The legislation was filed by Reps. Elaine Luria, D-Va., and Troy Nehls, R-Texas, late last week and by Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Jerry Moran, R-Kansas. In joint statements, the four called the proposal critical to bolstering veteran’s finances, reports Military Times’ recent article entitled “Lawmakers move to guarantee cost-of-living boost for veterans benefits.”

“We have a responsibility to take care of our veterans, many of whom rely on VA for financial support,” said Moran, ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

“As rampant inflation is driving up the cost of living, this legislation helps make certain that veterans are able to keep up with our changing economy and receive the benefits they have been promised.”

The cost-of-living increase will fully benefit retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System. However, it will have a lesser impact on Federal Employee Retirement System recipients.

The legislation linking the two government benefits is largely routine.  Lawmakers usually approve the annual proposal to couple VA benefits increases with Social Security benefits increases by large bipartisan margins.

However, it’s not automatic. Despite efforts by some advocates in the past, an annual cost-of-living increase in veterans benefits requires congressional action. Social Security benefits, on the other hand, are adjusted based on an automatic formula that is triggered whether lawmakers vote on it or not.

In 2021, as inflation pressures began to impact the American economy, that increase was 5.9%. Officials have not given this year’s adjustment but continued rising costs across the economy could drive that figure even higher.

The VA COLA increase bill would apply to payouts for disability compensation, clothing allowance, dependency and indemnity benefits and other VA assistance programs.

“Transitioning from active duty to civilian life is not always easy, and a cost-of-living adjustment is the least we can do for the men, women and families who served our country,” said Luria, herself a Navy veteran.

No schedule has been set for when either chamber could vote on the bill.

BOOK A CALL with me, Ted Vicknair, Board Certified Estate Planning and Administration Specialist, Board Certified Tax Law Specialist, and CPA to learn more about estate planning, incapacity planning, and asset protection.

If you liked this article, “What Is Congress Doing to Guarantee a COLA Increase for Vets?” read also these additional articles: How Do I Store Estate Planning Documents? and Are Vitamin D and Dementia Connected? and Using Estate Planning to Prepare for Medicaid and What Is a TOD Beneficiary?

Reference: Military Times (May 23, 2022) “Lawmakers move to guarantee cost-of-living boost for veterans benefits”

Forbes’ recent article entitled “Hiring an Elder Law Attorney” tells us that elder law attorneys are lawyers who assist the elderly, their family members and caregivers with legal questions and planning related to aging.

The types of issues with which an experienced elder law attorney can help are numerous. They may include some or all of the following:

• Medicare, Social Security, and disability claims and appeals
• Supplemental insurance and long-term health insurance claims and appeals
• Long-term care planning
• Medicaid planning, including the preservation and transfer of assets.
• Accessing health care in a nursing home or other managed care environment and long-term care placements
• Medicare enrollment
• Estate and disability planning, including wills, living wills, powers of attorney for financial and health needs and trusts
• Veterans’ benefits
• Probate and estate administration
• Conservatorships and guardianships, in the event that you become physically or mentally incapacitated
• Housing discrimination and home equity conversions (reverse mortgages)
• Health and mental health law questions; and
• Elder abuse and fraud recovery issues.

You can hire an estate planning or trust attorney to handle some of these legal matters. However, if those lawyers don’t offer elder law services, they will likely be more transactional rather than ongoing.

An estate planning attorney will prepare the necessary documents and once they’re executed, the engagement ends. Check to see if they practice the areas covered in elder law, if you are looking for an attorney that handles all of these areas.

To learn more, read these articles:  8 Key Steps to Take Before Hiring a Lawyer and Does Executor have to Be a Family Member? and Should I Keep My Life Insurance Policy?

Reference: Forbes (Oct. 4, 2021) “Hiring an Elder Law Attorney”

BOOK A CALL with elder lawyer Ted Vicknair today to find out more about how you can plan your future for your and your family’s security.

The VA’s move to revise its application process for caregiver benefits comes after an order last month from the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims judges, which ruled that families rejected by the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers should have an opportunity to appeal those decisions to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. The BVA handles other VA benefits disputes.

Military Times’s recent article entitled “VA overhauls application process for caregiver support program after court ruling” reports that VA officials have opposed that idea. Instead, they want to keep program decisions within the clinical side of department operations. They feel that this will produce better health care options for veterans and less complexity for families.

“We believe that participation in this program is part of a veteran’s overall medical care plan,” said Meg Kabat, senior advisor on families, caregivers and survivors at VA. “These clinical and medical decisions being thrown into the litigation process is not what is best for veterans.”

The VA has asked the full veterans claims court to reconsider the April decision. The case focuses on concerns about the way in which applications to the caregiver program are handled. For veterans who need significant home care from a spouse or family member, the program awards up to $2,300 a month in stipends and access to additional support services.

There are roughly 25,000 veterans now participating in the program, with another 27,000 pending applications. The current process has the leaders from individual VA medical centers review applications and make decisions on who gets the benefit. That has resulted in complaints about inconsistency and a lack of transparency with the application process from veterans advocates. This formed the basis of the recent lawsuit.

Kabat explains that those applications will now go to clinical teams at each of the department’s 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks. About 200 new medical professionals are being hired for this.

Vets rejected for the program by the new review panels can appeal to a different VISN twice, if they think the decision was made in error. VA officials said the new process will let families and outside advocates better understand the reasons for the decisions and make certain that similar applications across the country are handled in a similar way.

However, nothing in the new application process unveiled by VA would award back pay to veterans previously rejected for the program. In a statement, Amanda Pertusati, supervising staff attorney at Public Counsel (which brought the lawsuit against the department), said officials are still reviewing the changes.

“We look forward to implementing the court’s order to ensure that all caregiver program claimants have the ability to seek appellate review, as well as to obtain the benefits that they are entitled to,” she said. “It is unfortunate that the parties and the court will now have to be distracted by VA’s attacks on the court’s decision, rather than focusing all efforts to implement it.”

The court ordered the VA to create an implementation plan for the retroactive appeals by June. VA officials said they will follow that order, even as they contest the lawsuit.

To discuss with Ted if you qualify for the VA Aid & Attendance Benefit BOOK A CALL today.  The call is free.

If you liked this article, “What’s the Latest on the VA’s Overhaul of the Application Process for Caregiver Benefits?” read these additional articles: Who Pays the Tax on a Special Needs Trust? and How Do You Survive Financially after Death of Spouse? and What Should Not Be Included in Will? and Can I Set Up a Trust for a Child?

Reference: Military Times (May 10, 2021) “VA overhauls application process for caregiver support program after court ruling”