Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1960-01-23
contributed thereto.


children Of deceased veteran
there are excluded amounts equal
to the amounts paid for settle.
ment Of the veterans just debts,
the expenses of his last illness,
and the expenses of the veterans
burial less the amount reimbursed
by the VA.
q. How does a veterans estate
become an eligibility factor under
the new law?
A. 1t is one of the need factors
used in determining eligibility I'M
der the new system. 1t means that
pensions will not be paid to vet
Grams who have stable estates.
(The estate of his wife and chill
dren will not be considered.) Those
having quite bit of property
will not be eligible until they have
used up some of their estate for
living expenses.
Q. Does this mean that if vet
eran owns a farm or an apartment
house he will have to sell his prop
erty before he can be eligible to
receive pension?
A. Not necessarily. 1t would
depend upon the size and value of
that property and many other fac
tors. The VA has made no at
attempt to provide an absolute
yardstick for measuring the cor
pus of an estate. Nor has the
VA set dollars and cents ceiling
where the value of an estate will
operate as a bar to pension en-
| titlement.
In each case consideration must
be given to the type Of property,
the age of the claimant, his life
expectancy, his state of health, the
number Of persons dependent on
him for support, and his income
! from other sources A veteran
dwelling is excluded from consid-
Grafton as part of his estate. Each
case will be judged individually
on its own merit.
@. Does the rule regarding "cor-
pus of estate" also apply to widows
and children?
A. Yes, the same as it does to
veterans. Where there is a widow
and children the cropus of the
widows estate only will be con-
sidered Where there is child or
children only, the corpus of the
state of the child or children will
be ccnsidered.)
@. In order to compare the new
pension system with the present
one, what is the amount of pension
a single veteran may receive now
A. At present any World War |
II or Korean conflict veteran il
he is single and darwing a pension
receives $66.15 a month unless he
is IS years of age or older. or has
been on the pension roles 10 years
in which event he draws S7S.75
Those who become blind or sc
helpless as to require the regular
aid and attendance of another per
son, receive $135.45 per month
@. Now what will single veterans
receive under the new system after
July /, 1860?
A. The new system is planned
| to relate the amount of pension
paid to the need of the pensioner
Thus veteran without dependents
may receive a pension of $85 g
month if his annual incomes is
not more than $500; $40 a month
if his income is above $500 but not
more than $1,000; and $40 month
if his income is more than S120(
but not more than $500. If his
annual income is more than $1,000
he receives nothing.
@. What pension does a veteran
with dependents receive at pres.
ent?
A. He receives the same amount
of pension as the single veteran
receives. His only advantage is
that he may continue to draw the
pension if he has an annual in
come as high as $2700, whereas the
single veteran cannot draw a pen
sion if his annual income exceeds
$140O.
@. How will the veteran with de-
pendents fare under the new sys-
tenn?
A. A veteran with one dependent
may receive $50 a month if his an
nual income is not more than ST.
900; $75 a month if his annual in
come is more than $1,000 but not
more than $4,000; and s45 a month
if his annual income is more than
$4,000 but not more than $4,000. Ii
his annual income is more than
$4,000, he receives nothing.
Q. What about the veteran with
more than one dependent?
A. A veteran with two depend
ents may receive monthly pension
payments of S95, SIS and $45 IN
the same three income ranges noted
above. A veteran with three or
more dependents may receive mon
thly payments of 500, SIS and $45
in those income ranges.
| Q. What will the new system dc
for veterans who require regular
/ aid and attendance?
A. Under the new law all pen
sions will be increased $40 a month
for veterans who require regular
aid and attendance.
| c. There is talk of increased
eligibility for widows and children
under the new pension law. How
many will be affected?
| A. The VA estimates that ap-
prOximatelv 100000 widows and