Choosing the best home care living situation isn’t easy, and when it becomes unaffordable, the choice is far more difficult. For veterans and their spouses, as well as their widows and widowers, the Veterans Pension benefit can help them pay for in-home medical assistance care or even long-term care in an assisted living facility. If eligible, veterans can receive a monthly stipend to put towards their medical care expenses.

Because the VA benefit aids low-income veterans, the stipend often isn’t enough to cover everything, including medical costs. We at the Care Assistance Center believe you don’t have to go broke to get the most out of your VA Pension benefit.

A few of the ways you can maximize the benefits of your VA Pension and other benefits are:

• Build a budget. Your biggest expenses will be fixed costs, such as housing and transportation. To prepare for these costs, write down everything that you spend your money on now and see where you can adjust the budget to accommodate your new source of income (the VA benefit).
• Keep future emergency costs in mind. Unplanned costs can derail the budget you started to build, so plan ahead for some wiggle room. When planning to qualify for the VA Pension, some liquidity has to be built into the protected investments.
• Choose an assisted living situation with an appropriate pricing structure. An expensive pricing model combines many services (24-hour call, transportation, etc.) into one price, but a more affordable, fee-for-service pricing model may allow seniors to pay for services as needed with total costs in mind. Choose wisely when selecting a place you can afford.
• Don’t discount other benefits. Sometimes there are other benefits available to the general public that may exceed what the VA provides or may be more appropriate for your situation.
• Work with a planning professional. Working with a professional, such as Certified Medicaid Planner™ and VA Accredited Attorney Jeffrey G. Marsocci, will help you better understand the qualification process across multiple benefits and will act in your best interests.

Proper planning can help make the most out of your VA and other benefits and lead to a comfortable assisted living situation. Contact us today and see if you or your loved one is eligible for the VA Pension benefit.