VA to Cover Adaptive Vehicle Shipping Costs, But Extends Pension Restriction by Four Months

The “Deliver for Veterans Act” is a short bill that makes two administrative changes to veterans’ benefits, one that’s a clear win for accessibility and another that extends a restriction on certain pension payments.

The Good News: Shipping Costs Covered for Adaptive Vehicles

First, let’s talk about the adaptive vehicle provision in Section 2. Currently, the VA is authorized to pay the total purchase price for an eligible veteran’s specialized vehicle, which is crucial for veterans with service-connected disabilities. But if you’ve ever bought something large and specialized, you know the sticker price is only half the battle—shipping can be massive, especially for custom equipment.

This bill changes 38 U.S.C. § 3902(a) to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay not only the total purchase price but also the total shipping price required to deliver that vehicle right to the veteran. Think about a veteran living in a rural area who needs a highly specialized van adapted for a wheelchair lift and hand controls. Previously, they might have been stuck covering thousands of dollars in delivery fees out of pocket. Now, the VA can cover that entire cost, taking a significant logistical and financial burden off the veteran and ensuring they can actually get the vehicle to their home without delay.

The Catch: Extending a Pension Payment Limit

Section 3 addresses an existing rule concerning certain veteran pension payments under 38 U.S.C. § 5503(d)(7). This rule places a limitation on specific pension payments. This limitation was set to expire on November 30, 2031. This bill pushes that expiration date back by four months, setting the new deadline for the restriction at March 31, 2032.

What does this mean in plain English? For veterans whose pension payments fall under this specific limitation, the restriction on their benefits will now remain in place for an additional four months. While this is an administrative extension, it means that the status quo—the current restriction on those payments—is maintained for a longer period. For those particular beneficiaries, this continuation of the limitation is a constraint on their benefits that will last into the spring of 2032, rather than ending the previous November.

In short, the “Deliver for Veterans Act” is a mixed bag: it smooths out a major logistical hurdle for veterans needing adaptive vehicles by covering delivery costs, but it also quietly extends an existing restriction on certain pension payments by 120 days.