VA Pension Rates 2027
VA Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension pay the difference between your countable income and a limit set by Congress, the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR). The official 2026 MAPR for a veteran with no dependents is $17,441 a year, and $11,699 for a surviving spouse with no child, in effect since December 1, 2025. With the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment announced for 2027, we estimate $18,069 and $12,121. The 2027 figures are an estimate until VA publishes its tables (expected December 2026).
Maintained by Archie Chang · Rates checked against VA and 38 U.S.C. 1521, 1541 and 5312 October 24, 2026 · Methodology & sources
VA pension calculator
Income for VA purposes includes Social Security, retirement and investment income and the income of your dependents. Medical expenses reduce it only above 5% of your base pension rate (shown at right). The calculator does not check the net worth limit, which VA applies separately.
Estimated monthly pension
2026 rates (official)
$620.00
2027 estimate (not yet official)
$672.00
- Maximum annual pension rate (MAPR)
- $17,441.00 / $18,069.00
- Medical threshold (5% of base MAPR)
- $872.00 / $903.00
- Medical deduction
- $0.00 / $0.00
- Countable income
- $10,000.00 / $10,000.00
- Annual pension
- $7,441.00 / $8,069.00
Each line shows the 2026 amount, then the 2027 estimate, using the same income. The monthly amount is rounded down to the whole dollar, as VA pays it (38 U.S.C. 5123). Estimate only; VA decides eligibility and the amount.
2026 Veterans Pension MAPR (official)
Maximum annual amounts VA published, effective December 1, 2025. Your monthly pension is the MAPR minus your countable annual income, divided by 12 and rounded down to the whole dollar. If you have a child who works, VA excludes their wages up to $16,100.
| Your situation | 2026 |
|---|---|
| No dependents: no Housebound or A&A | $17,441 |
| No dependents: Housebound | $21,313 |
| No dependents: Aid and Attendance | $29,093 |
| With spouse or child: no Housebound or A&A | $22,839 |
| With spouse or child: Housebound | $26,710 |
| With spouse or child: Aid and Attendance | $34,488 |
| Each additional dependent child | $2,984 |
| Your situation | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Neither qualifies for Housebound or A&A | $22,839 |
| One qualifies for Housebound | $26,710 |
| Both qualify for Housebound | $30,580 |
| One qualifies for Aid and Attendance | $34,488 |
| One Housebound, one Aid and Attendance | $38,350 |
| Both qualify for Aid and Attendance | $46,143 |
2026 Survivors Pension MAPR (official)
Maximum annual amounts for surviving spouses and children, effective December 1, 2025. The Survivor Benefit Plan / Minimum Income Annuity limitation is the rate at which that annuity counts against a surviving spouse's pension.
| Your situation | 2026 |
|---|---|
| No dependent child: no Housebound or A&A | $11,699 |
| No dependent child: Housebound | $14,298 |
| No dependent child: Aid and Attendance | $18,697 |
| No dependent child: A&A, spouse of a Spanish-American War veteran | $19,453 |
| 1 dependent child: no Housebound or A&A | $15,311 |
| 1 dependent child: Housebound | $17,902 |
| 1 dependent child: Aid and Attendance | $22,304 |
| 1 dependent child: A&A, spouse of a Spanish-American War veteran | $22,979 |
| Each additional child | $2,984 |
| Qualified surviving child (alone) | $2,984 |
| Survivor Benefit Plan / Minimum Income Annuity limitation | $11,699 |
| Your situation | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Net worth limit | $163,699 |
2027 VA pension rates (estimate)
ESTIMATE until VA publishes (expected December 2026). Each MAPR is the 2026 amount raised by 3.6% and rounded up to the next whole dollar. The same example as above, a veteran with one dependent, Aid and Attendance and $10,000 of income, would go from $2,040.00 to about $2,144.00 a month. The new MAPR takes effect December 1, 2026.
| Your situation | 2026 (official) | 2027 (estimate) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| No dependents: no Housebound or A&A | $17,441 | $18,069 | +$628 |
| No dependents: Housebound | $21,313 | $22,081 | +$768 |
| No dependents: Aid and Attendance | $29,093 | $30,141 | +$1,048 |
| With spouse or child: no Housebound or A&A | $22,839 | $23,662 | +$823 |
| With spouse or child: Housebound | $26,710 | $27,672 | +$962 |
| With spouse or child: Aid and Attendance | $34,488 | $35,730 | +$1,242 |
| Each additional dependent child | $2,984 | $3,092 | +$108 |
| Your situation | 2026 (official) | 2027 (estimate) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither qualifies for Housebound or A&A | $22,839 | $23,662 | +$823 |
| One qualifies for Housebound | $26,710 | $27,672 | +$962 |
| Both qualify for Housebound | $30,580 | $31,681 | +$1,101 |
| One qualifies for Aid and Attendance | $34,488 | $35,730 | +$1,242 |
| One Housebound, one Aid and Attendance | $38,350 | $39,731 | +$1,381 |
| Both qualify for Aid and Attendance | $46,143 | $47,805 | +$1,662 |
| Your situation | 2026 (official) | 2027 (estimate) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| No dependent child: no Housebound or A&A | $11,699 | $12,121 | +$422 |
| No dependent child: Housebound | $14,298 | $14,813 | +$515 |
| No dependent child: Aid and Attendance | $18,697 | $19,371 | +$674 |
| No dependent child: A&A, spouse of a Spanish-American War veteran | $19,453 | $20,154 | +$701 |
| 1 dependent child: no Housebound or A&A | $15,311 | $15,863 | +$552 |
| 1 dependent child: Housebound | $17,902 | $18,547 | +$645 |
| 1 dependent child: Aid and Attendance | $22,304 | $23,107 | +$803 |
| 1 dependent child: A&A, spouse of a Spanish-American War veteran | $22,979 | $23,807 | +$828 |
| Each additional child | $2,984 | $3,092 | +$108 |
| Qualified surviving child (alone) | $2,984 | $3,092 | +$108 |
| Survivor Benefit Plan / Minimum Income Annuity limitation | $11,699 | $12,121 | +$422 |
| Your situation | 2026 (official) | 2027 (estimate) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net worth limit | $163,699 | $169,593 | +$5,894 |
The child wage exclusion follows the federal tax filing threshold rather than the COLA, so it is left out of the estimate.
How the pension increase works
Automatic. 38 U.S.C. 5312(a) raises each MAPR, and the added pension for children, by the same percentage as Social Security benefits, effective the date of the Social Security increase. Unlike VA disability compensation and DIC, no separate act of Congress is needed, and VA pays whole dollars a month. The 2027 Social Security COLA is 3.6%; see the Social Security COLA 2027 page.
Rounding. 38 CFR 3.29(a) (authority 5312(c)(2)) adjusts each annual rate to the next higher dollar, and VA's tables for December 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 match the prior year's whole-dollar amount times the COLA, rounded up, in every cell. That is the rule used here. The net worth limit has no stated rule (38 CFR 3.274(a)); rounding it up is inferred from VA's tables. The monthly payment itself is rounded down to the whole dollar (38 U.S.C. 5123, 38 CFR 3.29(b)).
Your pension is not the MAPR. The MAPR is the ceiling. Your award is the MAPR minus your countable income, so a higher MAPR raises your pension dollar for dollar only if your income stays the same. Social Security COLA raises your income too, which can offset part of the increase; VA recomputes the award each December.
VA pension rates questions
What are the VA pension rates for 2026?
The 2026 maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for a veteran with no dependents is $17,441 a year ($21,313 with Housebound, $29,093 with Aid and Attendance). With a spouse or child it is $22,839 ($26,710 and $34,488), plus $2,984 for each additional child. They took effect December 1, 2025, a 2.8% increase.
What are the VA survivor pension rates for 2026?
A surviving spouse with no dependent child has a 2026 MAPR of $11,699 ($14,298 Housebound, $18,697 Aid and Attendance). With one dependent child it is $15,311 ($17,902 and $22,304), plus $2,984 for each additional child. A qualified surviving child alone has a MAPR of $2,984.
What will VA pension rates be in 2027?
VA has not published them. By law the MAPR rises by the same percentage as Social Security benefits, 3.6% for 2027, on December 1. Applying that to the 2026 tables, we estimate the veteran-alone MAPR at $18,069, $23,662 with one dependent and $12,121 for a surviving spouse with no child. These are estimates until VA publishes (expected December 2026).
Does Congress have to pass the pension increase?
No. Under 38 U.S.C. 5312(a) the Secretary raises each MAPR automatically when Social Security benefits rise, effective the same day (December 1, 2026). This differs from VA disability compensation and most DIC amounts, which rise only when Congress passes the annual Veterans' Compensation COLA Act (H.R. 8552 and S. 4487 had not passed as of October 24, 2026). Parents' DIC and the DIC transitional benefit also adjust automatically, like pension.
How is VA pension calculated?
VA subtracts your countable annual income (income for VA purposes, after allowed deductions) from your MAPR and divides by 12 (38 CFR 3.273). For example, a veteran with one dependent who needs Aid and Attendance and has $10,000 of countable income has a 2026 MAPR of $34,488, so the pension is $24,488.00 a year, or $2,040.00 a month: VA pays whole dollars, rounding the monthly amount down (38 U.S.C. 5123, 38 CFR 3.29(b)).
How much do medical expenses reduce income for VA pension?
Only unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of your base MAPR count (38 CFR 3.272(g)). The base excludes the Housebound and Aid and Attendance amounts but includes the added amounts for family. For a veteran with no dependents in 2026 that threshold is $872; VA prints $1,141 for a veteran with one dependent and $584 for a surviving spouse with no child.
What is the VA pension net worth limit?
From December 1, 2025 to November 30, 2026 the net worth limit is $163,699 for both Veterans Pension and Survivors Pension. It is raised by the same percentage each year; at 3.6% we estimate $169,593 for December 1, 2026. Net worth counts your and your dependents' assets plus annual income, not your home or car.
How is the 2027 estimate rounded?
38 CFR 3.29(a), issued under 38 U.S.C. 5312(c)(2), says an annual rate that would include a fraction of a dollar is adjusted to the next higher dollar. VA's tables for December 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 are each reproduced exactly by multiplying the previous year's whole-dollar amount by the COLA and rounding up. The net worth limit (38 CFR 3.274(a)) has no stated rounding rule; rounding it up is inferred from VA's tables. Your monthly payment is different: it is rounded down to the whole dollar (38 U.S.C. 5123).
Can a child who works still count as a dependent?
Yes. VA excludes a child's wages up to $16,100 in 2026 (the lowest income that requires a federal tax return, 38 U.S.C. 1503(a)(10)). That amount follows tax rules, not the COLA, so we do not estimate it for 2027.
Can I get VA pension and DIC together?
No. A survivor who qualifies for both DIC and Survivors Pension is paid whichever is larger. See the VA DIC rates page for DIC.
Sources: VA: current Veterans Pension rates · VA: current Survivors Pension rates · VA: past Veterans Pension rates (2025) · 38 U.S.C. 1521 · 38 U.S.C. 5312 (annual adjustment) · 38 U.S.C. 1503 (income exclusions) · 38 CFR 3.272 (exclusions from income) · 38 CFR 3.273 (rate computation) · 38 CFR 3.29 (rounding) · 38 CFR 3.274 (net worth limit) · 38 U.S.C. 5123 (rounding down of pension rates) · SSA: 2027 COLA fact sheet