Check the Service Record Before You Commit Money: Wartime Service, Length, and Discharge Type

Before a family commits to a plan that assumes VA pension money, the first check is the veteran's service record. The pension route depends on the length of service, whether any of that service fell in a period VA recognizes as wartime, and the type of discharge. If those facts do not fit, the plan has to change before anyone is paid.¹

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What VA looks for, in general terms

VA's pension rules, as stated on VA.gov, generally require a minimum period of active military service, with at least one day of that service during a period VA recognizes as wartime. The discharge also has to be something other than dishonorable. Confirm the exact current minimum on the VA.gov pension page before you rely on any figure, because the precise wording is VA's to set and VA can change it.¹

Read the three facts off the record

Look at the entry and separation information on the service record, usually the separation document the veteran was given at discharge. Note the dates of active service, which wartime periods that service overlaps, and the character of the discharge as written. Those three facts decide which requirements the family must examine next. Do not work from memory or a family story, because the record is the document VA reads.

When a fact does not match

If the record shows service that seems too short, or a discharge type that is not the one the family remembers, stop before signing a contract that depends on the answer. A question about the discharge can change eligibility, and that determination belongs to VA. Ask a Veterans Service Officer or a county veterans office to read the record with you before the family commits money. The point is to know the answer before the bill arrives.

Put the answer in the file

Once the facts are confirmed, copy the relevant entries onto a single sheet and keep it with the care agreement and the other claim papers. Anyone who signs a contract later should be able to see which service facts the plan assumes. If a fact changes, the plan changes with it.

Where this fits

Service facts are only the first question. The next questions are how much help is needed and what the household has to pay with, and those are taken up in order in the Start Here: The Order to Read guide. This desk is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Footnotes

1. VA.gov, veterans pension benefit pages, for the general service and discharge requirements.