The VA is proposing new rules on getting monthly pension or widow’s benefits. The idea is to prevent people from gaming the system by giving away assets and then applying for aid. But some veterans groups are crying foul.
The protests claim the new rules will make an already cumbersome system more so and will cause more delays in granting benefits, according to a story in Forbes.
The VA pension – or widow’s pension – provides money to needy veterans or their widows who require daily assistance for necessary activities.
The rules are sort of fuzzy, but the story says that if you get down to $80,000 in assets – not including your house or car – and you have high deductible medical expenses that net out your income, you may qualify. The top benefit is $1,788 a month, tax-free, or $1,149 for a widow.
The new proposal would establish a new combined net worth and income limit of $119,220 and impose a 36-month look-back period on asset transfers and a 10-year penalty period concerning gifts.
Critics say the look-back period alone will take so much time that delays in granting pensions will increase. It already takes six to nine months to process an application.
But the VA says the changes are needed because many veterans abuse the system by giving away assets to heirs and then seeking assistance.
