Guides
VA Aid and Attendance for Home Care in New Jersey
The benefit was earned decades ago. Most families have simply never heard of it.
The benefit was earned decades ago. Most families have simply never heard of it.
Aid and Attendance is an addition to the VA pension for wartime-era veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily living. It is not a program that sends a caregiver. It is cash, paid monthly to the veteran or spouse, and the family decides how to spend it, including on private home care.
That last part matters. Because the money goes to the family rather than a provider, you are not limited to VA-enrolled agencies. Lumara is not a VA-enrolled provider, and it makes no difference: families use the benefit to pay for our care the same way they would use any other income.
At the rates effective December 2025, the benefit is worth up to $2,424 a month for a single veteran ($29,093 a year), more with a dependent, and up to $1,558 a month ($18,697 a year) for a surviving spouse. That is enough to fund several caregiver visits a week on its own, or to take real pressure off a family already paying for care.
The amounts adjust every December, so check the current figures on VA.gov before planning around them. Our cost guide shows what those dollars buy in Bergen County.
If your parent misses the Aid and Attendance care test but rarely leaves the house, ask about the Housebound rate instead. It pays less, but the same application covers both, and the VA awards whichever applies.
No legitimate path to this benefit costs money. Applying is free, and federal law restricts charging fees to help with initial applications. If a company offers to qualify your parent for a fee, or an advisor pitches an annuity or trust as the way in, walk away. Those pitches are common around this benefit, they can trigger the VA’s look-back penalty, and the free help from an accredited representative is better anyway.
Yes. The benefit is paid in cash to the veteran or surviving spouse, not to a provider, so the family can spend it on any care they choose, including a private-pay agency. The agency does not need to be VA-enrolled for the family to use the money this way.
Often, yes. A surviving spouse of a wartime-era veteran who has not remarried and meets the care-need and financial criteria can receive the survivor version of the benefit. At the rates effective December 2025 it is worth up to $1,558 a month. Many widows have no idea this exists.
Approval commonly takes several months. Once approved, benefits are paid back to the application date, so file as early as possible and do not wait for a crisis. An intent-to-file form can lock in the effective date while the full application is assembled.
No, never. Applying is free through VA-accredited representatives, veterans service organizations, and the Bergen County veterans services office. Anyone charging a fee to unlock the benefit, or pitching a financial product to help you qualify, is a reason to walk away.
If your parent served and you’re sorting out how to fund care, call (551) 500-2054. We’ll point you to the free application help and talk through what care would look like once the benefit lands.
Or call us directly at (551) 500-2054.