Veterans have served their country and have earned additional programs and services to help them age well. We have compiled a brief list of services available to veterans and their families.

Some of the benefits are specifically offered to veterans themselves; others, just as important, are geared toward the families of veterans.

If you are aware of programs that we have not listed, please let us know. Please send the information to [email protected].

Disability compensation is a tax-free monetary benefit paid to veterans with disabilities resulting from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service. tinyurl.com/y442rk9n

Veterans determined by the VA to be in need of the regular aid and attendance (A&A) of another person, or permanently housebound, may be entitled to additional disability compensation or pension payments. tinyurl.com/y442rk9n

VR&E provides services to eligible service members and veterans with service-connected disabilities and an employment handicap to help them prepare for, obtain, and maintain suitable employment. tinyurl.com/yxoct3h4

VA home loan guaranties are issued to help eligible service members and certain surviving spouses obtain homes, condominiums, and manufactured homes, and to refinance loans.

The VA has a special office to help small and disadvantaged businesses get information on VA acquisition opportunities.

Survivors Pension

Survivors Pension is a tax-free benefit payable to low-income surviving spouses or children who have not married or remarried since the death of the veteran.

Veterans and other claimants for VA benefits have the right to appeal decisions made by the VA. 

Certain dependents and survivors can receive reimbursement for most medical expenses—inpatient, outpatient, mental health, prescription medication, skilled nursing care, and durable medical equipment.

Medals awarded while in active service are issued by the individual military services if requested by veterans or their next of kin.

Eligible participants are entitled to receive a percentage of the cost of in-state tuition and fees at public institutions, or the tuition and fees capped at a national maximum rate for private or foreign schools. tinyurl.com/y56rzjht
 

Pension is a needs-based benefit paid to wartime veterans who meet certain age or non-service-connected disability requirements.

You may be eligible if

• you were discharged from service under other than dishonorable conditions, AND

• you served 90 days or more of active duty with at least 1 day during a period of wartime, AND

• your countable income is below the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR), AND

• you meet the net worth limitations, AND

• you are age 65 or older, OR

• you have a permanent and total non-service-connected disability, OR

• you are a patient in a nursing home, OR

• you are receiving Social Security disability benefits.

For more info: tinyurl.com/yxvmmf38

LVMAC Lehigh Valley’s comprehensive source of information relevant to veterans. lv-mac.org

Allentown VA Outpatient Clinic 3110 Hamilton Blvd., Allentown (610) 776-4304 tinyurl.com/yy84f5u6

Lehigh County Veterans Affairs 17 S. 7th St., Allentown (610) 782-3295 tinyurl.com/y3xcddgc

Northampton County Veterans 2801 Emrick Blvd., Bethlehem (610) 829-4875 tinyurl.com/y69pwt2u

Department of Veterans Affairs va.gov

Veterans Crisis Line 800-273-8255, press 1

A&A is an increased monthly pension amount paid to a veteran or surviving spouse. You may be eligible if

• you require the aid of another person in order to perform activities of daily living, such as bathing, feeding, dressing, toileting, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protecting yourself from the hazards of your daily environment, OR

• you are bedridden, in that your disability or disabilities require that you remain in bed apart from any prescribed course of convalescence or treatment, OR

• you are a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, OR

• you have corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or less in both eyes or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less.

For more info: tinyurl.com/yybydyax
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The veterans who attend a particular church were invited to wear their uniforms one Sunday. One particular veteran did not wear his uniform; instead, he stood up and pointed to his lapel and the First Cavalry Division emblem he received in Korea. He then explained sheepishly, “This is the only part of my uniform that still fits.”

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Four men in camouflage uniforms were sitting at a table in a restaurant. One gentleman who was proud of the men and women who serve our country in the military walked over to the group and said, “I just want to thank you for your service, and it would be an honor to buy your lunch.

One man put down his fork, looked up, and said, “We appreciate that, sir, and thank you. But we’re not in the military. We’re on a hunting trip!”