VETERANS PRESS: How does the government support veterans?

Over 93% of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ annual spending funds pensions, compensation, medical care, and education programs for veterans. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent over $266 billion in fiscal year 2022 — accounting for about 4.3% of all federal spending — on pay and pensions, healthcare, and education for the nation’s veterans. 

How does the Department of Veterans Affairs spend its budget? 

The majority of VA expenditures fund veterans’ compensation and pensions (50.5% of VA spending) and medical care services (38.9%). 

A veteran’s eligibility for pensions and compensation depends on factors such as their age, service, and disability status. More than 5.9 million veterans and their families received financial support from the disability compensation program in 2022, one of the VA’s most-accessed programs. 

The VA also provides veterans with free healthcare for conditions related to military service, for catastrophic disabilities, and for veterans with a disability rating of at least 50%. (The VA assigns veterans a numerical rating based on the severity of their service-connected disability; this rating determines their’ eligibility for benefits and the amount of their compensation.) The department also provides financial assistance to veterans who can’t afford to pay for healthcare. In 2022, the VA spent $104 billion on veterans’ medical care. 

Spending per patient varies depending on the veterans’ priority group, which triages patients based on the severity of their disability or medical condition and whether the condition is related to their service.

Medical care for veterans accounts for nearly 40% of VA spending. 

Department of Veterans Affairs expenditures and utilization by expenditures type, adjusted for inflation (2022 dollars), 1996-2022 

Four percent of the VA’s annual expenditure went toward educational and vocational benefits for veterans. More than 800,000 vets, servicemembers, reservists, and family members took advantage of education benefits in 2022 — an increase from 2008 (541,439) but a decrease from 2016, when over one million accessed education benefits. 

Since 2000, the US has fewer and fewer each year. But even with a shrinking veteran population, government spending on vets is up. A growing share of VA funding going to disability compensation and medical care — particularly as the veteran population is aging. In 2022, almost half of veterans (49.3%) were 65 or older, while 26.5% were 75 or older. Veterans are also seeing improvements in quality of life, including lower unemployment rates. 

— Updated Aug. 1, 2024, by the USAFacts team