VA Aid & Attendance Pension Benefit Calculator

What it is

A deterministic, in-browser estimator of the VA improved pension with Aid & Attendance (38 CFR 3.23) for elder-law, senior-financial-planning, and aging-services advisors. Given the claimant category, gross countable annual income, annual unreimbursed medical expenses (UME), and the DATED Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) at the A&A level, it computes the medical-expense deductible (5% of MAPR, 38 CFR 3.272(g)), the Income for VA Purposes (IVAP = income minus the UME above the deductible), the annual pension (MAPR minus IVAP, floored at zero), and the monthly rate (annual / 12 rounded DOWN to the dollar, 38 CFR 3.29(b)) - plus the net-worth bright-line check (38 CFR 3.274). No API, no key, no network, no AI - every figure is exact arithmetic citing its rule. The MAPR and net-worth limit are DATED inputs you confirm for the effective date; a wrong year never silently mis-computes because the values used are always shown and the deductible is derived from the MAPR you supply. Not a VA determination; not legal, tax, financial, or medical advice.

Honest scope

Authorities cited

• 38 CFR 3.23 - Improved pension rates: the annual pension equals the applicable Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) reduced by the claimant's countable income (IVAP); the Aid & Attendance level is the highest MAPR.
• 38 CFR 3.271 - Computation of income: what counts as income for VA pension purposes (countable income, the base for IVAP).
• 38 CFR 3.272 - Exclusions from income, including 3.272(g): unreimbursed medical expenses are deductible only to the extent they EXCEED 5% of the applicable MAPR (the medical-expense deductible).
• 38 CFR 3.274 - Net worth and VA pension: the single net-worth bright-line limit (countable assets plus annual income, with exclusions); net worth above the limit bars the pension. The limit is indexed annually (eff. 2023-12-01 = $155,356).
• 38 CFR 3.29 - Rounding: the monthly pension rate is the annual rate divided by 12, with the cents dropped (rounded down to the whole dollar).
• 38 CFR 3.351, 3.352 - Aid & Attendance and Housebound criteria: the claimant must need the regular aid of another person, which qualifies for the A&A-level MAPR.
• 38 CFR 3.276 - Asset transfers: a 36-month look-back and penalty period for covered asset transfers (NOT modeled here - flagged only).
• VA Veterans Pension & Survivors Pension Rate Tables (effective 2023-12-01) - the published MAPRs by claimant category at the A&A level; COLA-adjusted each December 1. Confirm the current table at va.gov/pension for your effective date.

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