VA Survivors Pension: 2026 Rates, Net Worth Limit and How to Qualify

The VA Survivors Pension, still called the "death pension" by many, is a monthly payment for the surviving spouse or unmarried dependent child of a veteran who served during a wartime period. It is authorized by 38 U.S.C. 1541. It does not depend on how the veteran died or on a disability rating. It depends on 3 things: the veteran's wartime service, your relationship to the veteran, and your income and net worth.

Survivors Pension is not the same as Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). The 2 programs are easy to confuse because both are paid to survivors and both use the same application form.

Source: https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/survivors-pension/rates/ and https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/dependency-indemnity-compensation/survivor-rates/, effective December 1, 2025.

You cannot get both. 38 CFR 3.700 says not more than 1 award of pension, compensation or DIC may be paid to a dependent at the same time. Because VA Form 21P-534EZ is a single application for DIC, Survivors Pension and accrued benefits, VA looks at both and awards the one you qualify for. If you qualify for both, DIC is almost always higher. The survivor benefits guide walks through every survivor program in one place.

The Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) is the cap Congress sets for your household type. VA subtracts your countable income from the MAPR and pays the difference in 12 monthly payments. The rates below took effect December 1, 2025, after a 2.8% cost-of-living increase.

Source: https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/survivors-pension/rates/, effective December 1, 2025.

A qualified surviving child with no eligible surviving spouse has a MAPR of $2,984 a year. These figures match the Veterans Pension rules on the Aid and Attendance guide, which covers the veteran-side rates.

Here is how the math works, using VA's own example. Your MAPR is $22,304 (spouse with 1 child, Aid and Attendance). Your countable yearly income is $10,000. Your pension is $22,304 minus $10,000, which is $12,304 a year, or $1,025.33 a month. If your countable income is above your MAPR, the pension is $0.

The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and at least 1 of these must be true:

• the veteran entered active duty on or before September 7, 1980 and served at least 90 days of active military service, with at least 1 day during a covered wartime period, or
• the veteran entered active duty after September 7, 1980 and served at least 24 months or the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty, with at least 1 day during a covered wartime period, or
• the veteran was an officer who started active duty after October 16, 1981 and had not previously served 24 months.

"Wartime" does not mean combat. It means the dates of service fall inside a period Congress has defined:

Source: https://www.va.gov/family-and-caregiver-benefits/survivor-compensation/survivors-pension/, checked September 2026.

The Gulf War period is still open, so a veteran with 24 months of service any time since August 2, 1990 meets the wartime test.

Surviving spouse. You may be eligible if all of these are true:

• you were married to the veteran at the time of death, and
• you have not remarried since the veteran's death, and
• your income and net worth are within the limits below.

38 CFR 3.50 also requires that you lived with the veteran continuously from the marriage to the death, unless the separation was the veteran's fault, and that you have not since lived with another person while holding yourself out publicly as their spouse.

Watch out: The remarriage rule for pension is stricter than for DIC. 38 CFR 3.55 lets a surviving spouse keep DIC after remarrying at 55 or older, and restores DIC when a later marriage ends. Neither rule applies to pension. A later marriage only leaves pension intact if it was void or annulled, or if it ended before November 1, 1990. If you remarried and that marriage ended after that date, pension is not restored.

Surviving child. A child may be eligible with no surviving spouse, or when the spouse does not qualify, if the child is unmarried and at least 1 of these is true:

• under 18, or
• under 23 and attending a VA-approved school, or
• unable to care for themselves because of a disability that began before age 18.

The net worth limit is $163,699 for December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026. Under 38 CFR 3.274, "net worth" means your assets plus your annual income, added together. The limit rises each year by the Social Security cost-of-living percentage. If your net worth is over the limit, VA denies or stops the pension.

What counts as income. VA's rule is broad: "how much you earn, including your Social Security benefits, investment and retirement payments, and any income your dependents receive." So yes, Social Security retirement counts. 38 CFR 3.272 excludes a few things, including donations from welfare or charitable organizations, maintenance furnished by a relative or friend, and the VA pension itself.

What counts as an asset. Bank accounts, investments, and property other than your home. Under 38 CFR 3.275 VA does not count your primary residence with a lot of up to 2 acres, your car, or personal effects like appliances. The home stays excluded even if you move to a nursing home or a family member's house for care. 2 traps: VA does not subtract a mortgage from your other assets, and if you sell the home after the pension starts, the net proceeds become an asset unless you buy another home in the same calendar year.

The 36-month look-back. 38 CFR 3.276 lets VA review anything you gave away or sold for less than it was worth in the 36 months before VA receives your claim. That includes gifts to children and money moved into an annuity or trust you cannot cash out yourself. If the transferred amount would have put you over the limit, VA imposes a penalty period, a stretch of months with no pension, of up to 5 years. The penalty starts the month after the transfer and applies to transfers made on or after October 18, 2018. You can cancel the penalty by getting the asset back within 60 days of VA's notice.

The asset and income limits guide has more detail on how VA values specific assets.

Unreimbursed medical expenses are the main reason families of surviving spouses in assisted living qualify when their raw income looks too high. VA subtracts these expenses from your income, but only the part above 5% of your MAPR. For a surviving spouse with no dependents that threshold is $584; with 1 dependent it is $765.

38 CFR 3.278 lists what counts:

• Medicare Part A, B and D premiums, other health insurance and long-term care insurance premiums
• prescriptions, medical supplies and equipment
• payments to an in-home attendant who helps with activities of daily living (ADLs), which the rule defines as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring and walking inside the home
• room and board at an assisted living or care facility, when the facility provides or arranges "custodial care," meaning regular help with 2 or more ADLs

A worked example. A surviving spouse with no children gets $24,000 a year from Social Security and a small private pension combined. She pays $30,000 a year for assisted living that helps her bathe and dress, plus $2,100 in Medicare Part B premiums.

1. Medical expenses: $30,000 + $2,100 = $32,100.
2. Subtract 5% of the $11,699 basic MAPR ($584): $31,516 deductible.
3. Countable income: $24,000 minus $31,516, which is below $0, so VA counts $0.
4. If she also qualifies for Aid and Attendance, her pension is the full $18,697 a year, or $1,558.08 a month.

Report expenses on VA Form 21P-8416, Medical Expense Report, and send an updated one whenever your costs change. This example is only arithmetic. Whether a specific facility or attendant qualifies is a decision VA makes on your evidence.

Aid and Attendance (A&A) and Housebound are higher MAPR tiers, not separate benefits. A surviving spouse receiving pension may qualify for A&A if at least 1 of these is true:

• you need another person to help with daily activities like bathing, feeding and dressing, or
• you have to stay in bed, or spend a large part of the day in bed, because of illness, or
• you are a patient in a nursing home because of the loss of mental or physical abilities, or
• your eyesight is 5/200 or less in both eyes with correction, or your field of vision is 5 degrees or less.

Housebound means you spend most of your time at home because of a permanent disability. You cannot get A&A and Housebound at the same time. For a spouse with no children, A&A raises the cap from $11,699 to $18,697, and Housebound raises it to $14,298.

To claim either tier, a doctor completes VA Form 21-2680, Examination for Housebound Status or Permanent Need for Regular Aid and Attendance. If you are in a nursing home, add VA Form 21-0779. The Aid and Attendance guide explains what the exam form asks.

1. Gather the veteran's death certificate and a copy of the DD 214 or equivalent for every period of service, plus your marriage certificate and birth certificates for any children.
2. Consider filing an intent to file, VA Form 21-0966. If your full application arrives within 1 year of it, VA treats the claim as filed on the intent-to-file date.
3. Complete VA Form 21P-534EZ, Application for DIC, Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits. You can file online at VA.gov or on paper.
4. Fill in VA Form 21P-0969, Income and Asset Statement, if the 21P-534EZ directs you to, and VA Form 21P-8416 for medical expenses.
5. Add VA Form 21-2680 from your doctor if you are claiming Aid and Attendance or Housebound.
6. Mail paper claims to Department of Veterans Affairs, Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365, or bring them to a VA regional office. Pension management centers process them in the order received.
7. If anything changes, report it: new income, a sale of the home, a move to a facility, or a change in medical expenses.

Watch out: The effective date depends on when VA gets the claim. If VA receives your claim within 1 year after the veteran's death, payments run from the first day of the month in which the veteran died. File later and you can lose those months.

A VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative can help you complete the application at no charge.

Most states give surviving spouses something on top of federal pension: a property tax exemption that continues after the veteran's death, a state veterans home with a lower daily rate, a tuition waiver at public colleges, or a small state annuity for low-income survivors. These programs use their own income tests. Pick your state to see what applies.