Approval is not the end of the file. An Aid and Attendance award is a pension that VA keeps checking against Dad's income, assets, household, and care costs, and the family is the one who has to tell VA when those facts change. This briefing covers the maintenance side of the award: what must be reported, what VA sends back to confirm the file, and what happens when a change goes unreported.1
What the family must report
VA treats the pension as ongoing. The changes a beneficiary is expected to report generally include income from any source, changes in assets or net worth, a change in marital or dependent status, a change of address, and changes in unreimbursed medical expenses that VA counts toward eligibility.1 Confirm the current list on the VA.gov pension pages before you rely on it, because the rules are set by VA, not by this desk.
Two changes catch families most often: admission to a nursing home or a change in who pays for care, and the death of a spouse who was counted in the household. Either one can change the rate, the countable income, or whether the award continues at all. Report them as they happen instead of waiting for VA to ask.
The annual check
VA periodically sends an Eligibility Verification Report that asks for the household's current income, assets, and expenses.2 Return it complete and on time. Compare the form number on the mailed copy against the VA.gov forms list before you sign. A blank or partial return can hold up payment while VA waits for the missing answers, and a return that understates income can produce a debt later.
Keep a running file
Keep one folder with a copy of every report sent, proof of how each one was sent, every VA letter, and receipts for care costs and other medical expenses. Write a one-page log of each change with a short note on who was told, how, and which document backs it up. That log is what you will need if VA questions a figure, and it is what any representative helping with the file will ask to see. If a hired non-medical caregiver collects receipts, the family should still hold the originals and the log.
When a change goes unreported
If VA pays more than the family was entitled to, VA can create an overpayment debt and send a notice that explains the amount and how to dispute it or ask for a waiver or payment plan.1 Ask for the calculation in writing and check each period it covers against your log. The notice sets the deadline to respond, so read it the day it arrives and do not set a debt letter aside as if it were a routine mailing.
Who to ask first
Before you send a change report on a complex case, such as a move into a facility or a disagreement over income, ask whether an accredited representative or a St. Louis office can review the paperwork first. Local options are listed on the St. Louis offices page. Do not send a report whose numbers you cannot trace to a document in the file. For the full list of sources behind this briefing, see the Sources page.
Sources
1 VA.gov, Veterans Pension benefits and Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits pages, covering reporting duties, countable changes, and overpayment notices.
2 VA.gov, pension eligibility verification forms page, covering the periodic Eligibility Verification Report and its form number.