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Significant improvements to the Armed Forces Compensation SchemeAs of 9 May 2011, all current and former members of the Armed Forces will benefit from significant improvements to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) provides compensation for any injury, illness or death that is predominantly caused by service, on or after 6 April 2005. The Scheme was recently reviewed by Admiral the Lord Boyce, former Chief of Defence Staff, who made several recommendations for its improvement.
The Ministry of Defence, working with the Services and voluntary organisations such as The Royal British Legion, BLESMA, War Widows’ Association, the Confederation of British Service and Ex-Service Organisations, SSAFA FH and the Family Federations, has now successfully implemented all of these recommendations, within one year. The Army Pay Colonel, Colonel Fiona Gardner, summed up the Services’ view of these changes, commenting, ‘I believe that the changes recommended by Lord Boyce, and implemented in full, represent a significant improvement to the Scheme, which now appropriately recognises the totality and severity of injuries suffered by our people, and delivers awards that are both fair and just. ‘The changes to the Scheme have delivered a comprehensive compensation package, which should give our soldiers confidence in the event of injury,’ she continued. Noteworthy among these changes is the average increase, which is in excess of 25% to all lump sum payments, except the top award, which was recently doubled to £570,000. Other awards have also been considerably improved – for example, the maximum lump sum payable for mental health has been almost tripled to £140,000 (this lump sum would also be accompanied by an income stream).
Lord Boyce’s Review took especial account of the changing nature of injuries and in particular the serious multiple injuries that some individuals have received from IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan. As such, there has also been a substantial change to how the Scheme calculates payments for individuals who have suffered multiple injuries in a single incident – previously, most individuals would receive compensation only for the three most severe injuries; now they will receive some compensation for each of their injuries.
The change that Andrew Robathan MP, Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare & Veterans, believes to be ‘most notable’ is the increase in monthly payments for those with the most serious injuries. These Guaranteed Income Payments have been increased to reflect the lasting impact of more serious injuries on likely future promotion prospects as a result of injury and on the ability to work up to age 65. All of these changes will have a tangible impact. For example, if an individual partakes in Service-approved Adventurous Training (AT) and receives a broken nose, but the bones are still connected, they could receive £1,200; previously this would have been £1,115. At the other end of the scale, the impact of the changes for the more severely injured is even more significant. For example, if an individual loses both his legs below the knee he could receive a lump sum payment of £290,000 – this is a 68% increase in the amount paid under the old Scheme, £172,000. As well as this uplifted lump sum, he will receive a Guaranteed Income Payment – an enhanced tax-free index-linked income stream for life. It is worth stressing that these changes do not just benefit future claimants – exceptionally, all those who have already received an award under the Scheme will see it uplifted in line with the changes. But don’t worry – you don’t need to take any action as the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency, which delivers the Scheme, will be notifying the 10,000 people who have previously received awards of their uplift. Yet there is still work to be done. The Review also set up an Independent Medical Expert Group, which looks at how the Scheme can best compensate for specific illnesses. This group has announced its initial findings, but will be doing further work this year on issues including mental health and hearing loss. It will also look at diseases that might be recognised under the Scheme. These changes, in their entirety, provide a compensation scheme that is fit for its purpose: to provide financial compensation in recognition of the sacrifice made by our Service personnel on the nation’s behalf. As Andrew Robathan MP stated, ‘These changes will have a direct and positive impact on our Armed Forces personnel.’
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