initial decision on the claim.

The West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance (WVDVA)

The West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance, known as the WVDVA, doesn't decide your VA claim itself, but it operates benefits offices throughout the state plus a claims office in Huntington, staffed by accredited Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) who advise veterans and their families on issues relating to veterans' benefits and assist with filing claims for benefits. Those VSOs can also represent a veteran to the Veterans Benefits Administration when the veteran disagrees with a decision made on a claim. WVDVA says its VSOs are accredited through several service organizations, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and that their services are absolutely free to the veteran. For a VA pension, the WVDVA tells veterans to contact a VSO at their local benefits office, and it notes that veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits, which are paid in addition to the basic pension rates. Two points on that wording: the same page says one may only have one of the two allowances, and the Aid and Attendance rate is a higher pension ceiling that replaces the basic rate rather than a second payment on top of it.

West Virginia's State Veterans Facilities

The WVDVA also runs the West Virginia Veterans Home in Barboursville and the West Virginia Veterans Nursing Facility in Clarksburg, and it's worth knowing the difference because they serve very different needs.

  • The West Virginia Veterans Home in Barboursville is a 125-bed home for veterans who are ambulatory and independent in all activities of daily living. The WVDVA says it is not a skilled care or treatment facility and cannot accommodate veterans who need constant daily care or hands-on assistance, though its nursing department, staffed around the clock, provides first aid, preventive care, and help with medication. Long-term residents in its Domiciliary Program pay a monthly maintenance fee equal to half their total monthly income. Its Project-214 Program gives veterans experiencing homelessness a temporary residence with full access to the home's services for 60 days at no cost, while WVDVA social work staff and VA Homeless Services help them find long-term housing.
  • The West Virginia Veterans Nursing Facility in Clarksburg, which opened in 2008, is a 120-bed nursing facility with nurses available around the clock, a physician on call, and a breezeway to the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. It includes a 20-bed unit reserved for residents who need specialized care because of Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

For a veteran who needs daily help, the Clarksburg facility is the one to look at: the Barboursville home takes only veterans who are independent in all activities of daily living.

West Virginia's Veteran Population

The VA's National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics puts West Virginia's veteran population at 117,968 for 2025 in its FY2025 West Virginia state summary, down from 120,914 for 2024 and 123,919 for 2023, and 48.3% of the state's veterans are 65 or older. These are modelled estimates; the Census Bureau's own survey puts the number lower. With that many veterans, it's worth contacting a veteran service officer early rather than waiting until a care crisis forces the issue.

A word of caution: be wary of anyone who wants a fee to file a first VA claim. An accredited attorney or claims agent can't charge for work done before VA's initial decision, and an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative's help is always free.

How VA Aid and Attendance Works with West Virginia Medicaid

Aid and Attendance and West Virginia Medicaid are run separately, by different agencies and under different rules. West Virginia administers Medicaid, including long-term-care Medicaid, through the Department of Human Services and its Bureau for Medical Services. A veteran can qualify for and receive both at the same time, but the two count money differently.,

  • A&A income doesn't automatically disqualify you from West Virginia Medicaid. At the eligibility step West Virginia applies SSI income rules, and under those rules the Aid and Attendance allowance is not counted as income, so only the basic pension counts toward the income limit. How that lands for your household depends on its other income and expenses, including unreimbursed medical expenses. That treatment doesn't automatically carry over once a nursing-facility resident is on Medicaid. Federal rules say income disregarded at eligibility must be considered when Medicaid works out what the resident pays toward the cost of care, so the A&A amount can raise that share, though a state's own rules can exempt it.
  • VA and Medicaid use different math. VA pays the difference between your income for VA purposes and the pension ceiling, and only unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of that ceiling come off your income. Medicaid applies its own income and asset tests, which vary by state.
  • A nursing-home stay on Medicaid can reduce the A&A amount. Under federal law (38 U.S.C. 5503), a veteran with no spouse or child, or a surviving spouse with no child, whose nursing-facility care is covered by Medicaid may be paid no more than $90 per month in VA pension for any month after the month of admission. VA's regulation (38 CFR 3.551(i)) instead starts the cap after the month Medicaid payments begin, so if you were admitted as a private payer, check which date VA applied to your award. If you already get VA disability compensation or DIC, the $90 pension replaces it rather than adding to it. Where the cap applies, the facility cannot count that $90 toward the cost of care, so the resident keeps the full $90 for personal expenses. In West Virginia the $90 then serves as the personal needs allowance in place of the state's standard $50 deduction, rather than being added to it. The cap doesn't reach every facility. 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(1)(B) defines a nursing facility as one described in section 1919 of the Social Security Act, "other than a facility that is a State home with respect to which the Secretary makes per diem payments for nursing home care pursuant to section 1741(a) of this title", and 38 CFR 3.551(i) restates the cap without repeating that definition, so a Medicaid-covered stay at the West Virginia Veterans Nursing Facility in Clarksburg should be checked against the statutory definition rather than assumed to fall under the cap. A resident the cap doesn't reach takes West Virginia's $50 standard allowance instead of the $90 one. For a State veterans home that VA pays a per diem, a separate federal Medicaid rule applies to a veteran with no spouse or child, or a surviving spouse with no child: pension above $90 a month, including any Aid and Attendance amount, is counted as income only to apply that excess to the home's cost of the veteran's nursing care.
  • Timing matters. The order and timing of your two applications matter, because how VA income lands depends on the Medicaid program, your household's medical expenses, and the state's determination. Confirm with West Virginia's Bureau for Medical Services and an accredited veteran service officer before you rely on any single rule.,

For the bigger picture of how to protect assets and plan for long-term care, start with our guide to Medicaid planning strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does VA Aid and Attendance pay in West Virginia in 2026?

The ceiling depends on your situation. For a veteran alone the maximum is $29,093 a year; for a veteran with a spouse it is $34,488 a year; and for a surviving spouse it is $18,697 a year. These are annual ceilings: the VA subtracts your countable income, divides the rest by 12, and rounds down to the whole dollar to set your monthly payment. These are federal rates, identical in West Virginia. Unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of your rate can lower your countable income and raise your benefit.

Where can I get help applying in West Virginia?

Contact the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance, which operates benefits offices throughout the state plus a claims office in Huntington. Its accredited Veterans Service Officers advise veterans and their families on benefits questions and assist with filing claims, and they can represent you to the Veterans Benefits Administration if you disagree with a decision on a claim. WVDVA says the services of its VSOs are absolutely free to the veteran. VA says an accredited Veterans Service Organization representative's help on a claim is always free, and federal law bars an accredited attorney or claims agent from charging for work done before VA's initial decision.

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

Yes, a veteran can receive both. West Virginia applies SSI income rules at the eligibility step, so the Aid and Attendance allowance itself is not counted as income there, and only the basic pension counts toward the income limit. Note that a veteran with no spouse or child, or a surviving spouse with no child, whose nursing-facility care is covered by Medicaid may be paid no more than $90 a month in VA pension for any month after the month of admission, and that $90 is kept for personal expenses rather than counted toward the cost of care. The statutory definition of a nursing facility excludes a State home for which the VA makes per diem payments for nursing home care, so a stay at West Virginia's state veterans nursing facility in Clarksburg should be checked against that definition rather than assumed to fall under the cap. Talk to a benefits counselor before applying, because the order and timing of your applications matter.

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 requires priority processing. Give yourself the best shot at a clean review: have the medical examiner be detailed on VA Form 21-2680 and submit all supporting documents at once.

Learn More

MedicaidMedicaid Planning StrategiesSee which assets you keep, how the 5-year look-back works, and the legal moves that qualify you for Medicaid long-term care without losing the house. Care TypesAssisted Living in West VirginiaAssisted living in West Virginia runs about $6,340 a month. How OHFLAC licenses Assisted Living Residences, what it costs, and why Medicaid won't pay the rent. Care TypesNursing Homes in West VirginiaNursing homes in West Virginia in 2026: a semi-private room runs about $154,030/year, well above the national median. Costs, who pays, and how to vet one. Care TypesMemory Care in West VirginiaWest Virginia regulates memory care through a disclosure law: any Alzheimer's special care unit must put its approach and costs in writing. What to check. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in West VirginiaWhat senior care costs in West Virginia in 2026: assisted living about $6,340 a month, a nursing home over $154,000 a year. See every setting and how to pay. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in West VirginiaAssisted living vs. a nursing home in West Virginia turns on care level and who pays: about $6,340/month private-pay vs. about $154,030/year for nursing care.
Your next step Find personalized help applying for VA Aid and Attendance in West Virginia 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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