VA Aid and Attendance benefits and Housebound allowance

What is The Wartime Aid and Attendance Pension?

On March 4, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural address. He said in part: “With malice toward none, with charity for all…let us strive …to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow… Lincoln’s immortal words laid the foundation for our obligation as a country to care of our war-time Veterans and became the VA motto in 1959 Congress designed the Wartime A&A Pension to provide a monthly payment for eligible Veterans and Surviving Spouses to pay for the necessities of life to the extent that their income is consumed paying for medical care. This benefit has covered military service since 1916. Nearly 10 million Veterans and Surviving Spouses are eligible for the Wartime A&A Pension. Tragically, most don’t know about it, or have been unsuccessful in navigating the application process. Consequently, many end up choosing between getting care or buying food even though Congress created this benefit so they could have both.