Hi, I have an IVA and am due to be medically discharged from the military. Because of my discharge I will probably get compensation, war disablement pension and a Service Invaliding pension. I have heard that because these are medical compensation payments would I have to declare them as a windfall to my IP. Thanks.
Hi dazh. I would not have thought that your pensions would be classed as a windfall as that will be your income until you can get another job, if indeed you are physically able to get one. I don't know about the compensation, but I am sure one of the technical experts will be able to advise.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
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Thanks for replying. Its all a bit confusing really Luckily I have found an employer who will take me on as I can do some type of work and they have been really supportive. Thanks again.
Glad you have managed to get a job. One of the experts will be along shortly, so hang in there.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
It really depends upon the actual terms of your IVA, Dazh to be honest - but personal injury claims are usually exempt from bankruptcy proceedings, and therefore it is usual for a similar rule to apply under most IVA terms and conditions.
I am sure one of the experts will read my thread and advise accordingly:
I can provide some background advice on this for the experts to consider,since until two years ago i was the manager of the service medical board for survey and invaliding. I do not wish to say which service since I could potentially be identified from that information. I will be happy however if the 'experts' consider it would be valuable to the forum or necessary, to fax Andy with confirmation and validation of this employment position if he gives me a fax number.
A service invaliding pension is effectively a top up to your normal service pension (if you have done a pensionable engagement) or a pension payable if you are being prematurely discharged but have not reached a pensionable service point. It is designed to compensate you for your premature loss of service as a result of a disability(i.e as loss of future earnings).On that basis I suspect it is classed as income since it is part and parcel of and simply enhances any occupational pension that you are paid.
A war pension on the other hand is payable dependant upon the level of disability you have assessed by the Veterans Agency. This is not included in your occupational pension paid by the MOD but is paid seperately by the Veterans Agency (effectively the DWP). If your level of disability is assessed as above 20% you will receive a 'war pension' if it is assessed as less than 20% you will receive a lump sum gratuity instead.
If you are paid a 'war pension' (usually monthly)this is designed to reflect that (a) you are disadvantaged on the employment market as a result of a disablity and (b) that you you have a disability caused by service. Whether it is assessed as income or not I am not sure (it is exempt or disregarded from assessment from most other benefit claims income support,unemployment benefit, council tax benefit etc). I would think that it does not have to be counted as income in an iva since it is effectively compensation for the actual disability but again one of the experts will advise.
If you are paid a lump sum gratuity instead (only if you do not get a war pension) I am not sure (Ive asked this question myself on another thread). Melanie and Ian advised that it is unlikely to have to be paid. Although it is designed to compensate you for the same reasons as a war pension it is not exempt from other benefit assessments (this would seem to indicate that other benefits class it as income. My own IP is not sure and I am waiting to see myself if I will have to pay mine into my IVA (see the advice from melanie or Ian on my thread). I suspect not but this may be down to the individual IP's interpretation. As Ian as stated it is not laid down in stone in an IVA but is in Bankruptcy.
One thing is slightly confusing - you also say you will be reciving compensation. If you are referring to a payment from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme then you must be aware that you cannot get both. Either you will be paid under the War Pension Scheme OR the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (you cannot be paid under both). Which scheme will apply to you depends entirely on when you joined the service.
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is simply a lump sum which is entirely 'compensation' for the pain suffering and distress etc for your injury.
Alternatively of course if you are being paid compensation from PAX the unique armed forces Personal Accident Insurance)then this is entirely compensation for pain suffering distress etc.
If the compensation is the result of a civil action, As Ian advised on my thread the pain, suffering distress apportionment should not be payable into the IVA but any loss of earnings element may be.
I suspect that depending on the level of payment you receive one of the experts may advise you to try for a full and final payment settlement.
Hope this helps but one of the 'experts' will no doubt advise accordingly having read the thread.
Meanwhile
If you are in the RN then your claim and all relevant info (medical documents etc) will be automatically sent to the Veterans Agency and the process will be started automatically for you by the RN. You do not have to do anything except wait for a decision and the money.This is a very reliable and efficient service that they provide automatically to those persons being invalided.
If you are in the RAF or the Army then i would advise that you make sure that you contact the veterans agency yourself, since they do not necessarily automatically start your claim for you.
What a helpful post - and such detailed information from a recognised expert in their field. Thank you so much for taking time out to post this information - I am sure that Ian and I will keep it readily to hand, and that it is invaluable for the original poster to use if he/she needs to discuss their situation in finer detail with their IP.
This forum never ceases to amaze me with the wealth of knowledge that is shared on a daily basis - and demonstrates once again how even professional experts can learn a thing or two from the other posters.
Sorry I wanted to edit my post but it is not giving me the option to do so:
What i wanted to add is that whether or not you can claim under the armed forces compensation scheme or the war pension scheme also depends on the date of the injuries you are claiming for.
Before 6 april 05 it is the war pension scheme after that date it is the armed forces compensation scheme. If you are being invalided for two injuries then 'technically' you can make a claim under both, this would be exceptionally unusual as normally the primary invaliding condition will determine which scheme applies.
Also do not forget to claim for any other condition you have regardless of wether or not it is the reason why you are being invalided - it all adds to the overall assessment percentage.
Also be aware (if you need to appeal the DWP decision)that under the Social Security Contributions and Benefit Act that 'any condition that you claim as being attributable to service, shall be 'automatically' proved, unless the Sexcretary of State for Defence can 'prove otherwise'.
Thanks for the brilliant advice. In todays post I got a load of information about my benefits. In the letters it says I am getting a Service Invaliding Pension and a terminal grant of 3 times the SIP. The level of disability has ben assessed at 40% and is attributable and as such I will get a war disablement pension. I'd rather not go into the details of my medical problems but suffice to say their will be certain jobs I wont be able to do in the future. I also wont be getting anything from the compensation scheme. My service was in the RAF and I did complete a FMed 24 although I only wrote one paragraph as my medical issue was pretty straight forward. One more thing, i have served over 22 years so do I also recieve a normal service terminal grant and pension (which would have been slightly more than my SIP). Thanks again for some wonderful advice but it seems to me quite ridiculous that nothing is set in concrete about this with regards to the IVA. It would seem reading other threads that it all depends on the whim of the IP. In a legally binding agreement I think this is strange to say the least.
As you have completed 22 years you would have been entitled to the full service pension on leaving anyways .The fact that you will receive a Service Invaliding Pension means that you should receive slightly more than you would have done if you were just collecting a normal service pension. If your disability has been assessed at 40% then I assume you have a significant disability.In theory this means that you should receive a fairly substantial war pension.You have to bear in mind of course that I havent done this for two years so some of the rules may have changed slightly since then so I am only advising on what the rules were then. I dont expect however that they will have changed much.
In addition because your disability has been assessed at such a high level there will be the element of tax 'freeness' on top.
I would suggest that if you have been assessed at 40% disability I would have suggested that your personal statement should have been no less than four A4 pages long ! It is important here to ensure that the Veterans Agency appreciate how disadvantaged you will be in civilian life in comparison to your civilian counterparts - since their assessment is based on these facts. For example how will it affect everyday things like shopping, playing with your children, driving a car etc. These are all things that you may have a lower quality of life of than someone who is fully fit.
I dont want to make this a long thread so I will post it in seperate parts.
The next thing you need to do is check that the DWP (DHSS) have a record of your sickness absence, since you first got the condition. What should have happened (I bet it hasnt) is that your service should have provided you with confirmation of this at the time of your discharge. I cant remember what the form is called (I think its an Fmed 1062/1065 or something like that). In sum this form clarifies to the DHSS what sickness absence you have had during service since your condition started.
This is important since if you are subsequently unable to work in civilian life at a later date (or you become unemployed and claim disability benefit - which is more than unemployment benefit) you move throught the DWP disability allowances from the lower to the higher band based on the number of days you have been unable to work as a result of your condition. i.e you start on the lower band of payment and after so many days then move to the higher band. These days you have had off in service count towards those days !!! but because the service is not part of the National Contributions Recording scheme they are not automatically registered unlike in civvy street.
I suggest you either ring your 'last' Station Medical Centre or the RAF Medical Board Office to check/ask for this form to be sent to you - you then need to keep a copy and deliver a copy to your local DWP office. Alternatively go into your local DWP office and ask them to request the information (they have a standard form for doing this.
I will check with my successor on Monday and get the right title and number of the form for you.
Just following this thread and can't add anything, other than to say good luck and all the best dazh ... and aren't we so tremendously lucky to have people such as greedfighter here on the Forum to share their expertise ... it never ceases to amaze me [:)]
