Cy...thank you for that. My husband Jim dittoes. He had forgotten all about it, so when I showed him your e-mail, he pulled some stuff up off the web, and now we have the information tucked away with our important papers. Jim was career military. Love, Brownie In a message dated 4/2/2009 1:24:40 P.M. Central Daylight Time, cyoungersr@comcast.net writes: To all, Don't know if any of you know of this or are eligible but figured I'd pass this along just in case. My mother is 83 and widowed from my father, who was a WWII vet. She is in early stage Alzhiemers and needs in home health care assistance. My brother and I are currently looking into this for some help and assistance dollar wise. The following article was posted at my work spaces, the date of the article is unknown. Quoted in full: QUOTE Many Wartime Veterans Could Be Eligible for $1,950 Per Month By Robb Beltran Illinois VFW News If you are a wartime veteran or a widow(er) of one, you could be eligible for almost $1,950.00 per month Tax-free. The problem is you probably haven't heard about this little known benefit. It's called the Veteran's Improved Pension Benefit, which is a non-service connected benefit and sinfully enough it has been available for Veteran's since November 1. 1951. According to a VA estimate, only one in seven veteran widows who probably could qualify for the pension actually get the monthly checks. What's more, participation is falling, according to a Knight Rider analysis of VA records. As a Gulf War Veteran and former television reporter, I wanted to find out why. I learned about the benefit after watching a special NBC report, but it is obvious many veterans didn't. It disturbed me that these men and women, who served their country, were somehow being neglected of benefits in which they earned simply because they didn't know about it. According to one VA report, "There are simply too many possible candidates for the VA to not only locate, but to qualify." The problem is many of the veterans who do know about the benefit are simply under the impression they have to be impoverished or disabled to reveive the benefit and don't apply for fear of being declined. It is simply not true. Although there are requirements they are often misconstrued. Here are the basics: To meet the military qualifications, a veteran has to have served 90 days active duty (one of which was during wartime), have a discharge of any kind other than dishonorable, and be either age 65 or disabled. In addition, the veteran or his widow must also meet other means testing criteria for their income and assets. When properly understood, neither of these is as exclusionary as they first appear. To qualify financially, an applicant must have less than $80,000 in assets, excluding their home and vehicles. This is a major deterrent for many, but also the most misunderstood. Actually very few of us know how the Department of Veterans Affairs considers income for this benefit. Income minus UME = IVAP! Indeed they call it IVAP or Income for Veterans Affairs Purposes, which is income minus un-reimbursed medical expenses (UME). Many do not expect to receive a benefit based in part upon their un-reimbursed medical expenses. But there is for our veterans and their widows. Imagine if you as a veteran could receive tax-free money every month for life. This benefit could help you pay anyone including your child(ren) for home care. It can also be used to help you pay for professional care in the home, for assisted living, or for nursing home fees and other un-reimbursed medical expenses. It may take up to six months before a veteran is approved and it may be a pain to fill out the forms properly, but imagine getting $1950.00 a month tax-free. It's simply a win-win situation for veterans to at least try and qualify. If you think you might be able to take advantage of this benefit, visit www.VBUSA.org for a more detailed explanation of the benefit, and how it works. Robb Beltran is a registered financial consultant and veteran benefit analyst in East Dubuque. He is a member of VFW Post 2665 in Galena, and a member of the National Ethics Board and "Senior Market Advisor" Advisory Board. He specializes in working with seniors and veterans. He can be reached at 1-888-664-3399 or at info@VBUSA.org . UNQUOTE CY ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to YOUNGER-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **************New Low Prices on Dell Laptops – Starting at $399 (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220433304x1201394525/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.doubl eclick.net%2Fclk%3B213540718%3B35046385%3Be)