WAR PENSIONS INFORMATION

Provided by Branch Committee Member and Tribunal Representative – Pete Derrick

Pete has been employed by the Legion since 1995 as a full-time representative at War Disability Pensions Appeal Tribunals and has considerable personal experience in assisting a wide range of entitled personnel. It deserves to be read by not only those who believe they may have entitlement but also, and perhaps more importantly, by those who are in a position to help and advise others who belong to that category.

Pete writes: "Since coming to work for The Royal British Legion, I have become acutely aware that there are many ex-service people who do not know that they may be eligible to receive a War Disablement Pension (WDP). I thought, therefore, that I could help by writing a short article on the subject.

WDPs are paid by the Veterans Agency (VA), an executive agency of the MoD. A pension can be claimed by any ex-serviceman or woman, and in certain circumstances civilians, for any injury or condition caused, and/or made worse, by service in the Armed Forces. In normal circumstances one has to have been on, or going to/coming from duty. (In other words, an injury sustained whilst out on a peechi party in Famagusta or returning from "clubbing" in Lincoln does not count - if you do not know what a peechi party is, please call me!). You do not have to have been involved in a conflict. You may also claim for injuries sustained as a result of participation in representative sport at any level since you are considered to be on duty for these activities. To have a claim successfully allowed and receive payment one has to be suffering from a disability at the time of the claim. WDPs are paid in addition to any other pension, including service pensions. They are tax free, index-linked and in most circumstances unaffected by any other salary that you may be receiving: it is not necessary to declare a WDP to the Inland Revenue since it is one of the exempt incomes.

Pensions are paid according to the assessed percentage of the accepted disability. The scales are 1 - 5%, 6 - 14%, 15 - 19% and then 20%, 30% etc up to 100%. For anything up to 19%, a lump sum (gratuity) is paid according to a further scale governed by the initial Assessment. Present, one-off payments vary from £326 at the bottom end to a maximum of £7,660 at the top.

If the accepted condition(s) is rated at 20% or more, a weekly pension is paid. For example, 20% is £24.78, 50% is £61.95 and 100% is £123.90. These payments are the same for all ranks.

There are other payments for specified minor injuries: eg. loss of fingers, toes etc.

Once you have a WDP, you may be eligible for other additional allowances dependent upon the accepted percentage. Space here does not permit description of all the allowances but one example is the Allowance for a Lowered Standard of Occupation (ALSO).

To be entitled to ALSO your WDP must be assessed at 40% or higher,

your disability must make you permanently unable to do work that is, or was, similar to your service occupation, and

you must be under the age of 65 when you make the claim

The present rate of this allowance is up to a maximum of £46.72 per week.

All the above payment rates are in operation from April 2003 until March 2004.

If anyone wishes to seek further advice, please contact me on UK telephone number 020 7973 7323 during working hours or E-mail me at pderrick@britishlegion.org.uk. I f in doubt, call - you have nothing to lose and quite possibly something to gain.

War Pensioners are entitled to priority treatment in NHS hospitals for any examination or treatment relating to the conditions for which they receive a War Pension. This applies to procedures taken as either an outpatient or in-patient.

Finally, there is a Right of Appeal if you disagree with decisions made by the VA. In these circumstances the Legion will be happy to advise and represent you, free of charge, at any resultant Appeal Tribunal.