For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Permanent address
used for thresholdsQuestion: I am a veteran with more than one residence. Which address should I use for means testing under the new geographically based income thresholds? How frequently are they updated?
Answer: The address used to determine your geographically based income threshold is your permanent address. Typically, it is the location in which you declare residency for voting and tax purposes. Income thresholds, used for the national means test as well as for geographic adjustments for high cost-of-living areas, are updated annually.
Q: Hearing aids and eyeglasses are listed as "limited" benefits. How can I qualify?
A: To qualify for hearing aids and eyeglasses you must have a VA service-connected disability rating of 10 percent or more. You may also qualify if you are a former prisoner of war or are receiving increased pension based on your need for regular aid and attendance or being permanently housebound. For more information, contact the VA at 433-0600. You can call the prosthetic section (433-0592) concerning eligibility for hearing aids/eyeglasses.
Q: I bought a home with a VA loan and want to sell it. Can I be released from the liability?
A: When a veteran sells a home financed through a VA guaranty to a purchaser who assumes the loan, the veteran may request release from liability to the federal government provided the loan is current, the purchaser is obligated by contract to purchase the property and assume all of the veteran's liabilities, and VA is satisfied that the purchaser is a good risk. A release from liability does not mean that a veteran's guaranty entitlement is restored.
If the purchaser is another veteran and agrees to substitute entitlement for that of the veteran-seller, entitlement may be restored to the veteran-seller. A VA loan on or after March 1, 1988, is not assumable without approval of VA or its authorized agent. The person who assumes a VA loan on or after March 1, 1988, must pay a fee to the VA.
Veterans whose loans were closed after Dec. 31, 1989, have no liability to the government following a foreclosure, except in cases involving fraud, misrepresentation or bad faith.
For more information, call 433-1000.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or visit the VA Web site at www.va.gov/hawaii
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.