April 28, 2017 – The latest United States Department of Veterans Affairs data reveals there are 9,146 veterans living in Nevada County and 1,841 veterans are receiving a monthly benefit of Compensation or Pension payments related to their service in the armed forces. Of those veterans, 92% are receiving disability compensation related to injuries they received while serving and 8% are receiving a limited pension to help in their day-to-day living costs.
All totaled, for Fiscal Year 2015/2016, these benefits result in $34,388,000 being paid out to Nevada County veterans and their families…Federally tax free at that!
The majority of the veterans receiving benefits are ages 55 and older, while less than 22% of those veterans are between the age ranges of 18-54. Often many veterans return home from military service and get right back their civilian lives of work and raising their family and forget about applying for benefits related to service related injuries they received. They probably don’t know that by filing a disability claim, it might open the door for free college tuition for their children.
If you know of a veteran who is not receiving benefits, please encourage them to come into the Nevada County Veteran Services Office, Brighton Green Resource Center, located at 988 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley, and meet with a Veteran Services Representative.
If you are a veteran and would like to discuss what benefits you might be eligible for, or would like help in filing a claim with the Department of Veteran Affairs, please contact us at (273) 3396 or stop by.
Veteran Services Officer Kevin Edwards can also be contacted directly at (530) 265-1446 or via email at kevin.edwards@co.nevada.ca.us