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Written question asked by Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 June 2026. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Thursday, 25 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Means-tested Benefits: Veterans

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will consider exempting compensation awarded to veterans for service-related (a) illness and (b) injury from means testing for benefits.

Answer

War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards are already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit (UC).

The first £10 of any War Pension payment or AFCS award made due to injury or disablement is disregarded in Pension Credit. Income is calculated on a weekly basis, so the disregard is £10 per week.

Four additions to the War Disablement Pension are completely disregarded: Constant Attendance Allowance; Mobility Supplement; Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance; and dependency increases for anyone other than the applicant or her / his partner.

Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in Pension Credit and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.

Additionally, War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016.

By default, the first £10 of a War Pension or AFCS award is also disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them if they so wish.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
8476
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Compensation Chronic illnesses Exemptions Injuries Means-tested benefits Veterans
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk