VAC Disability Pensions: What You Need to Know

Veterans Affairs Canada currently provides disability pensions under the Pension Act to more than 155,000 veterans and still-serving Canadian Forces members who suffer from a medical disability related to their military service. We also adjudicate disability claims on behalf of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This is what happens to your pension application once we receive it.

Q. Who makes the decision on my claim?

A. Your application for a VAC disability pension will be carefully reviewed by an Adjudicator who is located in our Head Office in Charlottetown. An Adjudicator is a person who has been specially trained by the Department to determine if you qualify for a disability pension.

Q. What does the Adjudicator do?

A. The Adjudicator will look at all of the evidence submitted with your claim. This will include your service medical records, documents which describe your military occupation, and your personal statement that explains why you believe your disability is related to your military service. To proceed with your claim, the Adjudicator must:

• establish that the evidence in your claim contains an accepted medical diagnosis of your current disability; and
• determine if your disability is fully, or partially, related to your service. A disability that is fully related to your military service would have a high rating; one that is only somewhat linked to your service would have a lower rating.

Q. Then what?

A. If you are entitled to a disability pension, we then need to determine the extent of your disability. Assessment levels range from 0% to 100%. The higher the assessment, the more serious the medical disability. All assessment levels are based on a rating system that has been established by the Department. These rates are published in the Department's Table of Disabilities. The Adjudicator will refer to this Table, and to the medical information that has been submitted with your claim, to determine the level of your assessment. If there is not enough medical information in your file to allow us to make an informed decision, we may arrange for you to be examined by a doctor.

Q. What happens if I'm not happy with your decision?

A. You, or the person who filed the claim on your behalf, can request a departmental review if you have new evidence that was not included in your original claim. The Department also can review decisions where a mistake in fact or law has occurred. Our Pension Officers can give you more information on how to file a departmental review. They also can counsel you on other levels of review and appeal that may be available to you.

Need More Information or Help?

• If you need more information on VAC's disability pensions or how to apply for a pension, please contact your nearest VAC District Office and speak with one of our Pension Officers. To locate the VAC office nearest to you, look in your local telephone book in the Government (or blue) pages.
• More information on our Entitlement Eligibility Guidelines and Table of Disabilities is available on our Web site (www.vac-acc.gc.ca).
• If you have a question about the status of an application that you have already submitted, you can call our toll-free Pension Inquiry telephone number at 1-800-774-7476.
• If you need help preparing your application, you can contact your nearest VAC District Office or a representative of a veterans' organization, such as the Royal Canadian Legion. There is no charge for this help.

Survivors: Case Studies

• In 1990, André was awarded a disability pension for a knee condition. When André died in 2001, his widow, Jane, contacted a VAC Pension Officer who helped her submit an application that contained information about how André's pensionable condition had worsened between 1990 and the time of his death. The application had all the documentation we needed to reassess the extent of André's pensionable disability. The increase in payment was reflected in Jane's survivor benefit.
• Helen submitted a disability pension application but died before VAC could make a decision on her claim. We continued to process the claim and determined that Helen had an injury that would have made her eligible for a disability pension. As a result, Helen's widowed husband and young son are eligible for survivor benefits.