This often-overlooked VA pension can add up to roughly $2,900 a month toward senior care. Here's how San Antonio veterans and surviving spouses at JBSA and Audie Murphy qualify — and where to get free help.
By Derek Washington, LSW · April 8, 2026
Aid & Attendance (A&A) is an enhanced VA pension for wartime veterans and surviving spouses who need help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, or medication management. In 2026, it can add roughly $1,800–$2,900 a month toward assisted living, memory care, in-home care, or nursing care costs — making it one of the largest private-pay assistance programs available to San Antonio's large veteran population.
San Antonio has one of the highest concentrations of veterans in Texas. The Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center — part of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System — serves Bexar County and surrounding areas. Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), which encompasses Fort Sam Houston, Randolph AFB, and Lackland AFB, has a very large active-duty and retiree population, many of whom will eventually seek senior care. Veterans do not need to use VA healthcare to apply for Aid & Attendance.
Eligibility generally requires wartime military service (a period including WWII, Korea, Vietnam, or Gulf War), an honorable or general discharge, a medical need for daily assistance, and income and net worth within VA limits. The asset rules changed significantly in 2018 with a 36-month look-back on asset transfers, so getting the application right the first time is important. Surviving spouses of eligible wartime veterans may also qualify at a lower benefit rate.
Given the size of the JBSA / Fort Sam Houston veteran community, San Antonio has strong local resources for A&A claims. Bexar County Veteran Service Officers can assist at no cost.
Start with the Bexar County Veterans Service Office or the Texas Veterans Commission, both of which provide free claims assistance. The Texas Veterans Commission has offices in San Antonio and can help with A&A applications, appeals, and benefit coordination.
A free senior advisor familiar with VA-accepting ALFs in Bexar County can help coordinate the benefit alongside a placement — so families aren't navigating both a care search and a VA claim simultaneously under pressure.
Free, no-pressure call. We work for families, not facilities.