- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 130
It is my belief that the general public does not clearly grasp the real and actual difference between the New Veteran's Charter and the former Pension Act. The Department of Veteran's Affairs continues to confuse the issues with their spin on the facts and other so called New Program's that are available under the New Veteran's Charter.
When I talk about this issue with my neighbors and friends they think that this is an issue that relates mainly to “war veterans from Afghanistan” and they are under the assumption that that is the only issue. I also believe, but I do not have enough direct evidence to support this opinion, that the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) has not been helpful in making the issues more clear.
At a recent get together at a Legion I was listening to two executive members (veterans sons who never served but run the place like their own personal fiefdom) who thought the NVC was just great because their fathers had recently received rather large lump sum payments for hearing loss (one at 20% and the other at 30% from what I was able to overhear). This is a very clear indication of the different perspective of someone in their twenty's or thirty's to someone in their sixth or seventh decade of life on the NVC. (I happen to know that one of these elderly vets is in a nursing home and my less charitable side wonders if the son can hardly wait to spend his Father's pension award.)
Those that serve in any Branch or MOC know that many of the injuries in the Canadian Armed Forces are not from combat but from daily training, noncombat deployment injuries, and all manner of other activities such as flood and fire fighting, traffic accidents etc. These injuries cause permanent impairment that has a quality of life impact that can be minor or major and may often result in a pensionable injury.
As part of the obligations of service we undertake extensive training that even while conducted correctly, with proper safeguards can be fundamentally dangerous. The sounds of jet engines, demolitions training, rifle ranges, black out driving, basic parachute training, clearance diver, the list is extensive and comprehensive. As a military we train for all contingencies and as much as we put in place programs to mitigate risk, injuries will happen. It happened to me and it has happened to many others.
This is my actual experience with the New Veteran's Charter and the former Pension Act and provides a very clear and specific example of the difference in benefits under both programs.
In the 1980’s I was on basic para doing a full equipment night drop into DZ Buxton at CFB Edmonton. This was the last drop to be done for me to receive my coveted jump wings. Temperature was -20C, overcast and a light wind less than 10kph. The DZ was snow packed and covered with a light fall of fresh snow. Upon exiting the aircraft I carried out all the standard drills and had a good opening and was feeling elated. As I approached the ground the wind started gusting higher and stirring up the fresh snow. I released my rucksack and prepared for landing. I felt my rucksack hit the ground followed by me and found my left leg in a wheel rut that was just wide enough for my boot to get stuck and unable to roll properly the wind grabbed my chute and stretched me like an accordion until I was able to hit the quick releases. Ten minutes later I am gathering up my chute and limping off the DZ barely able to walk.
Over the next 5 years I was in and out of treatment until I left the Forces with a permanent limp and damage to my back and left leg and severe sciatica and hearing loss (separate incident).
When I applied for a pension for my back I was granted a 20% 5/5ths pension. I did not apply for hearing loss because it was just a minor inconvenience at that time and the ringing in my ears, which I now know is tinnitus, was just something I put up with. Ignorance is rarely bliss.
Because my back injury is covered under the old Pension Act I will receive over my lifetime in direct pension benefits using the 2013 DVA Disability Pension benefit table as a base figure
45 years X 12months X $518.68 Basic benefit over 45 years is $280,087.20
45 years X 12 months X 119.98 Married Benefit over 45 years is $70,027.20
18 years X 12 months X (67.44+49.28) Life Time child benefit is $25,211.52
Total DVA Pension Benefit over 45 years $375,325.92
New Veterans Charter Payment @ 20% (If applied to me) $59,717.59
Net Additional Benefit over 45 years of Pension Act over NVC $315,608.33
*2013 Dollars - not adjusted for CPI
I am now processing a claim for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus. Based on the examinations to date the most I can hope for is a 20% maximum though I think it more likely that if approved I will receive 10% for hearing and 5% for tinnitus.
Under the old Pension Act my monthly base pension would go from $528.68 to $907.69. I am currently 55 years old and can reasonably expect to live to 78 and receive an additional $102,698.64 on top of the $375K show above.
Under the NVC I will receive a lump sum settlement of $44,788.20. The Department of Veterans Affairs will save $57,910.44. This is just one example of the saving that the NVC is truly about. How many other thousands of CAF members will receive a similar type of settlement?
I think it is important that more accurate information about the true cost to the veteran versus the cost savings to the government be provided to the media and the public.
I have attached a PDF of the actual calculations if anyone is interested.
When I talk about this issue with my neighbors and friends they think that this is an issue that relates mainly to “war veterans from Afghanistan” and they are under the assumption that that is the only issue. I also believe, but I do not have enough direct evidence to support this opinion, that the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) has not been helpful in making the issues more clear.
At a recent get together at a Legion I was listening to two executive members (veterans sons who never served but run the place like their own personal fiefdom) who thought the NVC was just great because their fathers had recently received rather large lump sum payments for hearing loss (one at 20% and the other at 30% from what I was able to overhear). This is a very clear indication of the different perspective of someone in their twenty's or thirty's to someone in their sixth or seventh decade of life on the NVC. (I happen to know that one of these elderly vets is in a nursing home and my less charitable side wonders if the son can hardly wait to spend his Father's pension award.)
Those that serve in any Branch or MOC know that many of the injuries in the Canadian Armed Forces are not from combat but from daily training, noncombat deployment injuries, and all manner of other activities such as flood and fire fighting, traffic accidents etc. These injuries cause permanent impairment that has a quality of life impact that can be minor or major and may often result in a pensionable injury.
As part of the obligations of service we undertake extensive training that even while conducted correctly, with proper safeguards can be fundamentally dangerous. The sounds of jet engines, demolitions training, rifle ranges, black out driving, basic parachute training, clearance diver, the list is extensive and comprehensive. As a military we train for all contingencies and as much as we put in place programs to mitigate risk, injuries will happen. It happened to me and it has happened to many others.
This is my actual experience with the New Veteran's Charter and the former Pension Act and provides a very clear and specific example of the difference in benefits under both programs.
In the 1980’s I was on basic para doing a full equipment night drop into DZ Buxton at CFB Edmonton. This was the last drop to be done for me to receive my coveted jump wings. Temperature was -20C, overcast and a light wind less than 10kph. The DZ was snow packed and covered with a light fall of fresh snow. Upon exiting the aircraft I carried out all the standard drills and had a good opening and was feeling elated. As I approached the ground the wind started gusting higher and stirring up the fresh snow. I released my rucksack and prepared for landing. I felt my rucksack hit the ground followed by me and found my left leg in a wheel rut that was just wide enough for my boot to get stuck and unable to roll properly the wind grabbed my chute and stretched me like an accordion until I was able to hit the quick releases. Ten minutes later I am gathering up my chute and limping off the DZ barely able to walk.
Over the next 5 years I was in and out of treatment until I left the Forces with a permanent limp and damage to my back and left leg and severe sciatica and hearing loss (separate incident).
When I applied for a pension for my back I was granted a 20% 5/5ths pension. I did not apply for hearing loss because it was just a minor inconvenience at that time and the ringing in my ears, which I now know is tinnitus, was just something I put up with. Ignorance is rarely bliss.
Because my back injury is covered under the old Pension Act I will receive over my lifetime in direct pension benefits using the 2013 DVA Disability Pension benefit table as a base figure
45 years X 12months X $518.68 Basic benefit over 45 years is $280,087.20
45 years X 12 months X 119.98 Married Benefit over 45 years is $70,027.20
18 years X 12 months X (67.44+49.28) Life Time child benefit is $25,211.52
Total DVA Pension Benefit over 45 years $375,325.92
New Veterans Charter Payment @ 20% (If applied to me) $59,717.59
Net Additional Benefit over 45 years of Pension Act over NVC $315,608.33
*2013 Dollars - not adjusted for CPI
I am now processing a claim for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus. Based on the examinations to date the most I can hope for is a 20% maximum though I think it more likely that if approved I will receive 10% for hearing and 5% for tinnitus.
Under the old Pension Act my monthly base pension would go from $528.68 to $907.69. I am currently 55 years old and can reasonably expect to live to 78 and receive an additional $102,698.64 on top of the $375K show above.
Under the NVC I will receive a lump sum settlement of $44,788.20. The Department of Veterans Affairs will save $57,910.44. This is just one example of the saving that the NVC is truly about. How many other thousands of CAF members will receive a similar type of settlement?
I think it is important that more accurate information about the true cost to the veteran versus the cost savings to the government be provided to the media and the public.
I have attached a PDF of the actual calculations if anyone is interested.