1. VA IMPROVED PENSION WITH AID & ATTENDANCE
INFORMATION SEMINAR
PRESENTED BY NABORS LAW GROUP
AN ESTATE PLANNING FIRM THAT FOCUSES ON VA PENSION, MEDICAID PLANNING AND SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING

2. AGENDA
Introduction
Introduction to VA Benefits
Cost of Care
Qualifications for the VA Pension
Proposed New Rules for VA Pension
Status of the Proposed Rules
Case Studies

3. VA BENEFITS
VA COMPENSATION*
(Also known as Disability)
 Provides monthly payments to
Veterans that were injured during
service.
 Based on a disability rating provided
by the VA.
 Not tied to income or assets
VS.
VA PENSION*
(Also known as Aid & Attendance)
 Provides monthly payments to
Veterans and their widow(er)s over
65 or permanently disabled.
 Not based on an injury during wartime
service. Does NOT require a
disability rating.
 Tied to the Veteran or Widow(er)’s
Assets and Income.
*If a veteran qualifies for both VA Compensation and VA pension, they will receive
the higher of the two, not both.

4. VA PENSION BENEFITS (2015 AWARDS)
Widow
Basic Improved Pension
Housebound
Aid and Attendance
Single Veteran
Basic Improved Pension
Housebound
Aid and Attendance
Veteran with one Dependent
Basic Improved Pension
Housebound
Aid and Attendance
Monthly
$719.00
$879.00
$1,149.00
$1,072.00
$1,310.00
$1,789.00
$1,404.00
$1,642.00
$2,120.00
Annual
$8,629.00
$10,547.00
$13,794.00
$12,867.00
$15,724.00
$21,466.00
$16,851.00
$19,709.00
$25,447.00
5 Years *
$43,146.00
$52,737.00
$68,968.00
$64,335.00
$78,619.00
$107,329.00
$84,253.00
$98,547.00
$127,237.00
* Based on the 2015 award amount; not including cost of living adjustments.

5. At Home Care Independent Living Assisted Living
Average Cost $3,432.00* $2,750.00** $2,880.00*
Average Social Security
Benefit for 2015
$1,328.00 $1,328.00 $1,328.00
Average monthly
shortfall
-$2,104.00 -$1,422.00 -$1,552.00
COST OF CARE
VA Pension Widow A&A $1,149.00 $1,149.00 $1,149.00
*2015 Genworth Financial cost of care survey
**2012 Genworth Financial cost of care survey
New Monthly Average Shortfall $-955.00 $-273.00 $-403.00

6. VA WARTIME PENSION QUALIFICATIONS
VETERAN
VETERAN QUALIFICATIONS
 Served 90 consecutive days on
active military duty
 Received a discharge that was
other than dishonorable
 Served at least one day of active
duty during a War Period*
WARTIME QUALIFYING PERIODS
Word War II: 12/07/1941 through
12/31/1946 inclusive
Korean War: 06/27/1950 through
01/31/1955 inclusive
Vietnam War: “Feet on Ground” in
Vietnam from 02/28/1961 through
08/05/1964. Starting 08/06/1964
through 05/07/1975, you did not have
to physically be in country to qualify.
Persian Gulf War: 08/02/1990
through (TBD)

7. VA WARTIME PENSION QUALIFICATIONS
WIDOW(ER)
VETERAN QUALIFICATIONS
 Served 90 consecutive days on
active military duty
 Received a discharge that was
other than dishonorable
 Served at least one day of active
duty during a War Period*
WIDOW(ER) QUALIFICATIONS
 Veteran the widow(er) is claiming
benefits under must meet the
veteran criteria
 Married to veteran for at least 12
months or had a child with the
veteran
 Married to veteran at the time of
the veteran’s death
 Never remarried

8. VA PENSION ASSET AND INCOME REQUIREMENTS
Assets: property owned by a person or company, regarded as
having value and available to meet debts, commitments, or
legacies.
Examples: Home , Vehicles , Annuities, IRA, Checking,
Savings , Insurance, Funeral Plans ......etc.
The Veteran, Widow(er) or Couple can have no more than
$30,000.00 in countable assets(primary residence is excluded).

9. VA PENSION ASSET AND INCOME REQUIREMENTS
Income: money received, especially on a regular basis, for
work or through investments.
Examples: Social Security, Pensions, Dividends etc.....
The Veteran or Widow(er) must have monthly unreimbursed
medical expenses in excess of their monthly income.

10. EXAMPLE OF INCOME TEST FOR ASSISTED LIVING
Gerald is an 85 year old World War II Veteran with an Honorable Discharge living in an Assisted
Living Facility. To qualify for the VA Pension, Gerald’s monthly medical expenses, in this case
the Assisted Living facility costs must be greater than his monthly income.
Gerald’s monthly income = $1,328.00 social security
$ 728.00 railroad pension
Total $2,056.00
Gerald’s monthly medical expenses = $ 104.90 Medicare B
$ 136.70 Secondary Medical Insurance
$ 4,000.00 Assisted Living Fees
Total $ 4,241.60
Monthly Income – Monthly Medical Expenses= $2,056.00 - $4,241.60 = -$2,085.60

11. EXAMPLE OF INCOME TEST FOR AT HOME CARE
Gerald is an 85 year old World War II Veteran with an Honorable Discharge living at his
Daughter’s home and receiving at home care. To qualify for the VA Pension, Gerald’s monthly
medical expenses, in this case the home care costs must be greater than his monthly income.
Gerald’s monthly income = $1,328.00 social security
$ 728.00 railroad pension
Total $2,056.00
Gerald’s monthly medical expenses = $ 104.90 Medicare B
$ 136.70 Secondary Medical Insurance
$ 1,900.00 At Home Care Fees
Total $ 2,141.60
Monthly Income – Monthly Medical Expenses= $2,056.00 - $2,141.60 = -$85.60

12. CURRENT VA ASSET TRANSFER RULES
 Assets - the VA does not provide a specific amount
of assets a Veteran or Widow(er) may retain.
Although there is no stated amount, in practice we have found that
the level is somewhere around $30,000.00.
 Penalties - Currently a Veteran or Widow(er) can
transfer assets without penalty
The Veteran or Widow(er) is qualified for the Pension the first day that
the excessive assets are no longer in the Veteran or Widow(er)’s name.

13. PROPOSED VA ASSET AND TRANSFER RULES
On January 23, 2015 the VA published a comprehensive rule that would amend
38 CFR Part 3. Part 3 covers net worth, asset transfers and income exclusions
for need based benefits like the VA Pension.
This rule was presented to the public for comments and the comments are
currently being reviewed by the VA.
The changes are quite comprehensive and touch on a number of areas
including net worth, asset transfers, medical expenses and income
deductions.

14. PROPOSED VA ASSET AND TRANSFER RULES
 Increase the net worth limit from our “guess” of $30,000.00 to
a concrete value of $119,200.00* . This amount mirrors the
Medicaid maximum community spouse resource allowance.
 The amount is the same regardless of the age of the Veteran
or Widow(er) or if they are married or single.
* This is the 2015 Spousal Impoverishment under Medicaid. This amount will increase by the same percentage as the
cost of living for social security benefits.

15. PROPOSED VA ASSET AND TRANSFER RULES
 Any transfer to a trust will be subject to a transfer penalty.
This proposed rule does not distinguish between Revocable (A trust
which the applicant controls the assets) and Irrevocable trusts (A
trust which the applicant gives up all control of the assets).
 The penalty can disqualify an applicant from receiving the VA
Pension for up to a maximum of 10 years.
 The penalty applies to all gifts made by the Veteran or
Widow(er) within three years of when the application for
benefits is filed.

16. PROPOSED VA ASSET AND TRANSFER RULES
The look back period is long and inclusive. The most innocent of
transfers can be considered transfers that were made for the
purpose of establishing VA Pension eligibility thus putting a penalty
period on the the Veteran or Widow(er).
Example: Cash gifts given to children at birthdays and holidays for the last 3
years could cause them to be ineligible for pension benefits.
In many cases, transfers made due to fraud against the Veteran or Widow(er) are
still penalized.

17. PROPOSED VA ASSET AND TRANSFER RULES
The purchase of an annuity, which is currently a strategy used to
obtain VA benefits, will be doubly penalized.
The Veteran or Widow(er) will lose benefits due to a transfer
penalty assessed on the amount of the annuity.
The value of the annuity will be considered an asset, putting the
Veteran or Widow(er) above the asset limit.
Under current rules, the purchase of an annuity is not a transfer of assets and
the annuity is not counted as an asset.

18. HOW DOES THIS AFFECT MY PATIENTS OR CLIENTS?
Right now these rules have not been implemented, but
could be in the future. We will continue
to keep you updated on any changes that will be
happening.
For now we can transfer assets without penalties and
we can continue to get our deserving
Veteran or Widow(er)s the health care they need.

19. HOW DOES OUR FIRM HELP ATTAIN BENEFITS?
We do not and can not get paid for helping the Veteran or Widow(er) fill out and submit
his/her VA Application. We do this free of charge for our clients.
Then why come to a VA Pension Planning Firm?
Typically we see four types of cases:
1. The Veteran or Widow(er) has been told by the VA that they do not qualify.
2. The Veteran or Widow(er) has been denied by the VA either for too many assets or
the VA does not recognize their receipt of assistance with activities of daily living.
3. The Veteran or Widow(er) finds the process cumbersome and is looking for assistance
4. AND last but not least, the Veteran or Widow(er) did not know the benefit existed.
For cases 1-3 we can use one of our many legal tools and our years of experience to
Qualify the Veteran or Widow(er) for the Pension.
We need your help for the 4th case!
For clients who do not qualify for this benefit, it is recommended to ask if they have a
power of attorney with enhanced elder law powers.

20. What is the purpose of this presentation?
This is an underutilized benefit that many of our Veterans
or their Widow(er)s should be receiving but are not.
Just to reiterate...let’s revisit the VA Pension Award
amounts for 2015 and using these numbers calculate the
annual and five year totals.

21. VA PENSION BENEFITS (2015 AWARDS)
Widow
Basic Improved Pension
Housebound
Aid and Attendance
Single Veteran
Basic Improved Pension
Housebound
Aid and Attendance
Veteran with one Dependent
Basic Improved Pension
Housebound
Aid and Attendance
Monthly
$719.00
$879.00
$1,149.00
$1,072.00
$1,310.00
$1,789.00
$1,404.00
$1,642.00
$2,120.00
Annual
$8,629.00
$10,547.00
$13,794.00
$12,867.00
$15,724.00
$21,466.00
$16,851.00
$19,709.00
$25,447.00
5 Years TOTAL*
$43,146.00
$52,737.00
$68,968.00
$64,335.00
$78,619.00
$107,329.00
$84,253.00
$98,547.00
$127,237.00
* Based on the 2015 award amount, not including cost of living adjustments.

22. WE NEED YOR HELP TO SPREAD THE WORD!
Let us help you be a resource for your patients clients. You don’t need to
know all the details we presented in this presentation, we’ll deal with
that.
Ask your patients or clients if they or their spouse is/was a wartime
Veteran. If the answer is yes, hand them the award pension
chart and they can call our office to schedule a free one hour consultation
to determine if they are eligible and if so what steps need to be
taken to be awarded the monthly tax free pension.

23. Join us on Thursday, June 18th at 12:00pm for a free lunch and an
informative discussion about the VA Aid & Attendance Improved Pension.
VA IMPROVED PENSION WITH AID AND ATTENDANCE INFORMATION SEMINAR
Join us on Thursday, June 18th at Noon for a discussion addressing:
 What is the VA Improved Pension with Aid & Attendance and how can it help my Clients or Patients?
 How does a Veteran Qualify for the Pension?
 How much is the monthly award and what can it be used for?
 I heard the VA is changing the application criteria, how is this going to effect the VA Pension Award?
Where: Nabors Law Group
Lenox Center
3355 Lenox Rd.
10th floor
Atlanta, GA 30326
When: Thursday, June 18th 12:00p.m.
What’s for Lunch? Publix sandwiches, sides and drinks
Where do I RSVP: Send an email to
kristin@naborstrustlaw.com or click here.