In order to qualify financially for the veteran's Aid and Attendance pension benefit, a veteran or surviving spouse (or the both of them) need to have assets less than roughly $80,000 to their name(s). Note that the $80,000 figure is a rough estimate and there can be instances when this value is higher.

Because there can be some confusion as to what the VA considers an asset, here is some information regarding them.

What is excluded in assets?

One house and one vehicle are excluded when totaling the value of all assets for the applicant of the Aid and Attendance benefit. Life insurance policies are also excluded when determining assets (because the policy holder has to be deceased in order to benefit from it).

Do make sure to count any assets owned by the spouse, as well, if applying with a spouse.

What is considered an asset?

Bank accounts, CD's, trusts, stocks, bonds, annuities, savings accounts, checking accounts, IRAs, Keogh are assets. Income from pensions, retirement, social security, pension, dividends, income from rental properties, interest income from investments, annuities, etc. are also considered assets.

A note on CD's, trust, stocks, and bonds:

If the applicant only owns a percentage of these assets, it is their percentage amount that is used when calculating total assets. For example, if a veteran owns 50% of a trust that is $20,000 total, only $10,000 is included in the calculation of the veteran's assets.