Financial Assistance for Canadian Military Veterans

Many seniors have risked their lives serving in Canada’s military. Unfortunately, these veterans often face financial struggles. Because of this, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) has made numerous programs to support their income, help them and their families make ends meet, and provide emergency funding.

I’ll be briefly covering each program while giving you the link to its website, which you can visit for a more thorough look at it.

If you find a program from which you could benefit, you can apply for it with ease by using a My VAC account. On the provided website, find the button that says “My VAC Account” and click it to access or create your account.

Compensation for illness or injury

The first category of programs gives you payment if you suffer from a service-related injury or illness.

Disability Benefits

A disability benefit is a non-taxable financial payment to support your well-being. The amount you receive depends on the degree to which your injury or illness is service-related and its severity.

To qualify for a disability benefit, you must be one of the following:

• Canadian Armed Forces member or veteran
• A current or former member of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP)
• Second World War or Korean War veteran (includes Merchant Navy)
• Certain civilians who served in the Second World War.

If you meet the above criteria and have a diagnosed medical condition or disability and are able to show that the condition is related to your service, then you should apply for a disability benefit.

If you end up qualifying, you’ll either receive a Pain and Suffering Compensation, which you can choose to be either a lump-sum or a life-time monthly payment, or a Disability Pension, which is a life-time monthly payment.

For a Pain and Suffering Compensation, the amount of money you receive depends on the extent of your disability, which is measured as a percentage and displayed in a table on VAC’s website. Since you can choose how the funds are given to you, you’ll either receive a monthly payment in the range of $59.18 to $1,183.57 or a lump-sum in the range of $19,254.58 to $385,091.61.

The amount you could receive each month from a disability pension depends on how severe your disability is determined to be, whether or not you have a spouse, and how many children you have. For example, the rate for a single person without children ranges from $147.01 to $2,940.15. The full list of rates can be found on Veterans Affairs Canada’s website.

For more information on disability benefits, CLICK HERE.

Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation (APSC)

Essentially, you can view the Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation as an extension of a disability benefit, since you must be receiving a disability benefit to be eligible for it and it’s also a monthly, non-taxable payment.

You’re eligible for this payment if you have a permanent and severe service-related injury or illness (for which you receive a VAC disability benefit) that creates a barrier in your life. However, you cannot receive this payment if you already receive the Exceptional Incapacity Allowance.

The Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation has three levels of payment, with the highest being $1,500 and the lowest being $500. These levels correspond to the grade levels given to recipients upon their examination.

Additional information can be found on the VAC website.

Caregiver Recognition Benefit (CRB)

The CRB is designed to recognize informal caregivers who help veterans complete daily living activities. This could be your son or daughter, spouse, grandchild, or friend, for instance. The CRB is an opportunity to financially support your caregiver.

You should apply for the CRB if:

• you need daily assistance for at least four of your activities of daily living
• your caregiver is not paid to provide or coordinate your care and is over the age of 18
• you are not a permanent resident of a nursing home or long-term care facility
• you are a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces
• you have a VAC disability benefit.

The monthly payment amount increases annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. Currently, the amount is $1,053.89 per month.

The rest of the details about the CRB are on the VAC website.

 
Critical Injury Benefit (CIB)

Unlike the above benefits, the CIB is a lump-sum given to you for having suffered a sudden, severe, and traumatic service-related illness or injury. The effects of the incident have to have been immediate and cannot have evolved over time.

To be eligible for the CIB:

• you must have experienced a severe injury or acute illness while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces on or after April 1, 2006
• your illness or injury caused a severe impairment that interfered with your quality of life.

An impairment is considered severe if, after the incident that caused it, an amputation at or above the wrist or ankle had to be performed or you were admitted to intensive care, acute care, or received complex treatment for five days or longer.

The types of eligible impairments are the following permanent or temporary (lasted 12 consecutive weeks or more) conditions:

• blindness in both eyes
• paralysis of one or more limbs
• loss of control of kidneys, bladder or bowel
• for 16 weeks or more, you required assistance for three or more of the following activities:
  • eating
  • bathing
  • dressing
  • using the bathroom, or
  • mobility (walking or getting in or out of bed or a chair).

You’ll be given $76,838.36 if you are awarded the CIB.

Greater detail is provided by VAC’s website.

 
Clothing Allowance

If your disability causes damage to your clothes or requires you to wear specially-made clothing, the Clothing Allowance will help you with the related expenses.

As long as you’re receiving a disability benefit that can impact your clothing, you can receive this allowance.

The Clothing Allowance operates on a grade level system, much like most of the other benefits. The monthly payment amount depends on the grade you receive and is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. Currently, the amount you could receive ranges from $24.44 to $220.46.

Other aspects of the Clothing Allowance are disclosed on its dedicated website.

 
Attendance Allowance

Serious disabilities can often make it impossible to accomplish activities of daily living without assistance. To that end, the Attendance Allowance provides monthly payments to help you cover the cost of hiring a caregiver to assist you in your day-to-day life.

You can qualify for the allowance if you:

• have a disability pension of 1% or more or receive Prisoner of War compensation
• are totally disabled, whether or not your condition was service-related
• need assistance with activities of daily living (these include eating, bathing, moving, or dressing).

The monthly payment amount depends on the nature of your disability, particularly your ability to live independently. The specific amount lies in the range of $311.38 to $1,945.50.

Further information is presented by VAC on their website.

 
Exceptional Incapacity Allowance (EIA)

The EIA is a monthly, tax-free payment that you may receive if you have a serious illness or injury that significantly affects your quality of life.

You’re eligible for this allowance if you:

• have a disability pension of 98 percent or more
• have a combination of a disability pension and award that totals 98 percent or more
• have a combination of a disability pension and Prisoner of War Compensation that totals 98 percent or more
• have an exceptional incapacity that is related to the condition or conditions for which you receive a disability benefit .

The payment value ranges from $518.83 at the lowest grade to $1,556.43 at the highest grade. The grade level you receive from VAC will be determined on the basis of the severity of your disability.

Find out more on the website dedicated to the EIA.

Treatment Benefits

This program gives you a VAC healthcare card that you can use to cover hospital services, nursing services, appointments with specialists, prosthetics, and other healthcare costs.

In order to qualify for coverage, you have to already qualify for at least one of the following:

• a disability benefit
• the Veterans Independence Program,
• the War Veterans Allowance
• financial assistance from VAC for long-term care.

VAC provides 14 different programs within the scope of treatment benefits, with each one encompassing its own area of healthcare-related expenses. If you want to see what benefits are covered by VAC, you can go to the benefits grid to look up the contents of the various programs.

To get reimbursed for your healthcare purchases, you’ll have to send a request within 18 months from the date you received the treatment or service.

A more extensive description of the treatment benefits can be found on VAC’s website.

Health-related travel expenses

If you need to travel to receive healthcare, the costs of your voyage may be reimbursed by VAC. Items such as transportation, meals, parking, lodging, and others are included as related costs.

To be eligible for reimbursement, you must have received treatment benefits from VAC (the ones mentioned above). You’ll then have to submit a request within 18 months from the date of your medical appointment to get reimbursed.

There are maximum values for the amounts that can be reimbursed for each aspect of your travel.

Further details exist on VAC’s page on the topic.

Income Support

This category will focus on monthly payments that help to maintain and support your income.

Income Replacement Benefit (IRB)

The IRB is a monthly benefit that keeps your total income at least equal to 90% of your pre-release military salary for as long as you’re participating in the Rehabilitation Services and Vocational Assistance Program, or until you reach age 65, whichever comes first. Since, as its name implies, the IRB is meant to replace part of your income, it is taxable.

You should apply for the IRB if you’re a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces and are taking part in VAC’s rehabilitation services. Survivors or dependent children of Canadian Armed Forces members who died due to an illness or injury related to their service should also apply.

As for the amount you’ll receive each month, it will be based on whichever is highest:

• 90% of your salary at release, indexed forward to current day
• the minimum threshold, $50,018.64 (2021), indexed annually based on the Consumer Price Index.

You’ll still be able to work without offsetting the amount you receive from the IRB, as long as you don’t exceed an income of $20,000 per year from employment.

VAC goes into greater detail on their website.

 
Canadian Forces Income Support (CFIS)

For low-income veterans who no longer qualify for the IRB after participating in the VAC’s rehabilitation services, the CFIS will give you a monthly, non-taxable benefit to help financially support you.

You’re eligible for the CFIS if you:

• are a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces
• have a low household income
• are looking for work or participating in the Career Transition Services program
• are no longer qualify for the Earnings Loss Benefit.

The amount you receive depends on whether you’re single, married, and if you have any children. A single veteran receives $1,667.06, a veteran with a spouse or partner receives $2,484.37, and each dependent child you have adds an additional $369.62.

The full scope of information on the CFIS can be seen on its page.

War Veterans Allowance (WVA)

The WVA is meant to help you meet your basic financial needs by providing you with a monthly, tax-free payment based on your sources of income, marital status, and whether or not you have dependents.

Eligibility for the WVA requires you to meet the criteria in terms of war-time service, residency, and income. The specific criteria are as follows:

• You must fall under one of the two:
  • a veteran (including Merchant Navy) or Allied Veteran of the Second World War or the Korean War
  • certain civilians who served in the Second World War.

If you are an Allied Veteran you must also have done one of the two:

• lived in Canada prior to your enlistment with an Allied Force
• lived in Canada for a total of 10 years (does not have to be consecutive) since your military service.

You must meet VAC standards for income, which are the same as the standards for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (if single, your income must be below $18,984, etc.)

The rate of payment is adjusted quarterly based on the Consumer Price Index. A veteran receives $1,667.06 ($1,728.96 if blind), a veteran with a spouse or partner receives $2,484.36 ($2,546.07 if both blind), and each dependent child adds $264.41.

Any questions you may have can be answered by using VAC’s website.

Emergency Funds

Sometimes unexpected situations can suddenly jeopardize your financial stability. For cases such as these, VAC offers emergency funding, which is what I’ll cover in this section.

Veterans Emergency Fund (VEF)

This fund provides you or your family with financial support if your well-being is being threatened by an urgent and unexpected situation.

Applying for the VEF is something you should consider if you have an urgent financial need and are either a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces or the spouse or common-law partner of one. Only Canadian residents can receive this grant.

Applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, since emergencies vary in nature. As such, the exact amount of money you receive varies as well.

For more information, visit the page dedicated to the VEF.

Assistance Fund

If you receive the War Veterans Allowance and find yourself in an unexpected financial situation, the Assistance Fund will give you cash grants to help you pay for essential costs. These grants are meant for needs like home repairs, replacing clothes, paying for health expenses, essential appliances that affect safety, or debt resulting from an emergency or whose failure to pay would result in an emergency.

You may qualify for the Assistance Fund if you receive a War Veterans Allowance, live in Canada, and need money for an emergency.

The Assistance Fund provides grants of up to $1,000 per calendar year for emergencies that affect your immediate health or safety.

Additional information can be found on VAC’s website.

 
Death and bereavement

This category contains benefits and programs that provide financial support for families of veterans.

Funeral and burial assistance

This program is provided by the Last Post Fund, a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that no veteran is denied a dignified burial due to insufficient funds. They will help pay for the funeral and burial services of eligible veterans.

In order for the veteran to qualify, they must have been:

• a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces or any predecessor naval, army or air forces of Canada or Newfoundland
• a Canadian Merchant Navy Veteran of the Second World War or the Korean War
• an Allied Veteran who served with the Allied Forces during the Second World War or the Korean War
• a resident of Canada for at least 10 years, or lived in Canada prior to enlisting and were living in Canada at their time of death.

The veteran must also meet on of the two criteria:

• the deceased Veteran received (or qualified for) a disability benefit from VAC and died as a result of that service-related disability
• the net value of the veteran’s estate is insufficient to cover the funeral and burial costs.

In the case of a veteran with a spouse and/or dependent children, the combined assets of the couple are considered, excluding:

• a base amount of $37,720
• $700 per dependent child
• the family house and vehicle
• income received during the month of death.

Currently, the maximum amount of payment is $7,376 plus tax for funeral home costs.

More details are presented on VAC’s website.

Survivor’s pension

If you’re the spouse of a disability pensioner, you’ll continue to receive their disability pension for a full year after their death. Following that, you’ll automatically begin receiving the survivor’s pension.

If your spouse’s disability pension was at a level of 5% or more, you’ll continue to receive their disability pension for a full year, as well as any amounts they received through Prisoner of War Compensation, Attendance Allowance, and Exceptional Incapacity Allowance. Then, you’ll be able to receive the survivor’s pension.

The level of your spouse’s disability pension determines how much you receive in your survivor’s pension. If their pension was 48% or greater, you’ll receive the maximum rate of $2,205.11 (maximum for 2021). If their pension was between 5% and 47%, your survivor’s pension will be half of what they received each month.

Further specifics regarding the survivor’s pension are displayed on its page.

Income Replacement Benefit (IRB) for survivors and orphans

The IRB is a monthly, taxable payment given to the spouse or common-law partner and orphans of a deceased Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member or Veteran.

You should apply for the IRB if you are the survivor or orphan of a CAF member or veteran who died prior to age 65 due to an illness or injury related to their service.

If they died from an injury or illness that wasn’t related to their service, you can still apply to receive a lump-sum based on how much they received from the IRB.

If the veteran died after the age of 65 and was entitled to the IRB at the time of death, you can apply to receive a monthly payment based on how much they received from the IRB.

The amount provided to the survivor and any orphans depends on how much the veteran or CAF member would have been paid by the IRB, and it drops to 70% of what they would have been paid following their 65th birthday. Half of the amount goes to the survivor and the other half is evenly split among the orphans.

Click this link for more information on this subject.

 
Canadian Forces Income Support for Survivors (CFIS)

If you’re the survivor of a veteran and are in a low-income situation, CFIS may give you tax-free, monthly payments to financially support you.

You’re eligible for CFIS if you:

• have a low income
• were receiving the Income Replacement Benefit for Survivors, but it has ended (entitlement ends on what would have been the deceased Veteran’s 65th birthday) or the deceased Veteran was receiving CFIS at time of his or her non-service related death
• you meet the Canadian residency requirements:
  • you must remain in Canada for more than 182 days in a calendar year
  • you must maintain a permanent Canadian address
  • you must have no other residency circumstances.

If the veteran’s death wasn’t service-related, you must apply within 6 months of the last day of the month in which the veteran died.

The amount you receive depends on if you are single, married, and the number of children you have. The payment rate is the same as CFIS for Veterans and gets adjusted quarterly to keep pace with changes in the cost of living index.

Additional details are presented on VAC’s website.

Prisoner of War Benefits

If you were detained by an enemy of Canada as a Prisoner of War, there are benefits available to you for your bravery.

Detention benefit

This grant is a tax-free lump-sum payment for veterans who were detained by an enemy, opposing force, or terrorist organization while serving in the CAF.

You qualify for the detention benefit if you:

• were detained by an enemy, opposing force or terrorist group, or
• evaded capture or escaped from an enemy, opposing force or terrorist group.

The minimum time spent in captivity or evading capture to qualify is 30 days. The period of detention must have begun after April 2006 for you to be eligible, although you may qualify for the next program if it began before April 2006.

The amount you receive will depend on the duration of your captivity or escape.

Further information can be found on the Detention benefit page.

Prisoner of War Compensation (PWC)

The PWC is a tax-free monthly payment that recognizes the suffering endured by veterans of the Second World War or the Korean War who were detained as prisoners of war.

You’ll be considered eligible for the PWC if you:

• were taken prisoner or detained by enemy forces for at least 30 days, or
• evaded capture or escaped from the enemy, after being captured, for at least 30 days.

Compensation is determined by the length of your period of captivity and is given through the disability pension as a percentage of the maximum value. The categories are as follows:

• in regards to any period spent as a prisoner of war to Japan:
  • 5% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 30 to 88 days
  • 20% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 89 to 364 days
  • 50% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 365 days or more
• in regards to any period spent as a prisoner of war of another power:
  • 5% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 30 to 88 days
  • 10% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 89 to 545 days
  • 15% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 546 to 910 days
  • 30% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 911 to 1,275 days
  • 35% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 1,276 to 1,641 days
  • 40% of the maximum disability pension for periods of 1,642 days or more.

Further details can be accessed by following the link to the PWC page.

That’s it for our summary of benefits that may apply to senior veterans in Canada.

If you are a veteran, we thank you for your service