Veterans, remember to include VA health benefits in retirement planning
2 min read
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here’s an explanation for .
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
My husband and I attended a reunion of the men who served on the USS William M. Wood, a U.S. Navy destroyer. The reunion is annually timed to coincide with Columbus Day, which honors Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the New World and opened the doors to life here.
Only about 100 former sailors and their spouses attended our reunion a few years ago — a small segment of the thousands of men who served their country aboard the Wood. Because the Wood was launched during World War II and continued to be in service through the Vietnam War, nearly everyone who attended was at, or near, retirement.
We go every year and we always have a good time talking to friends. This time one of the most popular topics was what it takes to live well in this tough economy. Several of the guys said they were relying on the Veterans Affairs health care benefits. That struck me as an idea that lots of people could incorporate into their retirement planning.
Many vets find it much cheaper to rely on VA health care instead of Medicare. Veterans enrolled in the VA medical benefits package and not enrolled in Medicare avoid Medicare premiums, deductibles and co-insurance.
Some vets find it best to combine parts of Medicare — for instance, Part A for which there is no additional charge — with VA care, opting out of Medicare Parts B and D.
The VA also provides extensive nursing home and home-based care for both veterans and, in some cases, spouses. The most popular program is known as Aid and Attendance.
Almost anyone who served honorably in the U.S. military is eligible for VA benefits, though income limits may apply.
It doesn’t cost anything for a veteran to apply for benefits. You do need a high tolerance for paperwork. But if you were once in the military, you probably already know all about that. Before you initiate the process, make sure you have a copy of your military discharge papers. There are County Veterans Service Offices in most large counties. That’s a good place to start because they’ll help you navigate the paperwork.
Share