Researcher: RP Page 1 4/1/21
OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 917
AN ACT EXEMPTING VETERANS' FEDERAL PENSION BENEFITS
FROM INCOME ELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS.
SUMMARY
Under current law, the Department of Social Services (DSS) must
disregard a veteran’s or surviving spouse’s federal aid and attendance
pension benefits when calculating income for certain (1) means-tested
state assistance programs and (2) federally-funded assistance
programs, to the extent allowed by federal law. This bill expands the
income disregard to include any U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA)-administered federal pension benefits (see BACKGROUND).
Under the bill, the income disregards apply to the following programs:
1. Medicaid (§§ 1 & 5),
2. Medicare Savings Program (§§ 1 & 4),
3. Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (§ 1),
4. State Administered General Assistance (§ 3),
5. State Supplement Program (§ 2),
6. Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (§ 6), and
7. State Appropriated Fuel Assistance Program (which is currently
inactive)(§ 7).
As under existing law, DSS may apply to the federal Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services to amend the state Medicaid plan or
seek a waiver from federal law, if necessary, to exempt these veterans’
benefits (CGS § 17b-28i).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021 2021SB-00917-R000250-BA.DOCX
Researcher: RP Page 2 4/1/21
BACKGROUND
Aid and Attendance
The VA’s aid and attendance benefit is a monthly payment added to
a VA pension for qualified veterans and survivors who need assistance
performing daily activities, are bedridden, have limited eyesight, or
are in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity.
U.S. VA-Administered Pension Benefits
The VA-administered veterans pension program provides monthly
payments to wartime veterans who meet certain age or disability
requirements and who have incomes and assets below specified limits.
Eligible surviving spouses or children of a deceased veteran with
wartime service may also qualify for a VA survivor’s pension.
The VA also provides additional pension benefits for aid and
attendance (as described above) and housebound allowances. The
housebound allowance is an extra benefit for those who receive a VA
pension and spend most of their time at home because of a permanent
disability.
Related Bills
sHB 6482, favorably reported by the Veterans’ Affairs Committee,
expands the income disregard for veterans and their surviving spouses
under the same DSS assistance programs to include any VA -
administered federal benefit, rather than just aid and attendance
benefits.
HB 5592, favorably reported by the Veterans’ Affairs Committee,
expands the general definition of “veteran” under state law to include
those released with an other than honorable discharge based on
specified qualifying conditions (e.g., military sexual trauma
experience, a qualifying mental health condition, sexual orientation, or
gender identity or expression). In doing so, it expands eligibility for
any statutory programs or benefits that reference this definition,
including the DSS income disregards for veterans and their surviving
spouses. 2021SB-00917-R000250-BA.DOCX
Researcher: RP Page 3 4/1/21
COMMITTEE ACTION
Veterans’ Affairs Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 14 Nay 3 (03/18/2021)