The federal government designed a program called the Aid and Attendance (A&A) Pension Benefit to do just that, but few veterans know about it.

Michael Smith and Richard Barid, co-founders of Savannah-based law firm Smith Barid, LLC, want to change that fact. Since founding their law firm in 2006, Smith and Barid have been a highly sought out resource for veterans groups and other organizations seeking information on A&A as well as other long-term care planning options available to seniors.

“Long-term care assistance can be costly and create stress among family members and loved ones,” Smith said. “We want our valued veterans to know that they have options available to them to reduce that stress and help them provide for their future.”

More than half of seniors, 51 percent, are veterans, according to the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics’ 2010 report. Veterans tend to have more health problems than the general senior population meaning that they are more likely to need long-term care.

In particular, the report stated that veterans have a higher percentage of limitations in activities of daily living, greater likelihood of having a disability, and less likelihood of rating their general health status as good or better.

The report also stated that the large increase in the oldest segment of the veteran population will continue to drive up demand for health care services, particularly long-term care.

The Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit is a program offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to veterans and their surviving spouses to pay for home care, assisted living or nursing care as well as medical supplies and medicines.

The Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 2009 that long-term care costs can range from $19 an hour for a Homemaker Service up to $219 a day for a room in a nursing home.

Through the A&A program, married couples can receive nearly $2,000 a month and widows or widowers more than $1,000 a month to help pay for these expenses, but fewer than 10 percent of U.S. seniors are taking advantage of the benefit, according to the National Care Planning Council, an agency that promotes long-term care planning nationwide.

Aid and Attendance Pension Benefits may apply to any veteran who served at least 90 consecutive days, (at least one of which was during a war period), is at least 65 years old (or totally and permanently disabled), was not dishonorably discharged and has been certified by a doctor as needing assistance with daily living activities. Widows or widowers of such veterans who neither divorced nor remarried also may apply.

In addition to these requirements veterans’ or their widows’ income and net worth must not exceed certain limits.

“As an accredited VA attorney there are things that I can do to help veterans or their widows meet these qualifications,” Barid said. “It is my job to share my expertise and help our clients qualify for the benefit while preserving some of the household assets.”

With proper planning a claimant often can make changes that would allow him or her to qualify.

“We work with the family to help them pay for medical care without entirely depleting their loved one’s assets,” Smith said. “Our goal is to stretch our client’s assets to delay the need to rely upon Medicaid for care.”

Smith and Barid offer free first-time consultations for anyone interested in learning more about the A&A benefit. They also are available to speak to civic groups/clubs, churches, synagogues, and other religious organizations, professional groups, elderly groups/clubs, over 55 groups/clubs, medical support groups, Veterans clubs, and to any group that is interested in helping the elderly on this or other topics of interest.

MAXIMUM A&A PENSION IN 2011*

_{* These amounts may change each year based on cost of living adjustments (no COLA from 2010 to 2011).}