Chapter 2 - Which pension do you get?
Age service pension
Invalidity service pension
Partner service pension
What affects the rate of the service pension?
Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA)
Nil rate social security payment and DFISA
What affects the rate of the supplement?
- Disability pension
- Military Compensation
- War widow(er)'s pension and orphan's pension
- is permanently blind in both eyes or
- is in receipt of the Special Rate of disability pension (T&PI) or
- has a disability(ies) that permanently prevents them from working.
- the person has a disability(ies) that results in a combined impairment rating of 40 points or more using the Guide to the Assessment of Rates of Veterans' Pensions (GARP) and
- the incapacity from the disability(ies) alone, permanently prevents the person from working for periods adding up to more than 8 hours per week and
- the disability(ies) is permanent.
- you are married to or living in a marriage-like (de facto) relationship with a veteran eligible for or receiving a service pension; and
- you are at least qualifying age* or you have dependent children or you are the partner of a service pensioner who also receives the Special Rate (T&PI) disability pension under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 or you are the partner of a person receiving or eligible for the Special Rate Disability Pension (SRDP) under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
- receive a DVA disability pension or have an accepted disability and only receive pharmaceutical allowance and
- are at least 65 years (male) or 63.5 years (female) and
- receive a social security age pension, or are eligible to receive it; and
- do not receive a service pension from DVA or any income support pension other than an age pension from Centrelink.
- General Rate (payable in multiples of 10% up to 100%), Extreme Disablement Adjustment, Intermediate Rate and Special Rate disability pensions paid under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA);
- increased rates of disability pension for amputation and blindness, paid under section 27 of the VEA;
- temporary incapacity allowance paid under section 107 of the VEA;
- dependant's pension, which is a small frozen amount paid to dependants of disability pensioners, not granted since 1986; and
- permanent impairment payments and special rate disability pension paid under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA).
- you are permanently blind in both eyes; or
- you have a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability; and
- the disability(ies), assessed under the Impairment Tables in Schedule 1B of the Social Security Act 1991, is assessed at 20 points or more; and
- you are unable to work for at least 30 hours a week; and
- the disability(ies) alone prevents you working for the next two years.
- where the war widow's pension is limited because of a compensation payment; or
- where there was continuous payment of both an income support supplement and a war widow's pension prior to November 1986.
- the degree of impairment you suffer from your accepted disability; and
- the effect of the accepted disability on your lifestyle including any restriction on your capacity to earn a wage.
- General Rate - paid according to the incapacity and lifestyle effects of an accepted disability in 10% multiples up to the 100% rate.
- Extreme Disablement Adjustment (EDA) - paid in respect of extreme incapacity to veterans who are over 65.
- Intermediate Rate - paid to veterans whose incapacity is so great that it, alone, prevents them from undertaking employment for 20 hours or more per week and has caused loss of earnings.
- Special Rate (T&PI) - paid to veterans who are blind in both eyes or whose incapacity, alone, prevents them from undertaking remunerative employment for more than 8 hours per week and has caused them loss of earnings. The Special Rate can be paid for a set time to someone who is totally temporarily incapacitated (TTI) by accepted disabilities.
- Australian Defence Force (ADF) service between 3 January 1949 and 6 December 1972
- ADF service between 7 December 1972 and 6 April 1994
- ADF service between 7 April 1994 and 30 June 2004
- ADF service after 1 July 2004
This chapter is about income support payments and compensation paid by DVA. It aims to help you identify the type of pension you receive and gives you general information about other pensions and support available from DVA.
The pensions are:
• Service pension (means-tested).
• Social security age pension (paid by DVA) (means-tested).
• Income support supplement for war widow(er)s (means-tested).
• Disability pension (not means-tested).
• Compensation payments under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA) and the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA)
• War widow(er)'s pension (not means-tested).
• Orphan's pension (not means-tested).
DVA also pays Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA)
For information about allowances and concessions see Chapter 6- Benefits and services. For health care information, see Chapter 7 - Your health.
Service Pension
Service pensions (or ‘Burnt out Diggers’ pensions as some veterans call them) are means-tested pensions, like the social security age pension and disability support pension. They are paid on the grounds of age or invalidity to eligible veterans. Service pension can also be paid to eligible partners including widows and widowers. Veterans must have qualifying service (which broadly means that they incurred danger from hostile enemy forces) and can receive the age service pension five years earlier than eligible people can receive the social security age pension, acknowledging that the effects of war may be intangible and result in premature ageing.
There are two rates of service pension: the singles rate and the couples rate. The rate paid for each member of a couple is less than the rate paid to a single person because couples can share some household costs.
| Fact Sheet: IS01 |
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| Service Pension Overview (PDF version) |
| Service Pension Overview (HTML version) |
| Fact Sheet: IS30 |
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| Pension Rates, Limits and Allowance Summary (PDF version) |
| Pension Rates, Limits and Allowance Summary (HTML version) |
Age service pension
This is paid at age 60 to eligible male veterans and currently at age 58.5 to eligible female veterans. Refer to 'What affects the rate of service pension' later in this chapter for more information on other factors that impact on the payment of the service pension.
Note: Eligibility age for female veterans for the age service pension is being raised to age 60 by six months every two years so that by January 2014 the eligibility age for male veterans and female veterans for the age service pension will be the same.
Note:You cannot receive a DVA service pension and a social security pension at the same time.
Invalidity service pension
This is paid to eligible veterans who are permanently incapacitated for work. The incapacity does not need to be related to war service and you do not need to be of pension age. For invalidity service pension purposes, a person is considered to be permanently incapacitated for work if the person:
If the person is not blind or is not in receipt of disability pension at the Special Rate, the following criteria need to be satisfied
Refer to 'What affects the rate of service pension' later in this chapter for more information on other factors that impact on the payment of the invalidity service pension.
Note: You cannot receive a DVA service pension and a social security payment at the same time.
| Fact Sheet: IS44 |
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| Age/Invalidity Service Pension (PDF version) |
| Age/Invalidity Service Pension (HTML version) |
Partner Service Pension
You may be eligible to receive the partner service pension if:
*Qualifying age is age 60 for eligible male partners, and currently age 58.5 for eligible female partners.
Note: Qualifying age for the partner service pension is being raised to age 60 by six months every two years so that by January 2014 the qualifying age for male partners and female partners for the partner service pension will be the same.
Refer to 'What affects the rate of service pension' later in this chapter for more information on other factors that may impact on the payment of the service pension.
There are other criteria, which if met could entitle you to a partner service pension. For example, widows and widowers are eligible for partner service pension in certain circumstances. For further information and details of other situations, please refer to the fact sheet or contact your nearest DVA office.
Note: You cannot receive a DVA service pension and a social security pension at the same time.
| Fact Sheet: IS45 |
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| Partner Service Pension (PDF version) |
| Partner Service Pension (HTML version) |
What affects the rate of the service pension?
Your living arrangements and your income and assets affect the rate of your service pension. For example, if you live with your partner your service pension is paid at the couples rate not the singles rate. If you have dependent children, you may be eligible for additional allowances paid by Centrelink.
If you receive a disability pension under the VEA, or a permanent impairment payment or special rate disability pension under MRCA as well as a service pension, the disability pension or MRCA payment is not counted as income for service pension purposes although it can affect how much rent assistance you may receive. See Chapter 3 - Living Arrangements and Chapter 4 - Your Income and Assets.
Social security age pension (paid by DVA)
Payment of age pension to Australian veterans receiving disability pension through DVA, who do not qualify for service pension was introduced to provide a choice to enable them to receive all of their payments from DVA.
You may be eligible to receive a social security age pension (paid by DVA), if you are an Australian veteran and you:
A partner of an Australian veteran who is receiving or eligible to receive the social security age pension from Centrelink may choose to receive the social security age pension through DVA instead.
The rules for calculating the social security age pension (paid by DVA) for the veteran and partner are contained in social security law. It is subject to an income and assets test and the amount is paid by DVA.
Note: Eligibility age for the social security age pension was originally 60 for females. It is being raised to age 65 by six months every two years so that by January 2014 the eligibility age for females will be the same as it is now for males.
Note: You cannot receive a social security pension and a DVA service pension at the same time.
| Fact Sheet: IS05 |
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| Social Security Age Pension Overview (PDF version) |
| Social Security Age Pension Overview (HTML version) |
Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA)
DFISA may be paid to people whose social security income support payment is reduced (including to nil), because adjusted disability pension is counted as income in their assessment.
Adjusted disability pension means:
The amount of DFISA is the difference between the amount of income support payment a person receives and the amount the person would receive if the adjusted disability pension was exempt, but was included in the calculation of any rent assistance entitlement.
Nil rate social security payment and DFISA
You are a social security recipient even if your rate of social security payment is nil but DFISA is payable. This means that you are entitled to all the benefits you would have received had you been receiving the social security payment at a rate greater than nil. For example, you will receive the same concession card that you would be entitled to if you were receiving more than nil rate of payment. If you claimed your social security payment from Centrelink, the additional benefits will be provided by Centrelink. If you claimed your age pension from DVA, the additional benefits will be made available by DVA. See Chapter 6 - Benefits and Services.
You will also be subject to the obligations applicable to social security recipients. If you have claimed your payment from Centrelink, you will have been advised of your obligations by Centrelink. If you claimed your age pension from DVA, your obligations are contained in the letter notifying you of the grant of pension and further explained in Chapter 5 - Obligations.
| Fact Sheet: IS19 |
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| Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) (PDF version) |
| Defence Force Income Support Allowance (DFISA) (HTML version) |
Income support supplement for war widows and widowers and wholly dependent partners
Income support supplement is payable to eligible Australian war widows and widowers, including widows and widowers eligible for a death benefit under the MRCA as wholly dependent partners, and allows them to receive all their payments from DVA. The income support supplement is a means-tested payment that is paid to eligible war widows and widowers in addition to their war widow's pension or MRCA benefits.
There is no age restriction on eligibility for ISS.
Income Support Supplement paid on invalidity grounds
To receive income support supplement on the grounds of invalidity, you must be permanently incapacitated for work.
The criteria for grant of an income support supplement on invalidity grounds are as follows:
Invalidity income support supplement paid to a person who is under pension age is non-taxable income. Pension age for a male is 65 years of age and for a female is currently 63.5 years. Pension age for a female is being raised by six months every two years so that by 1 January 2014, female and male pension ages will be the same.
What affects the rate of the supplement?
Your living arrangements and your income and assets affect the rate of your supplement. The war widow's pension, MRCA death benefit and any disability pension paid by other governments are counted as income in the assessment of the income support supplement. In most cases, the maximum supplement payable is $163.20 per fortnight. In some circumstances the supplement may be paid at a higher rate. Examples include:
The maximum supplement is adjusted twice yearly in line with movements in the cost of living and/or average wages. (See Chapter 3 - Living arrangements and Chapter 4 - Your income and assets.)
Disability pension under the VEA, or a permanent impairment payment or special rate disability pension under the MRCA, payable to you or your partner is not counted as income but can affect how much rent assistance you may receive. (See Chapter 3 - Living arrangements and Chapter 4 - Your income and assets.)
Note: You cannot receive a DVA income support supplement and a service pension or a social security pension or benefit from Centrelink at the same time. There are also a number of social security pensions and benefits that are not payable to a person who is receiving a war widow's pension. Continuation of such payments after grant of war widow's pension may result in a recoverable overpayment. For more information please contact your nearest DVA office.
| Fact Sheet: IS03 |
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| Income Support Supplement Overview (PDF version) |
| Income Support Supplement Overview (HTML version) |
What if you are blind?
You may be regarded as blind for income support pension purposes if you meet certain criteria.
If you are regarded as blind for service pension purposes you will receive the maximum rate of the service pension regardless of your income and assets. However, your income and assets may affect how much rent assistance you receive. If you are married or living in a marriage-like relationship, you will receive the maximum couples rate of the service pension but your partner's service pension, if they are not regarded as blind for pension purposes, will be assessed under the income and assets tests.
If at anytime you are regarded as blind and are receiving an income support pension, you should notify DVA. This is important because ypu may be receiving less than the maximum rate or your pension may be reduced in the future and if DVA has recorded the details of your 'blind' assessment, this will ensure you continue to receive the correct rate of income support pension.
Even though you are accepted as a blind person for pension purposes, if you are a resident in an aged care home (formerly hostel or nursing home resident) you may be required to pay an income tested aged care fee. This means that your income and assets details will need to be provided to DVA to ensure your aged care fees are correctly assessed. See Chapter 3 - Living Arrangements.
For more information contact your nearest DVA office.
Note: An income support pension includes age, invalidity or partner service pension, social security age pension (paid by DVA) and income support supplement. The special income and assets test rules apply to any income support pensioner who is regarded as blind for service pension purposes.
| Fact Sheet: IS147 |
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| Blind Pensioners (PDF version) |
| Blind Pensioners (HTML version) |
Disability Pension
The disability pension is paid to compensate veterans for injuries or diseases which have been accepted as being caused or aggravated by war or defence service on behalf of Australia. These injuries or diseases are known as ‘accepted disabilities’.
How disability pension is worked out
Once an injury or disease has been accepted, the rate at which the disability pension is paid is based on:
These two factors determine the assessment of incapacity you suffer from your disability.
Even if your incapacity from your accepted disability is assessed as nil you will still be entitled to health care services for your accepted disability.
Different rates of disability pension
There are four categories of disability pension:
Depending on your accepted disability you may also be eligible for certain allowances. Some examples are attendant allowance, recreation transport allowance, decoration allowance, loss of earnings allowance, temporary incapacity allowance, clothing allowance and allowances under the Vehicle Assistance Scheme.
If you need advice or more information about the disability pension and/or allowances, or if you want to claim a pension or an increase in your existing rate of pension, contact your nearest DVA office.
Note: If you are granted or receive an increase in disability pension and are in receipt of any payment from Centrelink you should advise Centrelink of the change in your income.
Military Compensation
If you served in the ADF between 3 January 1949 and 6 December 1972 you may be eligible to claim benefits under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 for injury or disease related to operational or peacekeeping service.
If you served in the ADF (either full-time or part-time) between 3 January 1949 and 6 December 1972, you may be entitled to benefits for injury or disease related to peacetime service under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA).
If you served in the ADF between 7 December 1972 and 6 April 1994, you may be eligible to claim benefits under both the VEA and SRCA (operational service excluded).
If you served in the ADF between 7 April 1994 and 30 June 2004 you may be entitled to claim benefits under the SRCA for all types of service during this period, and also under the VEA for conditions arising from operational, peacekeeping and hazardous service. If you enlisted prior to 22 May 1986 and served full-time continually up to, and after, 7 April 1994, you may be eligible for benefits under the VEA for peacetime injury or disease.
| Fact Sheet: MCS01 |
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| Overview of the Military Compensation Group (PDF version) |
| Overview of the Military Compensation Group (HTML version) |
The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (MRCA) covers injury, disease or death due to ADF service on or after 1 July 2004 and replaces the military compensation arrangements derived from the VEA, the SRCA and the Defence Act 1903 enhancements to the SRCA for ADF members. Existing entitlements under these Acts relating to service before 1 July 2004 are not affected.
For more information about Military Compensation contact your nearest DVA office. By phoning 1 300 550 461, you can contact staff in the Military Compensation Group from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call. Futher information about MRCA can also be obtained from the website www.mrcs.gov.au
| Fact Sheet: MRC01 |
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| Overview of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (PDF version) |
| Overview of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (HTML version) |
Arrangements are in place to prevent a person being compensated under multiple Acts for the same injury, illness or death. As these arrangements are very complex, it is important that you contact your nearest DVA office and speak to an officer who is trained in handling dual eligibility enquiries.
War widow's pension and orphan's pension
These pensions are paid to compensate widows, widowers and dependent children of veterans whose death has been accepted as related to war or defence service rendered before 1 July 2004. These pensions can also be payable under other circumstances, including if the veteran was receiving a Special Rate (T&PI) disability pension or an Extreme Disablement Adjustment (EDA) prior to death, or if the veteran was an Australian ex-prisoner of war.
War widow's pension may be affected by compensation in respect of the veteran's death which is paid from another source. If you have received or are able to claim compensation or damages you should notify your nearest DVA office. For example, if you are receiving any payments from the Dust Diseases Board as a result of the veteran's death you must notify DVA as your war widow's pension will need to be adjusted.
| Fact Sheet: DP81 |
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| War Widow's Pension and Compensation Offsetting (PDF version) |
| War Widow's Pension and Compensation Offsetting (HTML version) |
If you need advice or more information about the war widows' and orphans' pensions, contact your nearest DVA office. Your local War Widows Guild or Legacy office may also be able to help you.
Note: If you are granted a war widow’s pension you are no longer eligible to receive an income support payment from Centrelink, however you may be eligible for Income Support Supplement from DVA (refer to the information earlier in this chapter). You should advise Centrelink that you have been granted a war widow’s pension.