One of my collegues recently posted an article to our company blog discussing the aid and attendance benifit for our military veterans.  I wanted to follow up on that article to discuss a “consumer alert” issue related to the aid and attendance benefit.

As with any good program for our seniors, there are people waiting to prey on their veunerabilities.  We have found this to be true with the veterans aid and attendance benefit program in some of our assisted living facilities.  Senior Soluitons has seen a substantual increase in solicitations from “charities” and “foundations” that claim to provide free assistance for veterans that need help applying for the aid and attendance benefit.  While these groups appear to be of good intent (and I am sure there are many groups that are) we have come across organizations that appear to have ulterior motifs.  Specifically, these groups are looking to become asset managers for the veterans or looking to sell insurance policies and/or annuities to the veterans and/or their families.   They are working the “no look back” hook on a veteran’s assets, essentially helping the veteran divest of his liquid asstets to qualify for this benefit.  We have also experienced some of these suspect organizations position themselves as a “census enhancement program” for our facilities; a quid pro quo, if you will.

 Suffice it to say, we, as a company, were quick to conclude that veterans, quid pro quo, “foundations” and non-qualified financial planners just didn’t add up.   Senior Soluitons takes a firm stance to avoid these suspect groups.  If we discover that we have a veteran living with us that might qualify for the aid and attendance benefit, we make two suggestions to the veteran and his or her family: Go directly to the Veterans Administration and begin the application process or seek a qualified financial planner that has specific experience working with seniors and the veterans aid and attendant benefit.

Simply said, as with any program for seniors, be well informed, and make informed decisions.

Please note:   This article was not intended to target legitmate organizations that provide “real” services to our veterans, but to make the consumer aware that there are rogue organizations that have underhanded intentions……caveat emptor…….