Most veterans are familiar with the VA Disability Compensation program. It is the program that provides monthly compensation to any veteran that has an illness or injury resulting from the veterans service. Examples of qualifiers would include losing a limb at war or having a disease that was the long-term result of exposure to Agent Orange.
In the Disability Compensation program, a level of disability is assigned, and the monthly amount paid out depends upon the severity of the disability. In short, the more severe the illness or injury, the higher the monthly payout.
Another major difference between the Disability Compensation and the Special Monthly Pension is that for Disability Compensation, the amount of income the veteran earns, or how much is in assets, does not impact his or her payment.
The Special Monthly Pension also takes into account disability for qualifying, but the disability doesn’t have to be related to the veterans service. Disabilities that are qualifiers include:
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Strokes
- Heart attacks
- Being aged over 65, even if perfectly healthy
The hitch is that the income and asset qualifiers must also be met, meaning that if there is any substantial income earned or any significant assets owned, it can be very tough to qualify. We’ll look at this closer in an upcoming blog post.
