Surviving spouses and children who receive the VA Survivors Pension are paid under a table that runs from December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has not yet posted the table that starts December 1. Under the current one, a surviving spouse with no dependents who qualifies for the Aid and Attendance level can receive up to $18,697 a year, and net worth cannot exceed $163,699.
What the current table pays a surviving spouse
VA lists a maximum annual pension rate for each situation. A surviving spouse with no dependents and no added allowance tops out at $11,699 a year, or about $975 a month. That is the basic level, and it applies when neither of the two higher levels fits.
The housebound level raises the ceiling for a surviving spouse with no dependents to $14,298 a year, about $1,192 a month. Aid and Attendance, the highest level, is set at $18,697 a year, about $1,558 a month. It is meant for survivors who need regular help with daily care.
One more line sits at the top of the no-dependents rows. A surviving spouse of a Spanish-American War veteran who qualifies for Aid and Attendance has a ceiling of $19,453 a year.
Children raise the ceiling
With one dependent child, the basic maximum rises to $15,311 a year. The housebound maximum becomes $17,902, and Aid and Attendance becomes $22,304, about $1,859 a month. For the Spanish-American War spouse who qualifies for Aid and Attendance, the figure with one child is $22,979.
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Each additional child adds $2,984 to the spouse’s maximum. A qualified surviving child, meaning a child who is eligible in their own right, has a maximum of $2,984 a year. VA ties that same figure to every extra child on a spouse’s claim.
The Survivors Pension page spells out who counts as a child. That means one under 18, one between 18 and 23 who attends a VA-approved school, or one over 18 who cannot care for themselves because of a disability that began before age 18. The child must be unmarried.
The $163,699 net worth limit and who qualifies
VA says the pension depends on yearly family income and on net worth, and that Congress sets the limits for both. The net worth limit for December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026 is $163,699. VA does not count the survivor’s house, car or most home furnishings toward it.
The net worth ceiling is separate from the yearly income limit, and VA’s eligibility page does not list the income amounts. A survivor close to either line has a reason to confirm the figures with VA or an accredited representative before filing, since both measures have to be met.
The spouse must not have remarried after the veteran’s death. The veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge. The surviving spouse also must have lived with the veteran continuously from the marriage until the death, although VA says some separations for health, work or the veteran’s misconduct may not disqualify a claim.
The veteran’s service has to meet a wartime test. For someone who entered active duty on or before September 7, 1980, VA requires at least 90 days of active service, including at least one day in a covered wartime period. For someone who entered after that date, the standard is 24 months of service or the full period the veteran was called to serve, with some exceptions.
What happens on December 1?
The current table carries a 2.8% cost-of-living increase, the same percentage as Social Security’s 2026 raise. Social Security has since announced a 3.6% raise for 2027. VA has not posted a Survivors Pension table or a net worth limit for December 1, 2026 through the following year.
Until VA does, the figures above govern payments through November 30. A survivor planning around the Aid and Attendance maximum should treat $18,697 as the number in force today and $163,699 as the asset ceiling today. Neither is a forecast for 2027, and a different table could replace both.
VA says a claim can go through an accredited attorney, claims agent or veterans service organization representative, online, by mail or in person at a VA regional office. The mail route uses VA Form 21P-534EZ, the Application for D.I.C., Survivors Pension, and/or Accrued Benefits. It goes to the Pension Intake Center, PO Box 5365, Janesville, WI 53547-5365.
The same form covers three claims at once: D.I.C., or dependency and indemnity compensation, the Survivors Pension and accrued benefits. VA says a surviving spouse who receives D.I.C. generally cannot also draw the extra amount for a child who receives D.I.C. in their own right.
VA’s Survivors Pension page does not list a phone number. It does link to a facility locator for the nearest regional office, which is where a paper application can be handed in. Anyone weighing a claim can check the maximums above against the household’s situation before filing.
Is a surviving spouse leaving Aid and Attendance money unclaimed?
The gap between the basic and Aid and Attendance maximums is $6,998 a year, about $583 a month, and a survivor can miss it by never learning which of the three levels applies, or by paying a stranger to file a claim that VA takes free. The $163,699 net worth limit is a second line a household has to clear.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit walks through the three VA pension levels including Aid & Attendance, then shows the pension-poacher warning signs to watch for before anyone is paid to help. Its claim tracker keeps the filing dates and VA letters in one place.
Get the kit that sorts out which VA pension level fits →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
