2013 Veterans Pension Rate Table

Here is the 2013 Veterans Pension rate table.  These are the Maximum Annual Pension Rates and the VA pays the difference between countable family income and the yearly income limit based on a veterans situation below.  The amounts listed below are annual amounts, the actual payments are made monthly rounded down to the nearest dollar.  See example below the chart.

Veteran – Alone & With Dependents
Date of Cost-of-Living Increase: 12-01-2012
Increase Factor: 1.7%
Standard Medicare Deduction: $104.90

2013 Veterans Pension Rate Table

VA Veterans pension helps veterans and their families cope with financial challenges by providing supplemental income through the Veterans Pension benefit.  It is a tax-free monetary benefit payable to low-income wartime Veterans. Veterans must have at least 90 days of active duty service, with at least one day during a wartime period to qualify for a VA Pension.   For those who entered active duty after Sept. 7, 1980, service must have been at  least one day during a wartime period and 24 months or the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty (with some exceptions).

Additional eligibility criteria for the Veterans Pension in addition to service requirements:

• Age 65 or older, OR
• Totally and permanently disabled, OR
• A patient in a nursing home receiving skilled nursing care, OR
• Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, OR
• Receiving Supplemental Security Income

Family income must be less than the amount set by Congress to qualify for the Veterans Pension benefit.  The pension benefit is the difference between “countable” income and the annual pension limit set by Congress. The Department of Veterans Affairs generally pays this difference in 12 equal monthly payments.

Example:

Bruce is a single veteran and has an annual countable income of $3,000 and his annual income limit based on the table below which is $12,256.  To determine Bruce’s pension the annual income limit is subtracted from the countable income.

$12,256 – $3,000 = $9,256.

$9,256/12 months = $771.33 (monthly amount is rounded down to nearest dollar).

Bruce’s monthly pension amount would be $771.

Glossary of Terms

• A & A – Aid & Attendance – A & A is a benefit paid in addition to monthly pension.Require the aid of another person to perform activities of daily living OR be blind or meet other specific visual acuity requirements OR be a patient in a nursing home because of physical and/or mental incapacity.
• Child Earned Income Exclusion – Excluded earnings amount from a dependent child.
• Countable income –  Includes income from most sources as well as from any eligible dependents. It generally includes earnings, disability and retirement payments, interest and dividend payments from annuities, and net income from farming or a business. Some expenses, such as unreimbursed medical expenses, may reduce countable income.
• Housebound – Qualifications: Single disability rated 100% and separate disabilities rated 60% or more (Veterans only) OR Permanently housebound due to disabilities per 38 CFR 3.351(d) OR Hartness v Nicholson (2006) when pension has been granted based on the veteran being age 65 or older.
• MAPR – Maximum Annual Pension Rate – The MAPR is the maximum amount of pension payable to a veteran, surviving spouse or child. MAPR fluctuates based on individual circumstances related to number of dependents and if Housebound or Aid & Attendance qualifications.  The MAPR is reduced for each dollar of income that the veteran, surviving spouse, child, or their families have.
• MBW – Mexican Border War.
• Net worth – Includes assets such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, and any property other than your residence and a reasonable lot area.  VA will determine whether assets are of a sufficiently large amount that one could live off of them for a reasonable period of time.
• Veterans Pension – Tax-free monetary benefit payable to low-income wartime Veterans.