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<DIV><SPAN class=174300113-22042011><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Hi
Everyone, </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=174300113-22042011><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>This
information may be beneficial to our veterans</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<H1><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=6><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt">Little-known benefit can give veterans a
late-in-life boost </SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H3 property="dc:creator"><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt">By Leslie Tamura, Tuesday,
April 19,</SPAN></FONT></B><SPAN class=special>12:42 AM</SPAN> </H3><!-- /byline -->
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A former
nurse and the widow of a World War II veteran, Dorothy Jablonski, 84, had
been living off her husband’s pension, her own Social Security and the proceeds
from the sale of her house. But as her nest egg shrank, Jablonski’s sons had no
idea how she would continue paying her monthly bill of about $6,000 at one of
the </SPAN></FONT>Sunrise senior living communities in Maryland. </P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">After
talking with staff at </SPAN></FONT>Sunrise, a McLean-based company with about
300 assisted living facilities nationwide, Dan Jablonski learned that his mom
might be eligible for a little-known benefit called <A
href="http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/pension/vetpen.htm#7">Aid and Attendance</A>
(A&A).</P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A
need-based, tax-free pension, A&A supports wartime veterans and their
spouses who cannot pay for non-service-related medical needs. (Veterans with
service-connected disabilities get compensation <A
href="http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/compensation/">through a separate program
operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs)</A>. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">About
182,000 veterans and their spouses take advantage of the A&A benefit, which
has been around since World War I, but VA officials say that many more are
eligible. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“We know
that we’re only hitting about one in four eligible veterans,” said Tom Pamperin,
the VA’s deputy undersecretary for disability assistance. “There are a lot of
veterans where it’s been 40 years or more since they’ve been on active duty. It
just doesn’t occur to them there may be a benefit from the
VA.”</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Beneficiaries must be at least 65 years old. They are
veterans or married to veterans who served during a <A
href="http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/pension/wartime.htm">wartime period</A> —
eligibility includes the Vietnam War era and the Gulf War of 1990 — and were
honorably discharged; they do not have to have seen combat.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Applicants
must also need help with at least one activity of daily living: dressing,
eating, walking, bathing, adjusting prosthetic devices or using the toilet.
Those who are blind, living in nursing homes or require in-home care may also be
eligible.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Married
veterans can receive as much as $1,949 per month. Single veterans could get a
monthly A&A check for $1,644. A veteran’s surviving spouse could receive a
maximum of $1,056. Though a beneficiary’s other income and benefits might reduce
the amount of the pension, Pamperin said most people get the maximum.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Single
veterans must make less than $19,736 annually. A married veteran’s income must
be less than $23,396. Dorothy Jablon-ski’s annual income fell beneath the
A&A $12,861 limit for a surviving spouse. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Within a
year of submitting the forms (<A
href="http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-534-ARE.pdf">21-534</A>, <A
href="http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/">DD-214</A>)
required by the VA, she began receiving the maximum A&A benefit.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“It makes a
difference,” said Dan Jablonski, a </SPAN></FONT>Johns Hopkins University
physicist from Bethesda, “so there is no financial component for my mother’s
end-of-life decisions.”</P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">While
grateful, Dan Jablonski added that without the guidance of a lawyer — half of
whose fee was paid by </SPAN></FONT>Sunrise — “[the application] would have
probably crashed and burned and not gotten anywhere.”</P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It’s not a
simple process. A&A applicants must mail the forms, copies of <A
href="http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html">service records</A>,
marriage certificates, proof of insurance and medical records to the <A
href="http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/ro/rocontacts.htm">regional VA office</A>. If
a third party is making the application, an additional form,<A
href="http://www.va.gov/OGC/docs/Accred/21-22a.pdf"> 21-22-a or 21-0845,</A>
must be completed. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“It’s a
difficult, challenging, bureaucratic system,” said Debbie Burak, 59, of
</SPAN></FONT>Midlothian, Va. After applying on behalf of her mother, Burak
established <A href="http://www.veteranaid.org">VeteranAid.org</A> to help
others navigate the process.</P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Once a
pension is granted, the VA provides a lump-sum payment to cover the benefit
retroactively from when the application was filed. The average wait is 90 days,
according to Pamperin. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“We’re
increasing output,” Pamperin said, “but for the last couple of years, it still
hasn’t been able to match the incoming claims.” In 2009, the program paid out
almost $2 billion. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Prospective
applicants can get information from <A
href="http://www4.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp">veterans
organization</A> such as the American Legion, and they can call the VA at
800-827-1000. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dorothy
Jablonski now uses A&A as supplemental income to help pay for her long-term
care. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“By joining
the Navy during World War II,” Dan Jablonski said, “one can make the case that
my father traded his risk of being in the military during a war against the
needs that my mother would have over half a century later.” </SPAN></FONT></P>
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