How to apply for a VA pension as a Veteran

Find out how to apply for tax-free VA pension benefits as a Veteran.

If you’re under age 65, you’ll need to submit a copy of your medical records. 

If we need more information about your household’s medical needs or finances, or your dependents, we may also ask you to complete and submit additional forms. We’ll provide links to download

these forms when you apply for pension benefits.

Note: In 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis destroyed records held for Veterans who were discharged from the Army and Air Force during certain periods

of time. If your records were destroyed in this fire, you can get help reconstructing them.

An intent to file sets a potential start date (or effective date) for your benefits. If you notify us of your intent to file and we approve your claim, you may be able to get retroactive

payments. Retroactive payments are payments for the time between when we processed your intent to file and when we approved your claim.If you sign in with an identity-verified account and

apply for pension benefits online, then you don’t need to notify us of your intent to file. This is because we’ll automatically set the effective date for your benefits when you start

filling out the form online.

Learn about verifying your identity on VA.govIf you sign in with an account that isn’t verified or if you plan to apply for pension benefits using a PDF form, you may want to submit an

intent to file form first. 

It depends. We process claims in the order we receive them, unless a claim requires priority processing.