VA Benefits for Aging Veterans and Their Families
Plain-language guides for families arranging care for a veteran parent or a surviving spouse. Find out what the VA can pay for, what your state adds, and where to get free help with the paperwork.
- From WeFoundCare Editorial Team
- Updated
New to VA benefits?
Six guides that cover most of what families need first.
Start hereVA Benefits for Older Veterans: Where to StartWhich VA programs matter most once a parent needs help, and where to begin.
Paying for careVA Aid and Attendance: A Family Guide to Eligibility and ApplyingWho can get this pension add-on and how families apply for it.
Paying for careVA Wartime Pension: Eligibility, Limits and ApplyingThe income-based pension for wartime veterans, explained step by step.
VA careWhat Long-Term Care the VA Covers and Who Is EligibleNursing home, home and community care the VA can provide or pay for.
Memory and dementiaVA Benefits for Veterans With Dementia or Alzheimer'sVA care and payments families can use after a dementia diagnosis.
SurvivorsVA Benefits for Surviving Spouses and FamiliesWhat a surviving spouse may be able to claim, and how.
Find VA benefits in your state
State veterans homes, property tax relief and free local help, gathered for each state.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Aid and Attendance, pension and income rules
Monthly VA payments that can help cover assisted living, memory care, home care or a nursing home.
- VA Aid and Attendance: A Family Guide to Eligibility and Applying
- Using Aid and Attendance to Pay for Assisted Living
- Using Aid and Attendance to Pay for Memory Care
- Using Aid and Attendance to Pay for Care at Home
- Using Aid and Attendance Toward Nursing Home Costs
- VA Wartime Pension: Eligibility, Limits and Applying
- VA Housebound Benefits: Who Qualifies and What It Adds
- Aid and Attendance or Housebound: Which VA Add-On Fits?
- VA Pension Net Worth Limit and the 3-Year Look-Back
- How Care Costs Lower Countable Income for VA Pension
- Special Monthly Compensation for Aid and Attendance: How It Differs From Pension A&A
- Avoiding Pension Poaching: Finding an Accredited VA Representative
VA long-term care and health care
Nursing home, home-based and community programs the VA runs or pays for, and how VA care fits with Medicare and Medicaid.
- VA Benefits for Older Veterans: Where to Start
- What Long-Term Care the VA Covers and Who Is Eligible
- VA Nursing Home Options: CLCs, Community Nursing Homes and State Homes
- State Veterans Homes Explained: Eligibility, Costs and Waitlists
- Discharge From a State Veterans Home: Resident Rights and Appeals
- VA Home Care Services for Aging Veterans
- VA Home Based Primary Care: Doctor Visits at Home for Frail Veterans
- VA Adult Day Health Care for Veterans
- VA Medical Foster Homes: A Family-Style Alternative to a Nursing Home
- Veteran-Directed Care: Hiring Your Own In-Home Help Through the VA
- VA Hospice Care: What Is Covered and Where
- VA Palliative Care for Serious Illness
- VA Long-Term Care Copays: What Families Pay and How It Is Figured
- VA Community Care: Seeing Non-VA Providers
- VA Benefits for Veterans With Dementia or Alzheimer's
- Enrolling in VA Health Care: Priority Groups Explained
- VA Health Care and Medicare: How They Fit Together
- Using VA Benefits Alongside Medicaid
- Who Gets VA Dental Care?
- VA Hearing Aids and Eye Care for Older Veterans
- VA Prescription Benefits and Copays
- VA Telehealth for Older Veterans
- VA Travel Reimbursement for Medical Appointments
Caregiver support and the VA stipend
Training, respite and, for some families, a monthly stipend for the person providing care.
- VA Caregiver Support Program: Services for Family Caregivers
- The VA Caregiver Stipend (PCAFC): Eligibility and How Pay Is Set
- VA Caregiver Stipend When a Veteran Has Dementia
- How the VA Caregiver Stipend Interacts With SSI, Medicaid, Pension and Taxes
- VA Caregiver Program Reassessments: What Could Reduce or End Support
- Challenging a VA Caregiver Program (PCAFC) Decision
- VA Respite Care: Time Off for Family Caregivers
Ratings, claims and appeals
How service-connected ratings work later in life, and how to file, raise or appeal one.
- VA Disability Compensation Explained for Older Veterans
- What a 100% VA Disability Rating Pays and Opens Up
- TDIU After 65: Eligibility, Retirement and Keeping the Benefit
- Asking the VA for a Higher Rating When a Condition Worsens
- Helping an Older Parent File a VA Disability Claim
- Can Dementia Be Service-Connected? VA Ratings for Memory Loss
- Agent Orange and the PACT Act: Presumptive Conditions and Filing
- VA Intent to File: Protecting Your Effective Date
- VA Claim Denied? Your Three Review Options
- Military Retired Pay Plus VA Disability: CRDP and CRSC Explained
- Using the VA Benefit Summary Letter to Prove Eligibility for State Benefits
- When the VA Appoints a Fiduciary: What Families Should Know
- VA Grants to Adapt a Home for a Disabled Veteran
Property tax and state benefits by rating
What states offer disabled veterans and their spouses, from tax relief to fee waivers.
- State Perks for Disabled Veterans by Rating, TDIU and P&T Status
- Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemptions in Every State
- Do TDIU and P&T Ratings Count for Property Tax Relief? State Rules
- Property Tax Exemptions Surviving Spouses of Disabled Veterans Can Keep
- Keeping a Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption After a Move to a Nursing Home
- Getting Property Tax Back After a Retroactive VA Rating
Survivors, burial and life insurance
Benefits for a surviving spouse, burial help, and VA life insurance claims.
- VA Benefits for Surviving Spouses and Families
- Survivors Pension for Low-Income Veteran Spouses
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) for Survivors
- CHAMPVA Health Coverage for Spouses and Survivors
- VA Burial Benefits and What Survivors Can Claim
- Burial Help for Veterans: State and County Allowances Compared
- State or National Veterans Cemetery? Costs, Eligibility and Differences
- VA Life Insurance Options for Veterans Over 65
- Should an Older Veteran Buy VALife? Weighing Cost Against the Waiting Period
- Claiming a Veteran's VA Life Insurance After a Death: Step by Step
- Checking or Updating Who Gets a Veteran's VA Life Insurance
Compare care for a veteran parent
VA benefits help pay for care. Our directory helps you find it, with state-licensed listings from public records.
Families also ask
Short answers to the questions we hear most.
Not directly in most cases. The VA usually does not pay an assisted living or memory care community itself, but pension with Aid and Attendance is paid to the veteran or surviving spouse and can be used toward those costs. We cover both in our upcoming guides to assisted living and memory care.
No. The needs-based pension, including Aid and Attendance, is for wartime veterans and survivors with limited income and assets. It does not require a service-connected rating.
Often, yes. Depending on the situation, a surviving spouse may qualify for survivors pension, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or CHAMPVA. Our survivors guide explains the options.
You don’t need to. Accredited Veterans Service Organizations and county veteran service officers help for free. Be careful with anyone who charges to file a first pension claim. Our guide to pension poaching explains the warning signs.
How we write about VA benefits
We write from VA rules, federal regulations and official state sources, and every guide lists its sources. We show a dollar figure only when we can cite where it comes from and when it applies. We don’t accept payment to feature or rank communities. Our editorial standards
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. WeFoundCare is not a VA-accredited representative. Free help with VA claims is available from accredited Veterans Service Organizations and county veteran service officers.