Veterans Benefits are available to those individuals who entered and served in the United States Armed Services, as well as to their Dependents and Survivors. These benefits are made available through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The benefits available include:
Health Care Benefits: Administered by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), a branch of the VA, the Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.3 million Veterans each year.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment: The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program is authorized by Congress under Title 38, USC, Chapter 31 and Code of Federal Regulations, Part 21. It is sometimes referred to as the Chapter 31 program. This program assists Veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare for, find, and keep suitable jobs. For Veterans with service-connected disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work, this program offers services to improve their ability to live as independently as possible.
VA Pensions: Compensation and Pension programs provide direct payments to Veterans, dependents, and survivors as a result of the veteran’s service-connected disability or because of financial need.
Education and Training: Education Programs provide resources to Veterans, servicepersons, reservists, and certain Veterans’ dependents to help with readjustment and restore educational opportunities lost because of service to the country, to extend benefits of higher education to qualified persons who may not otherwise be able to afford it, to aid in military recruitment and the retention of highly qualified personnel, to encourage membership in the Selected Reserve, and to enhance the national workforce.
Home Loan Guaranty: The Loan Guaranty Program provides assistance to Veterans, certain spouses, and service members to enable them to buy and retain homes. Assistance is provided through VA’s partial guaranty of loans made by private lenders in lieu of the substantial down payment and private mortgage insurance required in conventional mortgage transactions. This protection means that in most cases qualified Veterans can obtain a loan without making a down payment.
VA Life Insurance: The Insurance Programs were created to provide life insurance at a “standard” premium rate to members of the armed forces who are exposed to the extra hazards of military service. Veterans are eligible to maintain their VA life insurance following discharge. In general, a new program was created for each wartime period since World War I.
Transition Assistance: A joint effort between the VA, Department of Defense, and the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, the Transition Assistance Program allows veterans to make the transition back to the civilian section a smooth one.
Dependents and Survivors Health Care: The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) allows certain dependents and survivors to receive reimbursement for most medical expenses – inpatient, outpatient, mental health, prescription medication, skilled nursing care and durable medical equipment.
Additionally, there are benefits offered by other Federal agencies. For example, the Internal Revenue Service allows for disabled veterans to claim a federal tax refund based on an increase in the veteran’s percentage of disability from VA, or the combat-disabled veteran applying for, and being granted, Combat-Related Special Compensation, after an award for Concurrent Retirement and Disability. There are numerous other benefits provided by other Federal agencies, which may or may not apply to you based on your particular set of circumstances.
If you are a veteran, we appreciate your service. Additionally, we want to make certain that you can maintain and keep the benefits you earned by defending our freedoms. Contact us today if you would like to evaluate all of your benefits and make certain that you and your loved ones continue to receive them into the future.