The Veterans Administration is increasing compensation payment rates based on the latest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement. Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, Veterans and beneficiaries who receive VA compensation benefits will see an 8.7% increase in their monthly...
Military Divorce
Massachusetts Military and Veteran State Benefit Highlights and Eligibility
What are Massachusetts Military and Veteran State Tax Benefits? Massachusetts Income tax Exclusion for Combat Pay: Pay received for active service in a combat zone by members of the U.S. Armed Forces is excluded from Massachusetts gross income. Massachusetts Military...
The VOTE Act Helps Massachusetts Active Duty Servicemembers
Massachusetts Governor Baker recently signed the VOTES Act into law. The VOTES Act will expand voting options here in the Commonwealth, but it will also make voting easier for active service members. The current process for a military member to vote from overseas...
SPEED Act Supports Massachusetts Military Families and Veterans
The Massachusetts Legislature passed comprehensive legislation, An Act relative to military spouse-licensure portability, education and enrollment of dependents, addressing the Commonwealth’s most immediate needs in the veteran community and making necessary updates...
VA Disability Pay Rates for 2022
The following tables show the monthly 2022 VA disability rates for Massachusetts veterans with a rating 10% or higher. These amounts are effective Dec. 1, 2021. They are tax-free. VA disability payments are made to veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the...
Veterans Can Upgrade Their Discharge Characterization
Veterans who left the military after Dec. 20, 2019 with a discharge that's less than honorable will now have the opportunity to appeal that discharge characterization via the Discharge Appeal Review Board and have their military record changed. When a service member...
Veteran Writes Books For Children Dealing With Divorce
In today’s culture, divorce is not uncommon. Divorce rates among Soldiers and their Families remain steady at 3% according to a recent Pentagon study. For one Fort Jackson Army veteran, writing a book to help children experiencing the breakup of a Family strengthened...
Biggest Pay Raise for Massachusetts Servicemembers Expected
Servicemembers are in line for their biggest pay raise since 2003 next January 2023, but lawmakers and advocates are questioning whether that will be adequate to keep military families in good financial health. That’s because the formula used to calculate annual pay...
VA Life Insurance Program for Veterans With Service Connection
In January 2023, VA will launch a new life insurance program called Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife), which provides guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance coverage to Veterans age 80 and under, with any level of service-connected disability. Some Veterans...
Understanding a Massachusetts Military Divorce
Legally, military personnel who are getting divorced are no different than anyone else, so the procedural process is the same. If you are in the military or are a military spouse, there are some additional factors that can affect your Massachusetts divorce. For...