When you’re planning for the latter stages of your life you are going to have to make long-term projections based on the costs that you anticipate, and this is clearly an imperfect science. However, the best way to approach it is to take care of the things that are within your control and do your research so that you’re working with as much relevant information as possible. When you do this with regard to long-term care you’ll find that the costs are surprisingly high and rising, and most industry analysts expect this upward trending to continue into the foreseeable future.
This is one of the reasons why it is important to engage the services of an elder law attorney when you are planning for the future because there are a number of different ways to prepare for these costs depending on the specifics of your situation. There may be some resources available to you that you are not aware of, and one of these is the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension (Veterans A & A Pension).
Unlike the military retirement pension that veterans are entitled to after 20 years of service, the Veterans A & A Pension has a much less stringent length of service requirement. If you have spent at least 90 days on active duty with a minimum of one of these days taking place during a time of war you meet the requirement.
The Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension is meant to provide financial assistance to qualified veterans who need help with their day-to-day needs, things like bathing, eating, dressing, etc., and this benefit can be used to help pay for nursing home or assisted living facility costs. As of this writing eligible veterans can receive as much as $1,632 per month.
If you think that you may be qualified for this valuable veterans benefit, the correct course of action would be to contact the United States Veterans Benefits Administration to obtain application forms and more detailed information.
Larry Parman
Founding Attorney
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