Even if you aren’t eligible for Veterans Disability Benefits, you may qualify for other types of programs, services and benefits because of your service. Below, we summarize some of these alternatives and the conditions that may make you eligible to receive them.
Veterans Pension
This is a benefit paid to wartime veterans who have limited or no income and are 65 and older—or, if under 65, are totally and permanently disabled. Veterans must meet these conditions:
Social Security Disability Income
The Social Security Disability Insurance program pays cash benefits to disabled adults who have worked at least part-time in the last 10 years and have paid Social Security taxes. You must meet a certain number of legal and medical qualifications set by the Social Security Administration.
Supplemental Security Income
The Supplemental Security Income program pays benefits to children and disabled adults who are unable to work and have limited income and resources. You may be eligible for this program even if you have never worked.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
This program assists veterans with service-related disabilities to obtain and/or keep suitable employment. There are also stipulations for disabled veterans who are not yet ready to seek employment.
Specially Adapted Housing and the Special Home Adaptation Grant
Veterans with certain service-connected disabilities may be eligible for specially adapted housing to assist with access and ease of mobility. In less severe cases, special home adaptations may be granted for individuals with certain service-connected disabilities.
Automobile Allowance and/or Adaptive Equipment
Like the specially adapted housing programs, veterans with service-connected disabilities may be entitled to the purchase of an automobile or the adaptation of an existing automobile.
Clothing Allowance
Veterans who use prosthetics or orthopedic appliances due to service-connected disabilities may be eligible for an annual clothing allowance.
Dependents’ Educational Assistance
The child, spouse or surviving spouse of a veteran may be eligible for educational assistance if the veteran has a permanent total service-connected disability, the disability was in existence on the date of the veteran’s death or if the veteran died as a result of a service-connected disability.
Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA)
Under this program, the VA shares the cost of medically necessary services and supplies for eligible beneficiaries—the spouse or child of a veteran who either has a permanent and total service-connected disability, who at the time of death was already considered to be permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability or an individual who died during active duty.
If you are living with a service-related disability and believe you qualify for one or more of these programs, please contact the experts at Jan Dils Attorneys at Law for more information today.
