The Department of Veterans Affairs can feel overwhelming. While VA benefits are primarily for veterans it is still important for military spouses to know about not only what your veteran is entitled to but what benefits impact you and your family.
To get started we need to talk about what the VA covers. There are different sections under the overall umbrella of the VA, but each section is different and unique. There are 12 sections on the VA.gov website. The VA benefits most people talk about are health care, disability, education and training, and housing. But the VA also is in charge of records, burials, memorials, and life insurance. There is also a section specifically focused on benefits for military family members.
VA Health Care and Disability
Many of the benefits for military spouses are connected to their service members’ disability rating or what choices they made while in the military concerning education benefits. That is why you must ensure that your spouse files for disability compensation with the VA, along with registering with VA Health Care. These are two separate steps. All veterans who register for VA health care within a defined window (typically less than five years after service) are entitled to VA health care benefits. VA Health Care will give veterans basic health coverage for a yearly physical exam. Depending on your disability rating will determine what other things are covered by VA health care and if spouses or dependent children are eligible for health care through the VA.
Supporting your spouse through the process of completing a disability claim can help them as they undertake what can feel like a daunting task but an important one. Encouraging your spouse to file a disability claim along with registering for VA Health Care is so important. While you might not need the benefits today, as you and your spouse get older these benefits can be invaluable. VA disability compensation also can make the transition easier for a family.
Education and Training
The Post 9-11 GI Bill gives service members the option of transferring their benefits to their spouses or dependent children. Most often the change to transfer benefits has to be made while the service member is still serving and requires an additional service commitment. But if the VA has already been approved to be transferred to someone in your family you can change who receives the benefit through the VA. You can learn more about transfer rules and other benefits available to military dependents for education and training at the VA’s website.
VA Housing Assistance
The most well-known program in the VA Housing Assistance umbrella is the VA Home Loan which allows service members and veterans to get a home with no down payment. The VA Home Loan is a great resource for military families to use to become homeowners and can be used more than once but some rules and regulations must be followed. The Housing Assistance branch of the VA also helps with homelessness, foreclosure, and offers grants for disabled veterans.
You don’t need to be a VA expert, but you do need to know a few things about the VA to help ensure your family gets the benefits they have earned. Knowing about what benefits are available can help ensure your spouse takes the required steps to utilize the earned benefits provided by the VA.