GAO Says Veterans Targeted by Pension Poachers

Veterans at senior centers, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities are being approached by companies or agents looking to take advantage of their pension benefits.

Terry Schow, executive director of the Utah Department of Veteran Affairs, collected the stories of seven exploited veterans and submitted them at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

"There are some people who have taken the business of helping veterans into profit-making," he said before the hearing.

Certain low-income veterans are entitled to pensions, and more than 200 agencies across the United States are "marketing financial products and services" to help veterans qualify for the benefits, according to a recently released report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The yearlong GAO investigation found that veterans who do not meet pension requirements are qualifying for and receiving the funding, often because they were encouraged to do so by private companies.

One veteran transferred $1 million just months before applying, and was approved to receive the monthly payments, the GAO found.

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US Veterans Targeted by Pension Poachers, GAO Says