What is the Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit and How to See if You Qualify
For those who have been on active duty in the military, you might be missing out on a benefit that you qualify for. Surviving spouses of active duty military personnel who are now deceased also have access to benefits depending on eligibility. These benefits are designed to help those that have given service to our country.
This article will discuss the veteran’s and survivors’ pension benefits and how to see if you qualify for these benefits for additional income assistance.
What is the Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit and How to See if You Qualify
What is the Veterans Pension Program?
The Veterans Pension Program is fairly intuitive. This program is for wartime veterans who are elderly or disabled as well as being low-income. The benefit helps these veterans to continue to care for themselves and their families and to ensure that they have enough funds to pay for necessities.
What is the Survivors Pension Program?
The Survivors Pension Program was created for widows, widowers, and children of veterans who have passed away. This program exists to help survivors continue to sustain themself if they are low-income.
The benefit helps to keep these affected persons afloat by providing tax-free monthly payments of assistance for being family members of an active duty veteran who has since passed away.
How Do You Qualify for Each Program?
To qualify for the Veterans Pension Program, you must have been honorably discharged, meet the income requirements, and meet the service requirements. These requirements are you either served 90 days of active military service prior to September 7, 1980, or you entered active duty after this date and served two years with at least one day of wartime service, or you were an officer who served after October 16, 1981. You must also be either over 65, disabled, in a long-term care facility, or on SSI or SSDI.
In order to qualify for the VA Survivors Pension as a spouse, you must have been married to a veteran who served 90 days of active military service prior to September 7, 1980, or a veteran who entered active duty after this date and served two years with at least one day of wartime service, or the veteran was an officer who served after October 16, 1981. You must also meet the low-income eligibility requirements.
Children of veterans must be under 18 or under 23 and attending school or disabled from childhood.
Conclusion
We hope that you have learned a great deal about the Veterans and Survivors Pension benefit. If you qualify for these benefits, there are many other government assistance programs that you might also be eligible for. These benefits include food stamps, Medicaid, SSI, and more!
You are also likely eligible for Lifeline, which is a federal assistance offered to low-income households to reduce the cost of their phone service. Through Safelink Wireless, the Lifeline program can help you to lower your phone bill, and you may even be eligible for a free smartphone! For more information on the Lifeline program, click here. Learn more on how to get Free Mobile Phone Program Oklahoma.
