Researchers have struggled to explain why veterans participate in many public assistance programs at lower rates than nonveterans. The authors of this report detail an approach to answering this question that enables researchers to consistently estimate program participation differences across veteran and nonveteran populations.

Veterans’ Participation in Public Programs

Comprehensive Cross-Survey Comparisons with Nonveterans and the Role of VA Disability Compensation

Philip Armour, Catria Gadwah-Meaden, LeeAnn Stevens

ResearchPublished Jul 28, 2026

Researchers have struggled to explain why veterans participate in many public assistance programs at lower rates than nonveterans. The authors of this report detail an approach to answering this question that enables researchers to consistently estimate program participation differences across veteran and nonveteran populations. Focusing on U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Disability Compensation (VADC), the authors find that VADC eligibility and income—not just veteran status—primarily drive lower veteran participation in non-VADC public programs.

Using data from the three most widely used national surveys for studying program participation, the authors accounted for a variety of characteristics of households and heads of households—such as the size of the household, the number of children in it, and the household head’s race/ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, educational attainment, citizenship status, and disability status—to enable comparisons between otherwise similar veteran and nonveteran households. For each of the surveys used, the authors detail the survey’s strengths and weaknesses for researchers studying veterans’ economic outcomes.

The authors’ major conclusion is that income from VADC interacts in complicated ways with the rest of the social safety net. Because VADC income counts toward eligibility in some programs but not others, changes to VADC policy or to these other programs’ rules can have a variety of downstream effects on veterans. One consequence is that veterans receiving VADC benefits receive means-tested benefits at lower rates.

Key Takeaways

Veterans receiving VADC benefits receive means-tested benefits at lower rates

  • For veteran households not receiving VADC benefits, household characteristics largely account for participation differences in public programs—that is, non-VADC veteran households tend to participate in public programs at similar rates as otherwise similar nonveteran households.
  • Differences for VADC veteran households persist after accounting for household characteristics and are largest for programs that limit eligibility based on income—such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as food stamps), Supplemental Security Income, and housing and heating assistance, as well as certain health care programs. These differences are even larger among households receiving the highest amounts of VADC income.
  • Differences have changed since the late 1980s, with the largest SNAP differences appearing in 2021 through 2023; both SNAP and VADC policy changes occurred in these years, and these differences may reflect those changes.
  • Differences are small or nonexistent for programs without income limits, such as Social Security.

Recommendations

  • Policymakers should consider whether veteran-specific programs should serve as (1) additional sources of support for veterans by not counting VA income against eligibility for other public programs or (2) alternative sources of support, tailored to veterans’ specific experiences and needs, in lieu of benefits from other programs.
  • Policymakers should coordinate across programs in deciding how VA income, and which VA income, counts toward benefit eligibility.
  • Programs should facilitate administrative data linkages across programs and surveys to allow study of how program participation affects veteran well-being.
  • Programs should clarify to veterans and their families how VA income counts toward benefit eligibility.
  • Researchers studying comparative veteran experiences should account for individual and household characteristics.

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Citation

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Armour, Philip, Catria Gadwah-Meaden, and LeeAnn Stevens, Veterans’ Participation in Public Programs: Comprehensive Cross-Survey Comparisons with Nonveterans and the Role of VA Disability Compensation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4405-5.html.
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Funding for this research was made possible by a generous gift from Daniel J. Epstein through the Epstein Family Foundation. This research was conducted within the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute of RAND Education, Employment, and Infrastructure.

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