Payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) are currently considered income when determining whether someone is eligible for various benefits, but compensation awarded by courts for personal injury or medical negligence is exempt.
The effect is to reduce the benefits to which some veterans are entitled, or even in some cases to wipe out their enitlement altogether. This can affect war widows and families, as well as veterans themselves.
In 2023 the Royal British Legion (RBL) and PoppyScotland jointly launched their 'Credit Their Service' campaign for fair treatment of veterans by removing this anomaly.
Pension Credit
The campaign relates partly to Pension Credit which is administered nationally. Enitlement to pension credit can trigger several other types of benefit or help.
Local Benefits
The problem also extends to various other benefits which are administered by local authorities, such as Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, Discretionary Housing Payments, and Disabled Facilities Grants.
The RBL estimates that over 10,000 local benefit awards per year involve military compensation, whilst four in five (80%) British councils treat this as income.
Some local authorities have already responded positively to the campaign:
How can BAFF support the campaign?
British Armed Forces Federation agrees with the 'Credit their service' campaign by RBL and PoppyScotland.
BAFF members and supporters can help by asking your local authority whether they have agreed to disregard Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments in assessing benefit awards, or by encouraging your local media to cover the story. Let us know how you get on.
Any veteran who has been disadvantaged by having military compensation taken into account is encouraged to contribute to a British Legion survey here:
or the corresponding PoppyScotland survey here:
Any BAFF veteran member or supporter with personal experience of AFCS payments being taken into account is welcome to get in touch. However, to avoid double counting the priority is to contribute to the RBL/PoppyScotland surveys
We may continue to report which local authorities have agreed to disregard AFCS payments (or were already doing so) -
- and which local authorities have declined to make the change requested.
