year. In general, benefit adjustments are made immediately when changes are reported that permit a benefit boost, but deferred until the end of the year if a decrease seems indicated. As a consequence of lagged downward adjustments, pensioners may become accustomed to a higher income for several months (if, for example, social security benefits are increased in midyear), and therefore be disgruntled and confused when the adjustment does occur. ASSETS TEST.-The new law applies an assets test, which defines a veteran's estate as all real and personal property, except for his dwelling, a reasonable lot, and personal effects. In general, a pension is allowed if a veteran can be expected to deplete assets in his remaining lifetime. The Veterans Administration determines the conversion of the estate for maintenance of veterans on the basis of these factors: (1) Income; (2) ease of converting the property to cash; (3) the limitations of community property laws; (4) life expectancy of the veteran; (5) number of dependents; and (6) potential rate of depletion of the estate. For old law pensions the size of a veteran's estate is ignored. OTHER CONDITIONS Work requirements.-None. Acceptance of training or rehabilitation.-None required. Lien, recovery, or assignment.-No provisions. Institutional status.-A pension in excess of $30 per month for a veteran who has no wife or dependent child is reduced on the first day of the third month of institutional care in a Veterans Administration hospital or at the expense of the Veterans Administration (unless the care is for Hansen's disease) to a maximum of $30 monthly. While the veteran is institutionalized, pension grants for regular aid and attendance are discontinued except for designated paraplegics and victims of Hansen's disease. Benefits are discontinued on the 61st day of imprisonment to veterans in penal institutions, but benefits for their dependents may continue to be paid. Residence requirements.-None. BENEFITS AND SERVICES (AS OF January 1975) CASH BENEFITS Primary determinants of amounts of benefits.-Basic benefits are set by law. Under the old law they depend upon age, physical condition, tenure as a veteran, and existence of dependents. Veterans who are blind or in need or regular aid and attendance may receive a total of $135.45 per month; veterans who are housebound may receive $100 per month in lieu of other payments. Under the new law benefits depend on physical condition, number of dependents, and countable income. This law reduces benefits as countable income rises (See "Treatment of income" above.) If a veteran is in medically determined need of regular aid and attendance, he may receive $123 in extra monthly payments; or, a veteran may receive $49 in extra benefits if (1) he has an additional disability or disabilities (over a disability that is rated on the VA schedule as permanent and total) that is rated independently at 60 percent or more, or (2) if he is housebound. Relationship of benefit amount to family size.—Under the old law benefits do not increase with family size, but the income eligibility cutoff is higher for a veteran with dependents than without. Under the new law the amount of monthly benefits payable to a veteran rises $5 per month each for the second and third dependents, but zero beyond that. Relationship of benefits to place of residence.-Benefits are uniform throughout the 50 States and in the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Relationship of benefit amount to cost of living.—The legislation provides no automatic adjustments for higher living costs, but Congress periodically increases benefits. Benefit amounts.-Monthly benefits as of January 1975 are shown below for old and new law pensions. Under the old law basic benefits are set at $66.15 per month. Benefits are increased to $78.75 per month after continuous receipt of the pension for 10 years or at age 65. No benefit is paid to a veteran without dependents when annual countable income reaches $2,600. The income cutoff for a veteran with dependents is $3,900. Thus, the extra dollar that ends eligibility causes a minimum benefit loss of $793.80 a year and a maximum loss of $1,625.40, the payment available for regular aid and attendance. Under the new law the maximum benefit for a veteran with no dependents is $160 per month, and the minimum benefit, received at the annual countable income limit of $3,000, is $5 per month. For a veteran with one dependent the maximum payment is $172 per month, and the minimum, reached at the annual countable income limit of $4,200, is $14 per month. Maximum and minimum benefits are $177 and $19 for the veteran with two dependents, and $182 and $24 for the veteran with three or more dependents. (See table in "Supplementary Material.") Annual pension benefits averaged $1,377 per case, including dependents' allowances, in fiscal year 1973 and were estimated at $1,335 in fiscal year 1974 and projected at $1,469 in fiscal year 1975. In 1973, more than half the unmarried veteran pensioners had less than $1,500 in annual countable income (which does not include cash welfare), and thus were eligible for pension payments of $1,068. Approximately 43 percent of pensioners with dependents had annual countable income below $2,000. Perspectives on benefit amounts.-The maximum new law benefit for the unmarried veteran, $160 per month, is 25 percent below the July 1974 poverty level for a single veteran under 65 years of age. At this pension level, he was eligible, as of January 1975 for $13 in bonus food stamps, bringing him to within 19 percent of the July 1974 poverty level. A single veteran 65 years or older with the maximum new law benefit of $160 per month would have income 18 percent below the estimated poverty line for July 1974. If the veteran obtained the available food stamp bonus of $13 per month, his income would rise to within 12 percent of the estimated July 1974 poverty line for a nonfarm individual. The $182 maximum monthly benefit for a veteran with three dependents is 56 percent below the July 1974 poverty line for a nonfarm family of four. To his pension he could add $107 in bonus food stamps, bringing his family to within 31 percent of the poverty standard estimated for July 1974. However, since over three-quarters of veterans' pensioners also have income from such other sources as social security, combined income in most cases will rise nearer "adequate" levels. Both old and new law benefits are tax free and expense free, and hence are worth more than the same amount of gross earnings. All pensions provided by the old law are below the poverty level. OTHER BENEFITS PROVIDED OR AVAILABLE.-Veterans may receive health services, housing, and educational assistance administered by the Veterans Administration, and all are eligible for preference for Federal employment. PARTICIPATION IN OTHER PROGRAMS.-In 1973, approximately 77 percent of veterans who received pensions also received social security payments. Some pensioners also receive benefits from the supplemental security income (SSI) program, another federally administered, ncome-tested program.2 $3,001 and above.. Veterans with dependents: $701 to $1,800_- - . $4,001 to $4,200___ $4,200. $4,201 and above_-_. $160. $160, less 3 percent of annual income in excess of $300. $154, less 4 percent of annual income in excess of $500. $138, less 5 percent of annual income in excess of $900. $108, less 6 percent of annual income in excess of $1,500. $84, less 7 percent of annual income in excess of $1,900. $56, less 8 percent of annual income in excess of $2,300. $5. 0. $172.1 Monthly benefit $172, less 2 percent of annual income in excess of $500. $168, less 3 percent of annual income in excess of $700. $135, less 4 percent of annual income in excess of $1,800. $87, less 5 percent of annual income in excess of $3,000. $62, less 6 percent of annual income in excess of $3,500. $44, less 7 percent of annual income in excess of $3,800. $30, less 8 percent of annual income in excess of $4,000. $14. A veteran with 1 dependent gets $172; with two dependents, $177; and with 3 or more dependents, $182. 2 SSI's basic cash guarantee is lower than that of the pension programs for individuals but higher for couples. SSI guaranteed $146 per individual and $219 per couple, as of September 1974, compared with the veterans' pension maximums of $160 and $172 respectively, for those with no other countable income. The following table summarizes these rates at $100 increment levels: MONTHLY PENSION RATES FOR VETERANS (EFFECTIVE JAN. 1, 1975) PENSIONS FOR WIDOWS AND CHILDREN OF VETERANS BASIC PROGRAM INFORMATION LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVE. To provide a partial means of support for widows 1 and children of deceased veterans whose deaths were not a result of active service. DATE ENACTED AND MAJOR CHANGES SINCE ENACTMENT.-The old law, which covers veterans' survivors who were on pension rolls prior to July 1, 1960, and who elected to remain under that law, became effective in 1933. The current or new law became effective July 1, 1960. The maximum monthly benefit for a childless widow rose from $70 in 1967 to $96 in 1974, and $108 in 1975. During the same period the eligibility limit for a lone widow rose from $1,800 to $3,000 in annual countable income. The old law provides flat monthly payments, but the new law varies payments by income. Except as otherwise noted, material refers to the new law. ADMINISTERING AGENCY.-The Veterans Administration, Department of Veterans Benefits, through regional offices. FINANCING.-Open-ended Federal appropriations that provide for direct payments to beneficiaries. Administrative costs (chiefly salaries) were estimated at $13,047,000 in fiscal year 1973, $13,578,000 in fiscal year 1974, and are projected at $14,085,000 in fiscal year 1975. In June 1974 a total of 1,788,443 needy survivors received benefits, 950,827 widows and 837,616 children, but the total number of other eligible persons not claiming benefits is unknown. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA MAJOR ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.—To be eligible under the old law, a beneficiary must be needy and a not presently married widow or a child (see definition below) who was on the pension rolls prior to July 1, 1960, and who elected to remain covered under the old rather than the new law. The term "widow" means a person whose marriage to a veteran is valid and who was the lawful spouse (male or female) of a veteran at the time of the veteran's death. The term includes the widower of any female veteran if such widower is incapable of self-maintenance and was permanently incapable of self-support because of physical or mental disability at the time of the veteran's death. Widows need not meet the requirement of incapacity for self-maintenance. A remarried widow may be eligible if the remarriage was void, has been annulled, or terminated in death or divorce. |