Getting Veterans Military Pension from the VA

Veterans who meet certain age, income, and service requirements can qualify for military pension from the VA. Additionally, veterans who are disabled but aren't eligible to receive disability compensation (for example, they have a non-service-connected medical condition) may also qualify for VA pension provided they have a "permanent and total" disability.

If you're a retired or disabled veteran in need of monetary assistance, you should be aware of the eligibility requirements for VA pension. Surviving spouses of deceased veterans may also qualify to receive monthly pension payments and supplemental programs to help take care of disabled relatives. Knowing what benefits are available for you and your family can help ease the financial burdens faced by many aging and injured veterans.

Who Is Eligible for VA Pension Benefits?

Broadly speaking, veterans may qualify for VA military pension provided they didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, have a total net worth below a certain amount, and were on active duty during a specific period of time. Furthermore, veterans must either be disabled according to certain criteria or not disabled but at least 65 years old.

The exact income limits, nature of service, and disability requirements you'll need to establish eligibility for VA pension are a little more complicated, but still relatively straightforward. If you've been dishonorably discharged, however, you're legally prohibited from receiving VA benefits, even if you meet all the other criteria. (You can try for a discharge upgrade, but it will be very difficult.)

Eligibility Requirements for VA Military Pension

In order to qualify for veterans' pension, you'll first need to establish that your yearly family income and net worth is less than the maximum amount allowed by Congress. Your net worth includes all personal property you (and your spouse) own—except your house, your car, and most home furnishings—minus any debt you owe.

As long as your income and net worth falls below the eligibility threshold, you'll then need to show that at least one of the following accurately describes your military service:

• you started on active duty before September 8, 1980, and you served at least 90 days on active duty with at least 1 day during wartime,
• you started on active duty as an enlisted person after September 7, 1980, and served at least 24 months or the full period for which you were called or ordered to active duty (with some exceptions) with at least 1 day during wartime, or
• you were an officer and started on active duty after October 16, 1981, and you hadn't previously served on active duty for at least 24 months.

"Wartime" for purposes of qualifying for a VA pension means these locations and periods:

• Mexican Border period (May 9, 1916 to April 5, 1917)
• World War I (April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918)
• World War II (December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946)
• Korean conflict (June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955)
• Vietnam War era (November 1, 1955 to May 7, 1975 if you served inside the Republic of Vietnam, August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975 if you served outside), and
• Gulf War (August 2, 1990 to the present).

Finally, at least one of these must be true:

• you're at least 65 years old
• you have a "permanent and total" disability
• you're in a nursing home for long-term care due to a disability, or
• you're receiving Social Security disability benefits.

"Permanent and total disability" means that the VA has given you a 100% disability rating for a condition that the agency doesn't expect will improve. Remember that for pension eligibility purposes, the VA doesn't require that you have a service-connected disability, so if you were injured at work after you separated from the military (for example), the VA can assign you a disability rating even though the injury wasn't connected in any way to your time on active duty.

VA Pension Benefit Rates

For pension eligible veterans, the exact amount you'll receive from the VA depends on your living situation as well as your countable income. Your countable income is any cash you receive that year from a job, retirement fund, or annuity payment, minus qualifying deductions like unreimbursed medical expenses (up to a certain percentage).

Your pension payment is calculated by subtracting your total countable income from your Maximum Annual Pension Rate, or MAPR. Your MAPR is based on several factors, including:

• your marital status
• if you're married, whether your spouse is also a veteran
• the number of dependent children you have
• any income earned by your children, and
• whether you, your spouse, or both of you are disabled.

Severely disabled veterans (and severely disabled spouses of eligible veterans) may qualify for additional support in the form of monthly Aid and Attendance or Housebound allowance. If you or your spouse qualify for these "caretaker" benefits, you'll notice a corresponding increase in your MAPR amount.

Aid and Attendance

Aid and Attendance benefits are available if you get a VA pension and at least one of the four scenarios below applies to you:

• you need another person to help you perform daily activities like getting dressed, bathing, or feeding yourself
• you have to stay in bed or spend a large portion of your day in bed due to illness,
• you're in a nursing home as a result of disability-related loss of mental or physical abilities, or
• your eyesight is extremely limited, meaning that your corrected vision (with glasses or contacts) is only 5/200 or less in both eyes or your visual field has contracted to 5 degrees or less.

Housebound Allowance

You might qualify for a supplemental Housebound allowance if you get a VA pension and spend most of your time at home because of a permanent disability. Housebound benefits are typically smaller than Aid and Attendance benefits. You won't be able to claim Aid and Attendance and Housebound Allowance at the same time.

How to Calculate Your Pension Rate

The VA publishes its current MAPR amounts, as well as those for previous years, on its website. You can find your MAPR amount by following the link above and finding the table that best describes your living situation. Here's an example to help you visualize how to calculate your estimated pension payments:

Veterans who are close to the VA pension income and net worth limit ($159,240 for 2025) sometimes try to get around the limit by transferring assets for less than fair market value. But since October 18, 2018, VA policy has been to review the terms and conditions of any assets that veterans may have transferred in the three years before they filed the pension claim (the "look-back" period).

Be cautioned that if you transfer assets for less than fair market value during the look-back period and those assets would have pushed your net worth above the limit for VA pension, you may be subject to a penalty period of up to five years, during which you won't be able to receive pension benefits.

Additional VA Benefits, Eligibility Chart, and Survivors' Pension

VA pension is far from the only benefit offered to disabled or retired veterans. Health care is an important resource for disabled veterans, especially those in nursing homes. Spouses of totally disabled veterans may be entitled to a range of education and medical benefits. Some veterans may be eligible for concurrent VA pension and military retirement payments from the Department of Defense, although they'll likely need to choose which benefit to receive. You can check out our VA benefits eligibility chart by type of discharge for more information.

Spouses, children, and parents of deceased veterans may qualify for VA survivors' pension. Many of the eligibility criteria for survivors' pension are very similar to those for VA pension (such as the income limit and service periods).

How to Apply for VA Pension

Veterans who are eligible for VA pension will need to complete VA Form 21-526EZ, Application for Veterans Pension. You can complete this form online at the VA website, or you can download the form, complete it, and upload it using the AccessVA QuickSubmit tool. You can also mail a paper copy of the completed application to the pension management center at the following address:

Department of Veterans Affairs
Pension Intake Center
PO Box 5365
Janesville, WI 53547-5365

If you'd prefer, you can also submit your application in person at your nearest VA regional office. Veterans who are experiencing extreme financial hardship, terminally ill or very seriously injured, or age 85 and older can request priority processing with VA Form 20-10207. Former prisoners of war and Medal of Honor or Purple Heart recipients can also use this form to get a quicker decision on their claim for benefits.

Some veterans choose to work with an accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative to get help with the application, but it's not required. However, if your application for VA pension is denied, you may want to consider hiring an experienced veterans attorney to help you appeal the denial.