Mar 17, 2019 3 min read

There are many hardships our military veterans struggle with on a daily basis — trying to navigate through the tangled system of benefits should not be one of them.

Drastic changes late last year to the needs-based veterans’ pension benefits program offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs has come with a new set of rules, new paperwork and in many cases, new headaches and worries about eligibility for any new applicants.

That’s why we are glad to learn recently that our folks of some county Veterans Affairs offices are stepping up to help our area veterans and their surviving spouses not only understand the changes in the application of those pension benefits, but also walk them through the entire process of applying.

The new rules dramatically change the current asset and income qualifications for veterans who are applying but imposing a limit on net worth. Additionally, a three-year “look-back” period and an imposition of a penalty for gifts or an uncompensated transfer of assets.

What has resulted, said Matt Zamosky, who heads up Westmoreland County’s Veterans Affairs office, is a “huge stack of papers” that he says should not stand in the way of veterans and their spouses who have a need.

“We’ll do that (paperwork) for you. You just have to give us the correct information to do it,” he said. “Our job is to help people get through this the best we can.”

While it’s always concerning when we see something made more difficult for our military veterans, we are grateful for people like the directors in our county Veterans Affairs office who do care and who are looking out for veterans and their spouses. Zamosky and Madonna Nicklow, director of the Fayette County Veterans Affairs office, have noted an increased number of veterans coming into the offices for help with the applications.

We hope that veterans who may be eligible for this benefit program take the advice of the Zamosky and Nicklow to reach out to a credited agency such as the Veterans Affairs offices and get help to ensure those veterans have those programs that can help them. Nicklow also noted that due to the changes, there has been an increased wait time in veterans receiving the benefits, so we are hopeful veterans throughout our counties of Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland and Washington, as well as all veterans in need across the country, are not intimidated by the changes, and seek help promptly with the application process.

While we understand there is always reasoning behind the state’s decision to tighten the belt on the benefits program and bring it more in line with how other programs, such as Medicaid, are regulated, we are always hopeful that this country as a whole can do more for our veterans.