The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides several types of non-health-care benefits to service members who were discharged other than dishonorably from active military service. These benefits include disability benefits, pension benefits, home loan guarantees, life insurance, and burial benefits.

Disability Benefits

If a qualifying veteran has an injury or disease that is either caused or aggravated by his or her military service, the VA provides several types of disability benefits to assist the veteran, including monthly compensation, which is based on the degree of disability and the number of dependents; grants to adapt the veteran's home and automobile to his or her disability; and, for those using prosthetic or orthopedic appliances, a clothing allowance. Disability benefits are not taxable by either the federal government or state governments.

Pension Benefits

Low-income veterans who suffered permanent and total disability, who served at least 90 days in the active military service, and who served at least one day of active service during a period of war are eligible for pension benefits from the VA. These pension benefits fill in the gap between the veteran's Social Security and retirement income, on the one hand, and the federal benefit maximum, on the other. Additional or increased pension benefits are available for certain veterans, including those who are home bound and those who are nursing home residents.

Home Loan Guarantees

For those not otherwise eligible, veterans who served at least six years in the Selected Reserves are eligible for home loan benefits. An applicant must have sufficient income to meet his or her mortgage payment and must have a good credit rating, as well. A VA home loan guarantee allows a veteran to obtain favorable interest rates with either a low down payment or no down payment and with no closing costs or very low closing costs.

Life Insurance

Two types of life insurance are available to U.S. Veterans: Veterans Group Life Insurance and Service Disabled Veterans Life Insurance. The former is available only to veterans who had full-time coverage through the Service Members Group Life Insurance Plan while they were in active duty. The latter is available to veterans who are in good health other than a service-connected disability, but the cap is $ 10,000 coverage. An additional $ 20,000 coverage is available, however, to veterans who are totally disabled.

Burial Benefits

Veterans, service members, and the spouses and children of both veterans and service members are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. If buried there, the VA provides the grave site, the opening and closing of the grave, the headstone or marker, and care of the site. If a veteran was honorably discharged, the VA will provide both a Presidential Memorial Certificate and an American flag. If a veteran's death was connected to military service, the VA will also pay a burial allowance.

Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.