November Update From Gudorf Law Group

Have you ever heard of the Veterans Aid and Attendance Improved Pension Benefit? If not, you're not alone: many people are unaware of this benefit, which provides a long-term care benefit for veterans and their spouses or widows who need the regular assistance of another person with activities of daily living. The Aid and Attendance Improved Pension is a supplement to the VA Improved Pension, and applicants must be eligible for the VA Improved Pension to receive Aid and Attendance. This is not a retirement plan. It is a non-service connected disability benefit.

Long-term care is becoming an important issue for our nation to address. We have 78 million aging baby boomers. The costs of long-term care to these baby boomers can be catastrophic and few people have sufficient resources to pay for needed long-term care.

In an effort to deal with this growing concern, the Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative (the “Collaborative”) began meeting informally in 2012 for the purpose of finding a solution. They have since become a formalized group made up of a variety of national experts and stakeholders with varying ideological stances. Their common goal is to improve the way Americans pay and prepare for non-medical care (Long-term supports and services) needed by the elderly and those living with disabilities. On February 22, 2016, the Collaborative announced its third and final set of recommendations.