Pension
Tax-free monthly income for wartime veterans with limited means — up to $17,441 a year, or $29,093 with Aid & Attendance for daily care.
Estimate your Pension benefit
Use the interactive calculator below — no sign-up required. All estimates use published VA rates.
A monthly, tax-free check that fills your income gap
The Veterans Pension isn’t about your rating or what happened in uniform — it’s a safety net for wartime veterans who are older or disabled and living on limited income. The VA sets a yearly income floor (the MAPR) and pays you the difference between that floor and your countable income. If money is tight, this can be real, dependable income — for life.
Up to $2,874/mo
Highest level, with a dependent
100% tax-free
No federal income tax
Paid monthly
Direct deposit, for life
First — do you actually qualify?
The pension has two hard gates. Both must be true, or nothing is payable — no matter how low your income is. Check the ones that apply to you.
Check the boxes that apply to you to see whether you clear the two basic gates.
Your household
Count a spouse and/or dependent children you support.
Choose the highest level you qualify for. Housebound and Aid & Attendance raise your limit.
Your income
Your Social Security retirement or SSDI, before any Medicare premium is taken out. Enter the gross yearly amount.
Employer pensions, retirement-account withdrawals, wages, interest, and dividends.
How Social Security works with this benefit
Because the pension is need-based, Social Security retirement and SSDI count as income and lower your pension roughly dollar-for-dollar — that’s why they go in the field above.
The Medicare Part B premium taken out of your Social Security check is a deductible medical expense. Add it (and other premiums) below to win back part of that income.
Medicare and other insurance premiums, prescriptions, in-home care, assisted living. Only the amount above 5% of your MAPR counts.
Your net worth
Savings, investments, and property you own — NOT your primary home, its lot, or your vehicle.
The VA adds your assets to your yearly countable income to measure “net worth.” It must stay at or below $163,699 for this period, or no pension is payable.
Enter your income to see your estimate
Your monthly pension appears here once you add your income, medical costs, and assets.
Free & no obligation — our accredited team can check your qualifications, income, and net-worth limits.
Official VA pension ratesHow the VA fills your gap
The pension is simple once you see it: the VA sets a yearly floor for your household (the MAPR), subtracts your countable income, and pays you the rest. Everything you enter above just moves these two numbers.
With no income entered, the gold bar is the whole floor — the most the VA could pay. As you add income, it shifts to blue and the gold gap shrinks.
The math behind your estimate
Enter your income, medical costs, and assets above and this line-by-line breakdown — the MAPR floor minus your deductions and countable income — fills in with your own numbers.
The 2026 income floors, in black and white
This is the whole game. The VA pays the gap between your countable income and the floor for your household — and Aid & Attendance or Housebound raise that floor, which is why they can be worth thousands more a year. These are the real published rates.
| Your household | Standard | Housebound | Aid & Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran, no dependents | $17,441 | $21,313 | $29,093 |
| Veteran + 1 dependent | $22,839 | $26,710 | $34,488 |
Add $2,984 to the floor for each additional dependent. Your net worth (countable assets plus yearly income) must stay at or below $163,699. MAPR effective December 1, 2025 (2026 rates).
A real example: how medical costs can double a pension
At first glance
A single wartime veteran gets about $16,800/year from Social Security — just under the $17,441 basic floor. On paper the VA would top him up by only a few hundred dollars a year. Most people stop here and assume it’s not worth filing.
After the medical deduction
But he also pays Medicare and supplemental premiums out of that check. Once those medical costs are deducted, his countable income drops well below the floor — and his pension climbs to roughly $150 a month. Same veteran, same income; the deduction more than doubled his check.
This is exactly the kind of detail people miss on their own. Numbers are illustrative and follow the real MAPR and 5% medical rule — your figures depend on your household.
The medical-expense lever, spelled out
This is the single most overlooked way to raise a pension. The VA lets you subtract unreimbursed medical expenses from your income — but only the part above 5% of your basic MAPR. For your current household that threshold is about $872 a year; every qualifying dollar past that lowers your countable income and raises your check.
Usually counts
- Medicare Part B & Part D premiums
- Supplemental / Medigap and dental premiums
- In-home caregiver or home-health aide
- Assisted living & nursing-home fees
- Prescriptions and medical co-pays
- Incontinence and diabetic supplies
- Mileage to and from medical appointments
Usually doesn’t
- Anything your insurance reimbursed
- Cosmetic or elective procedures
- Over-the-counter items without a prescription
- Costs below the 5% threshold above
Recurring costs like assisted living or in-home care can often be projected forward for the year — an accredited agent knows exactly how to document them so they hold up.
Four myths that cost veterans this pension
Most eligible veterans never file — usually because of something they “know” that isn’t true. Here are the big ones.
“I make too much money to qualify.”
Your countable income is counted after medical deductions. Medicare premiums and care costs can pull you under the floor even when your gross income looks too high.
“I own my home, so I have too much in assets.”
Your primary home, its lot, and your vehicle don’t count toward the net-worth limit at all.
“I never saw combat, so I’m not eligible.”
You don’t need combat — just 90 days of active duty with one day during a wartime period and an other-than-dishonorable discharge.
“It’ll cut my Social Security.”
It won’t touch Social Security retirement or SSDI. It can offset SSI, since SSI is itself need-based — worth checking before you file.
How you actually claim it
The order matters — the right form filed first can put months of back pay in your pocket.
- 1
Lock your date with an Intent to File
VA Form 21-0966File this first. It sets your effective date, so your pension can be paid back to the day you filed the intent — even if the full application takes months to finish.
- 2
File the pension application
VA Form 21P-527EZThe main Veterans Pension claim. Attach proof of wartime service (your DD-214), income, and your medical expenses.
- 3
Add Aid & Attendance or Housebound
VA Form 21-2680If you need help with daily activities or are largely confined to home, have your doctor complete this exam form — it raises the floor the VA pays you up to.
Your financial worksheet — what to gather before you file
The pension is decided entirely on your financial picture, so getting these numbers straight up front is what wins the claim. Two VA forms carry that financial detail — download them below — and the worksheet shows exactly what to have in hand for each one.
VA Form 21P-0969
Income & Asset Statement
The financial statement the VA actually runs your claim on — every income source and asset behind it.
Open the form on VA.govVA Form 21P-8416
Medical Expense Report
Lists your unreimbursed medical costs so the VA deducts them from your income and raises your rate.
Open the form on VA.govGather these three buckets
Annual income
- Social Security or SSDI
- Military or civil-service retirement
- Private pensions and annuities
- Wages or self-employment income
- Interest, dividends, and rental income
Assets / net worth
Your home on up to 2 acres, one vehicle, and normal personal belongings do not count.
- Checking, savings, and CDs
- Brokerage, stocks, and bonds
- A second home, land, or rental property
- Cash value of certain annuities and trusts
Unreimbursed medical (last 12 months)
Only the amount above 5% of the MAPR counts — but report it all and let the math work for you.
- Medicare Part B and Part D premiums
- Medigap, dental, and vision premiums
- In-home caregiver, assisted living, or nursing home
- Prescriptions and co-pays
- Mileage to and from medical care
Keep every receipt for three years after a decision, report medical costs by calendar year, and file a separate 21P-0969 for each year you’re correcting. Every form here links straight to the official VA.gov page — never a third-party copy.
Pension or compensation? The difference that changes everything
This is the distinction that trips up almost everyone — and it’s the one most pension pages leave out. The Veterans Pension is non-service-connected: needs-based, capped at the income floor above, and reduced by your other income. Disability compensation is the opposite — it’s for service-connected conditions, it isn’t means-tested, and nothing about your income or savings can touch it.
Veterans Pension
Non-service-connected- Based on: Wartime service and limited income
- Income & asset test: Yes, capped at the MAPR floor
- Your other income: Reduces it, dollar for dollar
- Federal tax: None, 100% tax-free
For a single veteran: up to about $1,453/mo — and it shrinks as income rises.
Disability Compensation
Service-connected- Based on: Service-connected conditions, by rating
- Income & asset test: None, your finances do not matter
- Your other income: Never reduces it
- Federal tax: None, 100% tax-free
For a single veteran: about $1,808/mo at 70%, up to $3,939/mo at 100%.
You generally can’t draw both at once. Federal law bars stacking a pension on top of compensation — the VA pays whichever benefit is greater (38 U.S.C. § 5304). So the real question isn’t “can I collect both?” It’s which one pays more and protects you best.
What happens to your pension if you get service-connected
Here’s what we see every day: a war-era veteran is drawing a needs-based pension — but never filed for the knees, the hearing loss, the heart condition, or the exposure illness that traces straight back to service. When they finally do and get rated, three things change:
- Their pension is replaced, not stacked — the VA switches them to compensation because it’s the greater benefit.
- That new check is usually higher, always tax-free, and — unlike the pension — never reduced by their income or savings.
- It can’t be clawed back if their finances improve, and it opens doors the pension doesn’t — Special Monthly Compensation, dependents’ add-ons, and higher health-care priority.
For a low-income wartime veteran that’s not a lateral move — it’s trading a benefit the VA can reduce when your income changes for one that’s locked to your service for life. If your conditions started or worsened in service, getting them rated is almost always the stronger play — and it’s exactly the call a VA-accredited agent should make with you.
Figures above are for a single veteran with no dependents, from the published 2026 rates; your numbers depend on your rating, dependents, and household. The VA pays the greater of the two benefits, not both.
This is where an accredited agent earns their keep
The pension’s wartime dates, the net-worth look-back, which medical costs count, and whether a new pension would cut your SSI — these are the details that quietly cost veterans money. A VA-accredited claims agent does this every day. Ask Albert right now, or leave your details and we’ll reach out to you — the review is free and there’s no obligation.
Overview
VA Pension is a needs-based, tax-free monthly benefit for wartime veterans — and for some surviving spouses and children — when income and net worth are within VA limits. The two main programs families use are the Veterans Pension and the Survivors Pension. Aid & Attendance may add to the benefit.
The complete breakdown
Everything below is explained in plain English so you can make a decision without leaving this page.
How the pension math actually works
The Veterans Pension is a needs-based benefit, not a fixed check. The VA sets a Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) for your situation, then pays the difference between that rate and your countable income, split into 12 monthly payments. Lower your countable income and the pension goes up; the closer your income gets to the MAPR, the smaller it becomes.
For the December 1, 2025 rates, the MAPR is $17,441 a year for a single veteran and $22,839 with one dependent. So a single veteran with $10,000 of countable income would receive about $7,441 a year, or roughly $620 a month.
How Social Security fits in
This is the part that trips people up. Because the pension is needs-based, your Social Security counts, but not every kind of it counts the same way.
Social Security & SSDI count: Your Social Security retirement and SSDI are countable income. The VA counts the gross amount — before the Medicare premium is withheld — and it lowers your pension close to dollar-for-dollar.
SSI does NOT count for the VA: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is itself a needs-based welfare program, so the VA excludes it from your countable income.
But your pension counts against SSI: The reverse is not true — Social Security treats your VA pension as income when figuring SSI. In practice most people cannot collect a full pension and full SSI at the same time; one reduces the other.
Your Medicare premium works in your favor: The Medicare Part B premium taken out of your Social Security check is a deductible medical expense. Reporting it (and Part A/D and other insurance premiums) lowers your countable income and pushes your pension back up.
The two limits: income AND net worth
You have to clear two separate financial tests, not one. Even with low monthly income, too much in the bank can disqualify you.
Net-worth limit: The VA adds your assets to your annual countable income to measure “net worth.” It must stay at or below $163,699 for the current period. Go over and no pension is payable, no matter how small your monthly income gap looks.
What counts as an asset: Bank accounts, investments, and property you own beyond your home. Your primary residence (and its lot up to 2 acres) and your vehicle are excluded.
Watch for asset transfers: Giving away assets to get under the limit can trigger a penalty period of up to 5 years, because the VA reviews transfers made in the 36 months before you apply.
Aid & Attendance and Housebound raise your limit
If you need daily help or are largely confined to your home, the VA raises your MAPR — which means more income can be offset and a larger pension paid.
Aid & Attendance: For veterans who need help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, or eating, or who live in a nursing home. It lifts the single-veteran MAPR to $29,093 a year for the current period.
Housebound: For veterans substantially confined to their home by a permanent disability. It lifts the single-veteran MAPR to $21,313 a year.
You pick the highest one you qualify for: You cannot stack Aid & Attendance and Housebound — you receive the higher of the two.
How to legitimately increase your pension
The single biggest lever most families miss is unreimbursed medical expenses. Recurring, out-of-pocket medical costs above 5% of your MAPR (about $872 a year for a single veteran) are subtracted from your income — which raises your pension. Insurance premiums, prescriptions, in-home aides, assisted-living fees, and nursing-home costs all count. Keep records and report them on your application; many veterans who look “over the income limit” on paper still qualify once these are deducted.
Who may qualify
The veteran served at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period (or 24 months if they entered service after Sept. 7, 1980).
Discharge was under conditions other than dishonorable.
You are age 65 or older, OR permanently and totally disabled, OR receiving SSDI/SSI, OR living in a nursing home.
Your countable income (minus unreimbursed medical expenses) is below the Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR), and your net worth is under the VA limit (about $163,699 for 2026).
Aid & Attendance or Housebound allowances raise the MAPR if you need help with daily activities or are largely confined to your home.
How to apply
Apply for VA pension- 1
Gather financial records (income, assets, unreimbursed medical expenses) plus marital and service documents.
- 2
File VA Form 21P-527EZ for the Veterans Pension (surviving family members use Form 21P-534EZ).
VA Form 21P-527EZ - 3
Submit an Intent to File first to protect your effective date while you gather evidence.
- 4
Send supporting evidence, respond to VA requests, and ask about Aid & Attendance if you need daily help.
Apply for VA pension
Prefer to have an expert handle it?
Our VA-accredited claims agents can prepare, file, and manage this claim for you — free case evaluation, no obligation.