Benefits

A comprehensive list of where to start

A book with the words Veteran Benefits inscribed on the cover

Veteran Solutions

There are many websites designed to help Veterans, which can often be overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. The curated list below is our attempt to share the ones that could be most helpful to you.

  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:

    These are the four main websites Veteran Affairs lists regarding benefits for Veterans.

    1. VA.gov

      Create an account to manage your VA benefits and care in one place.

    2. ChooseVA

      VA offers benefits that can help Veterans buy, retain, or modify a home; earn a degree; start a career; stay healthy, and do much more in life after the military.

    3. State Departments of Veterans Affairs office locations

      A listing of VA approved resources outside the Department. This does not include VA-accredited Veteran Service Organizations (VSO).

    4. Patient Rights at VA facilities

      The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy.

  • USA.gov

    USA.gov helps you locate and understand government benefits, programs, and information.

  • Veterans First Mortgage

    VA Loans give Veterans more access to home ownership.

  • Social Security Administration

    We administer retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits, and enroll individuals in Medicare.

Military Compensation and Benefits

This website is sponsored by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

  1. Military Compensation Calculators

    The tools on this page are used to perform calculations for a Service member who is performing active service or in an active status. An estimate of approximate compensation is based on your personalized inputs, no identifying data is requested nor retained by this website.

  2. Pay

    Discusses the basic elements of what is considered the military equivalent of private sector salaries, referred to as RMC, or Regular Military Compensation. These include basic pay (including Active Duty and Reserve pay tables), allowances for housing and subsistence, and tax advantage of the tax-free allowances.

  3. Retirement

    Discusses the various retirement systems currently in effect. In addition to explaining the rules regarding Final Pay, High-3 Year Average, and CSB/REDUX for active duty, calculators are available to demonstrate the potential income stream from these retirement systems and to assist those allowed to choose between High-3 and CSB/REDUX. The Reserve and disability retirement systems are described briefly.

  4. Benefits

    This section discusses the variety of benefits available, ranging from complete health care to commissary and exchange shopping.

American Legion National Website

The following list of links are from the Veterans Benefits section on the legion.org website.

  1. State Benefits and Services

    Each state has its own function for providing benefits and services to veterans living in that state – education, careers, health care and more. For California Veterans it is: California CalVet

  2. Find a Service Officer

    Accredited American Legion service officers are specially trained to provide expert assistance, free of charge, to veterans and their families. While the majority of a service officer’s work involves application for VA disability benefits, these compassionate professionals also provide information, referrals and resources on education, employment and business, death benefits and other important topics.

  3. Member Discounts

    The list of categories includes: Insurance, Travel & Vacation, Leisure & Retail, Health & Wellness, Media & Entertainment, Post Discounts, Moving & Storage and Veteran-Owned

  4. Veterans Benefits