Veterans benefits navigation
Most veterans leave benefits unclaimed, not because the systems are stingy but because they’re opaque. Disability ratings, pension supplements, education transfers, state and regional add-ons: every one has rules the veteran was never briefed on.
Read the licensing section before anything else on this page. In the US you generally may not charge veterans for help preparing claims unless you’re VA-accredited. The honest version of this blueprint is navigation and research, much of it free, with revenue coming from the adjacent work that’s legal to sell.
The job
You help veterans and their families see the whole board: what a disability rating review involves, whether an Aid & Attendance-style pension supplement might apply to an aging parent, which state benefits stack on top of federal ones, what education benefits transfer to kids. The engine covers six countries’ systems (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany), so expat and dual-service families are in scope too.
Where the claim itself needs preparing, you route to the free, accredited channel: Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) prepare and file VA claims at no charge. Your value is that veterans arrive at the VSO knowing what to ask for.
Who it suits
Veterans and military family members, overwhelmingly. Credibility in this lane can’t be manufactured.
Startup cost and tools
| What | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Engine calls per session | ~$0.50–$0.80 | A handful of benefit checks at $0.05–$0.20 each |
| Payment + site | $0–$45/mo | Standard stack |
Engine prices are the live public catalog prices, the same sheet agents pay. No subscription is required to use them.
The licensing question
US federal law (38 U.S.C. §§ 5901–5905) restricts who may prepare, present, or prosecute VA benefits claims: accredited attorneys, claims agents, and VSO representatives. Charging unaccredited fees for claims prep is unlawful, and companies doing it anyway are a recurring scandal in this space. What remains legal: selling general education and research that isn’t tied to preparing a specific claim, helping with non-claim paperwork, and charging for coaching on non-VA matters (state benefits, discounts, transition logistics). The clean paths to charging for claims work itself are VA accreditation (the claims-agent exam is open to non-attorneys) or partnering with accredited practitioners. Other countries have their own rules; the engine flags the boundaries per country.
This category carries a zero-tolerance honesty bar: no percentage-of-backpay arrangements, no "we’ll get your rating increased" promises, ever.
How the engine does the heavy lifting
Six countries’ systems, from disability rating analysis to state-level benefit stacking to verified discount lookups.
/api/vet/disability$0.15Veteran disability rating analysis (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany)/api/vet/aid-attendance$0.15Veteran pension / Aid & Attendance-style eligibility (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany)/api/vet/state-benefits$0.10State/regional veteran benefits (US states; UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany regions)/api/vet/education$0.10Veteran education benefit comparison (US GI Bill; UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany equivalents)/api/vet/discounts$0.05Verified veteran discounts by category (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, Germany)Your first customer in 30 days
- If you’re serious about claims work, start the VA accreditation process (or your country’s equivalent) now; it takes months, and everything else can run while you wait.
- Build a relationship with your local VSO chapter. You’re a feeder, not a competitor, and they’ll tell you exactly where the legal lines sit.
- Run free benefit-overview sessions for five veteran families and document (with permission) what they discovered.
- Decide your revenue model up front: accredited claims practice, adjacent coaching, or free community service funded by something else you run. Write it down and stick to it.
Hand this to your assistant
This blueprint has a machine-readable page with the current endpoints, prices, and setup steps. Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT, or any assistant that can fetch a URL:
Machine page: https://pulse.theaslangroupllc.com/fieldguide/veterans-benefits-navigation.json
Start this one
The engines are pay-per-call, no subscription. Agents pay per call over x402 (USDC on Base or Solana). If you're a human, get a starter key: it takes about a minute, includes a $0.25 trial balance, and tops up by card (Stripe) or USDC. No crypto wallet required. Prefer email? Write to info@theaslangroupllc.com with the subject "Starter key: veterans-benefits-navigation" and we'll provision one by hand, usually the same day.
The Field Guide book, with all 75 blueprints expanded, is in progress. The hub is free either way.