To be eligible for our disability pension program a veteran has to have 90 days of active duty. One of those days has to be in a war-time period as prescribed by law, and once they meet that threshold they also have to meet an income threshold. Under our current pension income limits, the income of a veteran with no dependants has to be less than $11,830. He can use recurring medical expenses to reduce his amount of countable income to become eligible for a VA pension. We consider those elements as part of the determination.
Such things as social security count against VA pension, so if a veteran is receiving social security or receiving a retirement pension from a job, such as railroad retirement or any other job where they receive regular pension, if they receive more than this $11,830 limit for the year, they won't be eligible for our program.