Aid and Attendance Calculator

Aid and Attendance isn't a separate VA program with its own application. It's an enhanced payment rate within VA Pension for veterans, or Survivors Pension for surviving spouses, specifically for people who need regular help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, or eating, are bedridden, live in a nursing home due to incapacity, or have significantly limited eyesight. Because it raises the Maximum Annual Pension Rate substantially compared to basic pension, more of your income can go toward the actual cost of care. The formula works the same way as regular pension: your MAPR minus your countable income equals your annual benefit. Unreimbursed medical or care expenses above 5% of your MAPR reduce your countable income, which often meaningfully increases the benefit for people already paying for in-home care, assisted living, or a nursing home. That's part of why Aid and Attendance pairs so naturally with the actual cost of senior care: the more you're already paying for care, the higher your benefit tends to be.