Veterans Benefits

By Michael T. Lahti 

Comprehensive proposed changes to the Veterans Administration (“VA”) laws were published on January 23, 2015.  The changes would affect how the VA covers net worth, asset transfers and income exclusions for needs-based benefits.   The rules were issue to “maintain the integrity of the pension program and to implement recent statutory changes” and to “respond to recent recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to maintain the integrity of VA’s needs- based benefit programs, and to clarify and address issues necessary for the consistent adjudication of pension and parents’ dependency and indemnity compensation claims.”