War Disablement Pension

If you are no longer serving in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces but you were injured or disabled prior to 6th April 2005 as a result of your time in service, you may be entitled to a War Disablement Pension. You can claim if you were:

• In Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and affected during service
• A Civil Defence Volunteer and affected during service
• In the Merchant Navy or Coastguard and affected during wartime or during time spent as a prisoner of war
• A civilian during World War Two affected at the time as a result of enemy action
• In the Polish Forces during World War Two but under the command of the British Forces, and affected during service
• In the Polish Resettlement Forces during World War Two, and affected during service
  

Your claim will be assessed taking into account the nature of your illness or disablement, and the extent to which it affects you. You may be entitled to a tax-free War Disablement Pension if your illness or disablement affects you more than twenty percent. This percentage will be calculated by medical advisors. The percentage to which you are affected will be used to calculate the percentage of War Disablement Pension to which you are entitled. If you are affected fifty percent, you will receive fifty percent of the full War Disablement Pension, which at the current rate would give you £72.55 of pension a week. If you are affected less than twenty percent, you will usually not be entitled to a War Disablement Pension but may be entitled to a one-off lump sum payment instead. Other state benefits you are currently entitled to receive may also affect the amount of War Disablement Pension you receive. The latest rates available for the tax year 2008/2009 are as follows:

• An officer may receive up to a maximum of £7,571 a year
• All others may receive up to a maximum of £145.10 a week
  
  

To claim the War Disablement Pension, contact the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency on 0800 169 2277. If your claim is successful, your War Disablement Pension will be paid into a bank account you nominate, via direct debit. You may also be entitled to extra benefits depending on your particular circumstances, such as your age when you were affected and any earnings lost as a direct result of your illness or disability. Every claim will be assessed individually, so an exact estimation of your War Disablement Pension is available only from the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency.