Disabled vets get new pension plan … in 2019

The Trudeau government is promising to provide injured veterans with more financial compensation and assistance in the form of long-promised lifelong disability pensions for those injured in uniform.

Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan unveiled the new pensions Wednesday, more than two years after the Liberals promised them during the last federal election.

“Our pension-for-life plan is a combination of benefits that provide recognition, income support and stability to veterans and Canadian Armed Forces members who experience a service-related illness or injury,” O’Regan said.

“We are addressing concerns made by the veteran and military communities by allowing those with a service-related injury or illness to determine the best form of compensation that works for them and their families.”

The changes are complex and multi-layered, and represent the most-significant overhaul in more than a decade to benefits and services available for disabled veterans.

They are expected to provide more money to injured veterans than the current suite of benefits, particularly the most severely disabled who are unable to work.

But the Liberals’ plan offers only modest increases for those on the other end of the spectrum, and continues to provide many veterans with less than the previous lifelong disability pensions, which were abolished in 2006.

Those pensions were replaced with a lump-sum payment, rehabilitation and targeted income-replacement programs, known collectively as the New Veterans Charter.

While the charter has been criticized as offering less money than the old pension system, the government says the charter and new pension scheme offers more flexibility and assistance through rehab and career training.

Still, the lack of parity with the old pension system is unlikely to sit well with many veterans who have been demanding that the government reinstate the old system as a matter of fairness.

Also, the new plan won’t come into effect until April 2019.

A senior government official said it will take time to pass legislation and to secure the $3.6 billion in additional funding needed.

The Liberals were the only party to promise to reinstate lifelong pensions for disabled veterans during the last election campaign following widespread complaints from injured ex-soldiers about the New Veterans Charter.

The charter was implemented by the previous Conservative government with unanimous support from the Liberals and NDP. It provided a lump-sum payment for pain and suffering worth a maximum of $360,000.

Under the new plan, the lumpsum award will still be available to veterans who want the money right away, but they will now be able to choose a monthly payment for pain and suffering instead.

Those with severe or permanent disabilities will also be eligible for a new benefit worth between $500 and $1,500 per month, on top of the pain and suffering award. Both benefits are tax free.