Annville, PA – Over the last year, accredited veteran service officers throughout the Commonwealth, supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), distributed compensation and pension benefits to an average of 192,000 veterans each month, totaling nearly $1.4 billion. This success amounts to a 23% increase over Fiscal Year 2024, exemplifying how the Shapiro Administration delivers for Pennsylvanians.
“Surpassing last year’s $1.1 billion demonstrates our team’s dauntless efforts when it comes to working with veterans, verifying eligibility and connecting them to the benefits they need and deserve,” said Brian Natali, director, Bureau of Veterans Outreach and Reintegration. “We are grateful to county veteran affairs offices, veteran service organizations, along with all the veteran service officers working on the front line and helping us to meet the ever-growing demand for our services. This is an incredible milestone in service to our veterans.”
This past year also saw nearly 10,000 new recipients of compensation and pension benefits, over 7,000 enrolled in the real estate tax exemption program and roughly 600 assisted through the Veterans Temporary Assistance Program. These programs are administered by the DMVA.
About 432 outreach events took place in 2024, and Natali said they are on track to surpass that number during the current fiscal year.
Contributing to DMVA’s recent increased queries and claims work has been the federal Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act signed into law in August 2022. The Act expanded VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances.
“Our staff has made the large number of PACT Act claims a priority, getting them to the federal VA as quickly as possible,” Natali pointed out. “We understand how important it is to veterans and their families to receive their benefits without barriers and delays.”
Natali said the agency’s success can also be attributed to PA VETConnect, an outreach program that enables the DMVA to concentrate services from within communities where veterans live.
The engine driving this program is an outreach team blanketing the commonwealth and connecting our nearly 700,000 veteran population to the best possible resources to meet their needs. The PA VETConnect network includes more than 7,000 resources.
Also in 2025, the DMVA opened the Lickdale Veterans’ Outreach Center in Lebanon County, aiding in the ability to meet the needs of veterans. The Center provides veterans and their families a convenient, in-person way to meet with accredited veteran service officers to discuss and apply for military benefits. Since it opened in June, the Center has seen a great deal of foot traffic.
To request assistance, or for more information about PA VETConnect or other DMVA programs and services, visit www.dmva.pa.gov. Or stop by the Center at 40 Fisher Ave., Jonestown, PA.
You can also learn more about the DMVA by following us at www.facebook.com/padmva or www.twitter.com/padmva.