NOTES regarding the VETERAN’S AID & ATTENDANCE IMPROVED PENSION

First, before anything else, send in 
Form 21-4138, STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF CLAIM
to the St. Paul Maintenance Center (covers California applications).
That will lock in the start date for one year.
If you are not 70+ years old, then remove the 2nd paragraph.
You have one year to complete and submit the information to VA.

If you are 65+, then you are presumed 100% disabled and entitled to at least $900+ per month.

You must have served at least 90 days active duty, 
and served at least one (1) day during a major conflict.

======================================

Military service is classified either as wartime or peacetime service. This distinction is important
because there are significant advantages specifically accruing only to veterans with wartime service. For
example, only veterans with wartime service are eligible for non-service-connected disability pension
benefits.82

The following list sets out the periods of wartime designated by Congress for pension purposes.83 To
be considered by the VA to have served during wartime, a veteran need not have served in a combat
zone, but simply during one of these designated periods. All other times are considered peacetime. Some
veterans served part of their tour of duty during wartime and part during peacetime. Even if a majority of
a veteran’s service occurred during peacetime, the service member would still meet the wartime service
requirement for eligibility for pension benefits if he or she served ninety consecutive days, at least one
day of which occurred during a period designated as wartime. All of the listed dates are inclusive.

Indian Wars: January 1, 1817, through December 31, 1898. The veteran must have served thirty days
or more, or for the duration of such Indian War. Service must have been with the U.S. forces against
Indian tribes or nations.84

Spanish-American War: April 21, 1898, through July 4, 1902, including the Philippine Insurrection
and the Boxer Rebellion. Also included are those individuals engaged in the Moro Province hostilities
through July 15, 1903.85

Mexican BorderWar: May 9, 1916, through April 5, 1917. The veteran must have served for one day
or more in Mexico, on the borders thereof, or in the waters adjacent thereto.86

World War I: April 6, 1917, through November 11, 1918, extended to April 1, 1920, for those who
served in the Soviet Union. Service after November 11, 1918, through July 2, 1921, qualifies for benefits
purposes if active duty was performed for any period during the basic WorldWar I period.87

World War II: December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946, extended to July 25, 1947, where
continuous with active duty on or before December 31, 1946.88

Korean Conflict: June 27, 1950, through January 31, 1955.89

Vietnam Era: August 5, 1964, through May 7, 1975.90 However, February 28, 1961, through May 7,
1975, for a veteran who served in the Republic of Vietnam during that period.

Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990, through a date to be prescribed by Presidential proclamation or
law.91

Congress has not enacted legislation that would make the periods covering the 1983-1984 Lebanon
crisis or the invasions of Grenada and Panama wartime service.92

Footnotes
82. 38 U.S.C.S. § 1521(j). See Chapter 6 of this Manual for a full discussion of the VA needs-based disability pension
program and its eligibility criteria.
83. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(6)-(11); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2 (2005).
© 2005 Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis Group. All rights reserved. Use of this product is subject to the
restrictions and terms and conditions of the Matthew Bender Master Agreement.
84. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(a) (2005). Under the VA’s proposed revisions to the Compensation and Pension regulations, the VA has
proposed to delete the provisions related to this war. 69 Fed. Reg. 4820, 4821 (Jan. 30, 2004). As of the date of publication of
the 2005 edition of this Manual, this proposed regulation has not been finalized. See 69 Fed. Reg 73739, 73757 (United Agenda
of Federal and Deregulatory Actions) (Dec. 13, 2004).
85. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(6); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(b) (2005).
86. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(30); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(h) (2005).
87. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(7); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(c) (2005).
88. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(8); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(d) (2005).
89. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(9); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(e) (2005).
90. 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(29); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(f) (2005).
91. See 38 U.S.C.S. §§ 101(33), 1501(4), 1541, 1702; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.2(i), 3.3(a)(3), 3.17, 3.54(a)(3)(viii) (2005).
92. See 38 U.S.C.S. § 101(11); 38 C.F.R. § 3.2(g) (2005) (providing for future periods of “wartime” as determined by
Congress and the President).