Veterans

Veterans of the United States Uniformed Services may be eligible for a broad range of programs and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Eligibility for most VA benefits is based upon discharge from active military service under other than dishonorable conditions. Active military service means full-time service, other than active duty for training, as a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service, Environmental Science Services Administration or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or its predecessor, the Coast and Geodetic Survey.

VA Benefits

Veterans may be eligible for a wide-variety of benefits and services. These include disability compensation, pension, education and training, health care, home loans, insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and burial. See our Veterans page for an overview of the benefits available to all Veterans.

Disability Compensation

Disability compensation is a monthly tax-free benefit paid to Veterans who are at least 10% disabled because of injuries or diseases that occurred or were aggravated during active duty or active duty for training. VA also pays disability compensation for disabilities from injury, heart attack, or stroke that occurred during inactive duty training. The disability must not be a result of your own willful misconduct, or alcohol or drug abuse.

Veterans with a service-connected disability may also quality for other benefits, including: Automobile Allowance, Clothing Allowance, Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) Grant, Service Disabled Veterans' Insurance (SDVI) and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment.

Pension

VA Pension provides tax-free monthly benefit to wartime Veterans with limited or no income who are:

• Age 65 or older, OR
• Permanently and totally disabled, OR
• Patients in a nursing home receiving skilled nursing care, OR
• Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, OR
• Receiving Supplemental Security Income

Eligibility requires least 90 days of active military service, including one day during a wartime period. If your active military service occurred after September 7, 1980, you must have served at least 24 months or the full period that you were called up.

Education

VA education benefits provide financial support for undergraduate and graduate degrees, vocational and technical training, licensing and certification tests, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training. You may be eligible for one or more of the following VA education benefit programs if you meet these requirements:

• Post-9/11 GI Bill – at least 90 aggregate days of active service or were discharged with a service-connected disability after serving 30 continuous days, after September 10, 2001.
• Montgomery GI Bill-Active Duty (MGIB-AD) – you meet the eligibility requirements for one of four MGIB-AD categories, which include factors such as the dates and length of your service. Generally, benefits are payable for 10 years following your release from active duty.
• Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) – have a six-year obligation to serve in the Selected Reserve signed after June 30, 1985 and meet training and attendance requirements. Generally, your eligibility for MGIB-SR benefits ends on the day you leave the Selected Reserve.
• Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) - reservists who were activated for at least 90 days after September 11, 2001, for a contingency operation, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan operations.
• Post-Vietnam Era Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) - certain Servicemembers who elected to make contributions from their military pay to participate.

Health Care

VA Health Benefits include all the necessary inpatient hospital care and outpatient services to promote, preserve, or restore your health. VHA medical facilities provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy.

Home Loans

VA guaranteed loans are provided by private lenders, such as banks and mortgage companies, and not by VA directly. Through the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program, VA guarantees a portion of your loan against loss and helps lenders provide you with more favorable financing terms. VA offers the following home loan products and grants:

• Purchase Loan can help you purchase a home at a competitive interest rate. Generally, you do not have to make a down payment or buy mortgage insurance to obtain a purchase loan.
• Cash Out Refinance Loan allows you to cash out your home equity so you can pay other debt, pay for school tuition, or make home improvements
• Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL), also called the Streamline Refinance Loan, can help you obtain a lower interest rate by refinancing your existing VA loan.
• The Native American Direct Loan (NADL) Program helps eligible Native American Veterans finance the purchase, construction, or improvement of homes on Federal Trust Land, or to reduce the interest rate on a VA loan.
• Adapted Housing Grants help Veterans with certain permanent and total service-connected physical disabilities purchase or construct an adapted home, or to modify an existing home to account for your disability.

Insurance

VA offers life insurance programs that provide financial security and peace of mind for Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families. VA provides the following life insurance options at relatively low monthly premiums, which vary by program:

• Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is a low-cost group term life insurance program for Servicemembers. Servicemembers who are totally disabled at separation may extend coverage for up to two years.
• Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) allows Veterans to convert their SGLI to a civilian program of lifetime renewable term coverage after separation from service.
• Family Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) insures spouses and children of Servicemembers with SGLI coverage. Spousal coverage may not exceed the Servicemember's coverage. Dependent children are automatically covered at no charge.
• Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI) is an automatic feature of SGLI that provides payments to Servicemembers who suffer severe losses, such as amputations, blindness, and paraplegia, due to traumatic injuries that occur in service.
• Service-Disabled Veterans' Insurance (S-DVI) provides life insurance coverage to Veterans whom VA has granted service connection for a new disability within the last two years. Totally disabled Veterans are eligible for free coverage and have the opportunity to purchase additional insurance.
• Veterans' Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) provides mortgage life insurance protection to severely disabled Servicemembers and Veterans who received a Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant.

Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment

VA provides a variety of employment and independent living services through the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program. VA may provide you with vocational counseling, job search assistance, and other education and training services. The VR&E VetSuccess program provides a range of career services, including:

• Comprehensive evaluation to determine your abilities, skills, and employment interests
• Career counseling and rehabilitation planning for employment
• Employment services, such as job training, job-seeking skills, résumé development, and other work-readiness assistance
• Assistance in finding and keeping a job, including how to use special employer incentives and job accommodations
• On-the-Job Training (OJT), apprenticeships, and non-paid work experiences

Burial

VA provides memorial services and allowances to help reimburse burial costs for a Veteran and/or his or her dependents. Burial benefits include burial at a national cemetery, an inscribed headstone, marker, or medallion, an allowance to partially reimburse the burial and funeral costs of a Veteran, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and an American flag to drape over a Veteran's casket.

Eligibility requires that the Veteran was serving on active duty, or his/her death was due to an injury or disease that developed during, or was aggravated during, active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training.

How to Apply

The specific VA benefit or program web page will provide tailored information about how to apply for a particular benefit or program. Generally, Servicemembers, Veterans, and families can apply for VA benefits using one of the methods below.

Benefits

• Apply online using eBenefits, OR
• Work with an accredited representative or agent, OR
• Go to a VA regional office and have a VA employee assist you. You can find your regional office on our Facility Locator page.

For more information on how to apply and for tips on making sure your claim is ready to be processed by VA, visit our How to Apply page.

Health Care

• Apply online, OR
• Call our toll-free number at 877-222-VETS (8387), OR
• Complete VA Form 10-10EZ (Application for Health Benefits) at your local VA medical center. You can find your local medical center on our Facility Locator page.

For more information on how to apply for health care, visit our Apply for VA Health Benefits page.