VA Educational Benefits

VA Educational Benefits. A. VA provides educational assistance under a number of different programs, including vocational rehabilitation. Veterans, dependents and survivors of veterans may be eligible for educational benefits. Depending on the nature of the program, different SSI/Medicaid income and resource policies apply. B. The following are not considered in determining VA income: 1. Vocational Rehabilitation. Payments made as part of a VA program of vocational rehabilitation are not income, including any augmentation for dependents. 2. Withdrawal of Contributions. Any portion of a VA educational benefit that is a withdrawal of the veteran’s own contributions is conversion of a resource and is not income. C. VA educational income is treated as follows: 1. Any VA educational benefit payment or portion of such a payment funded by the government that is not part of a program of vocational rehabilitation is unearned income. 2. Any portion of the VA educational benefit used to pay for tuition, books, fees, tutorial services, or other necessary educational expenses is excluded from income. a) For SSI/Medicaid purposes, only the portion of an educational payment that is income to the veteran obtaining the education is subject to the educational expenses exclusion. b) The augmented portion is not subject to the educational expenses exclusion. 3. The $50/$20 general income exclusion applies to countable VA educational assistance and these payments are subject to deeming.