If he served
The benefit most families never get told about
If your father served during a wartime period, there may be money coming toward his care every month — a little over $2,400 of it. If your mother is his widow, there may be around $1,550. Nobody sends a letter about it. Most families find out years late, or never.
The money
What it is worth
Maximum annual pension rates including the Aid and Attendance addition, for the rate year 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026.
$2,424
a month, roughly
A veteran, no dependents
$29,093 a year
$2,874
a month, roughly
A veteran with one dependent
$34,488 a year
$1,558
a month, roughly
A surviving spouse, no dependents
$18,697 a year
These are ceilings, not cheques. What the VA actually pays is the gap between that maximum and the income it counts, so somebody with little income receives most of it and somebody with a good pension may receive little. Rates rise each December with the cost-of-living increase.
Why the cost of care changes the sum
This is the part that surprises people, and it is the reason the benefit matters so much for placement.
The VA works out what it pays by subtracting your countable income from the maximum rate. But unreimbursed medical expenses reduce the income it counts — only the portion above 5% of the maximum rate, but after that they come off. For a family paying for care, those expenses are usually the largest number in their life.
So a parent whose income looked far too high on paper can, once the cost of care is taken into account, qualify for a great deal more than the family expected. It is also why the answer changes the day somebody moves into a home.
Whether a particular home's monthly fee counts, and how much of it, depends on the care actually being given. That is a question for an accredited Veterans Service Officer, not for us and not for a salesperson. We can tell you what homes cost in Anaheim; we cannot tell you what the VA will allow.
Qualifying
Three gates, and they are not the ones people expect
Service
90 days active duty with at least one day during a wartime period, if service began before 8 September 1980. Enlisted after that, 24 months or the full period called, again with one wartime day. Wartime does not mean combat, and it does not mean overseas. One day inside the dates.
Age or disability
Aged 65 or over, or a permanent and total disability, or being in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability, or receiving SSDI or SSI. Most families reading this clear it on age alone.
The Aid and Attendance addition
Needing another person to help with daily activities such as bathing, feeding and dressing. Or being largely confined to bed by illness. Or being a nursing home patient through loss of mental or physical ability. Or eyesight of 5/200 or less in both eyes.
There is a net worth limit of $163,699 for this rate year, counting assets and annual income together. A primary residence is generally outside it. Do not start moving assets around to get underneath it — the VA looks back at transfers, and the people who most often suggest it are selling something.
Before you pay anybody
Filing this is free, and the county will do it
There is an industry built on charging families to prepare these claims, often alongside annuities or trusts that move assets to get under the net worth limit. You do not need any of it.
Accredited Veterans Service Officers do this at no charge. Orange County employs its own:
Orange County Veterans Service Office
1300 S. Grand Avenue, Building B, Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 480-6555
Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm
The form is VA Form 21-2680, and a medical examiner has to complete part of it. If your parent is already in a nursing home there is a second form, 21-0779. Claims go to the Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365, or can be filed online at va.gov.
Common questions
Aid and Attendance, answered
- How much is VA Aid and Attendance worth in 2026?
- For the rate year running 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026, the maximum annual pension rate with Aid and Attendance is $29,093 for a veteran with no dependents, $34,488 for a veteran with one dependent, and $18,697 for a surviving spouse with no dependents. That works out at roughly $2,424, $2,874 and $1,558 a month. Those are maximums, not automatic amounts — what is actually paid is the difference between that figure and the income the VA counts.
- Can it be used to pay for assisted living?
- It is not restricted to a particular kind of care, and for many families it is what makes a care home affordable. The mechanism is worth understanding: the VA pays the gap between your countable income and the maximum rate, and unreimbursed medical expenses reduce the income it counts — though only the portion above 5% of the maximum rate. The cost of care is frequently the largest of those expenses. Whether a specific home's monthly fee counts, and how much of it, depends on the care being provided, so put that question to an accredited Veterans Service Officer rather than to a salesperson.
- Who qualifies on service?
- For service beginning before 8 September 1980, at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period. For an enlisted person who started after 7 September 1980, at least 24 months or the full period called, again with at least one day during wartime. Officers who started after 16 October 1981 have their own rule. Wartime service does not mean combat and it does not mean overseas — one day inside the dates is the test.
- What else has to be true?
- At least one of: aged 65 or over, a permanent and total disability, being a patient in a nursing home for long-term care because of a disability, or receiving Social Security Disability Insurance or SSI. Then for the Aid and Attendance addition specifically, at least one of: needing another person to help with daily activities such as bathing, feeding and dressing; having to stay in bed or spend a large part of the day in bed because of illness; being a nursing home patient due to loss of mental or physical abilities related to a disability; or eyesight of 5/200 or less in both eyes even with correction.
- Is there an asset limit?
- Yes. For the same rate year the net worth limit is $163,699, counting assets and annual income together. A primary residence is generally not counted. Giving assets away to get under the limit is a bad idea — the VA looks back at transfers — so take advice before moving anything.
- Should I pay somebody to file the claim?
- No. Accredited Veterans Service Officers file these claims free, and Orange County runs its own office at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Building B, Santa Ana, on (714) 480-6555. There is a whole industry built on charging families for this, sometimes bundled with financial products that move assets around. The county officers are accredited, they are free, and they have no product to sell you.
If the money works out, the next question is which Anaheim homes fit the budget it creates. What care actually costs here and every licensed home in the city.
All rates, eligibility rules, forms and the net worth limit read at va.gov on 13 October 2026, current for the rate year 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026; they change each December. Orange County Veterans Service Office details from the county's own site. General information for families — we are not accredited to advise on VA claims and do not hold ourselves out as such.
Last reviewed . VA rates change every December; this page is re-read at source when they do.
Work out the benefit first, then the home
Ring the county on (714) 480-6555 about the claim — it costs nothing. Then ring us and we will tell you what that monthly figure actually buys in Anaheim, and which homes have a place.
Tell us who you are looking after
Four short questions. Nothing you answer is shared with a facility until you say so.
Prefer to talk now? (714) 975-9652, open every day until 6pm.