The Veterans Aid and Attendance pension is designed to be combined with the veteran’s other income to bring the total income received up to a certain minimum income level established by Congress. There are a number of requirements that must be met in order to qualify to receive this benefit.
The first of these requirements are dependent on the veteran’s service. To begin, the veteran must have served on active duty for at least ninety (90) days. Out of those 90 days, at least one of them must have been during a designated active war time. It is not necessary that the veteran actually served in combat during a time of active war but merely that the veteran was in service, on active duty and honorable discharged. The dates of active war times are:
WORLD WAR II
December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946
KOREAN CONFLICT
June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955
VIETNAM CONFLICT
August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975
For veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam: February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975
GULF WARS
August 2, 1990 to a date to be set by future Presidential Proclamation. This period includes operatings Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
Unfortunately, if at least one day of your active duty service does not fall within one of the above date ranges, then you will not be eligible for the VA Aid & Attendance benefit.