War pension or state pension?

How many disabled veterans are affected?

Mo Stewart discovered by accident that she had been incorrectly advised by the DWP that she could not receive a State Pension and her War Pension, paid on account of profound and permanent disability following military service.

Not unreasonably, she was annoyed to discover this misdirection, and even more so when she was told that despite having been eligible for the State Pension for six years, she could only receive 12 months of back payment.
 

How to address DWP misinformation

Having chosen to continue receiving her War Pension, which is paid at a higher rate than State pension, Mo then discovered that there was actually no bar to getting a State Pension as well. Having failed to get a satisfactory response from the DWP, she involved her constituency MP, Stephen Barclay, and the Royal British Legion. The latter advised her that her case was not an isolated incident.
 
Below is Mo Stewart’s account of the experience.
 

DWP betray disabled veterans

Prior to 2005, disabled veterans medically discharged from military service were awarded a War Pension, which is a government-funded medical pension depending on the level of disability or permanent illness identified due to military service.

As health deteriorates the War Pension income can be increased following a review medical assessment. The War Pension was replaced in April 2005 by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and, as time progresses, the numbers of older disabled veterans funded by a War Pension still surviving gradually deteriorates. As of 31 March 2026, there were 73,925 disabled War Pensioners.

As a disabled veteran in receipt of a War Pension, I was contacted by an anonymous representative from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in late 2019 to ask if I wanted to claim my State Pension or to keep the War Pension as I was not entitled to both sources of income. Following some discussion, it was agreed that I would retain the War Pension which was a larger monthly income.

Recently, I discovered by accident that this information was a misdirection and that War Pensioners are entitled to claim the State Pension. I contacted the State Pension contact line. It was confirmed that I was entitled to a State Pension from 6 January 2020, but it can only be back dated for 12 months as the person I spoke to advised that she was ‘not permitted’ to backdate payments for longer.

Given this identified DWP misdirection, which has prevented income I was entitled to for over six years, I find the claim that I will only be entitled to a 12 month refund to be unacceptable. My local MP has written to the DWP regarding this matter and we await their reply.

Given the implications of this identified DWP misdirection, and the fact that the Royal British Legion advise that this is not a unique experience, I don’t think it unreasonable to invite the Veterans’ Agency to contact all War Pensioners to confirm that they are entitled to access to the State Pension and if, as is likely, many were advised they were not entitled to claim then they should be encouraged to make an application, possibly with some help and assistance, and refunded the pension to which they are entitled.

Many War Pensioners betrayed by the DWP following military service to this nation will no longer be with us, and all effort should be made to offer the refund of State Pension due to the deceased War Pensioner to their surviving next of kin.
 

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Independent Living concern for older disabled veterans

When Independent Living learnt of this situation from Mo Stewart, which could be affecting nearly 74,000 older disabled veterans, we made contact with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the DWP and the Royal British Legion, in an effort to understand why her individual situation was proving so hard to resolve, how many other disabled veterans might be affected and what could be done to put right any financial injustices.

The Minister for Veterans at the Ministry of Defence referred it onto the DWP and did not respond directly.
 

Response from DWP

A DWP spokesperson said:

“We have enormous gratitude and respect for those who have served our country, and we want to make sure veterans like Mrs Stewart get every penny they are entitled to.

“We take any claim of misdirection extremely seriously, our Complaint Resolution Team is looking at this urgently and are awaiting further information from Veteran’s UK before moving forward with arrears.”

DWP clarification of the background

• Under State Pension legislation, State Pension is not paid automatically and must be claimed. People are normally invited to do so four months before their State Pension age.

• Where an individual does not make a claim at State Pension age, their entitlement is treated as deferred. For people who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016, the law allows a claim to be backdated by a maximum of 12 months.

• Any period of deferral beyond 12 months is reflected through an increase to the individual’s ongoing weekly State Pension (known as extra State Pension) which is considered when calculating the arrears paid for the backdated period.

• There is no legal mechanism for the Department to make payments outside these statutory rules.

• Unemployability Supplement (US) and Invalidity Allowance (IVA) are both income-replacement elements of the War Pension, and 1979 Regulations prevent full payment of the State Pension and US at the same time.

The spokesperson stated that the Complaint Resolution Team is in regular contact with [Mo Stewart’s] MP’s office.
 

Response from the Royal British Legion

We cannot comment on Ms Stewart’s case specifically. […] We understand that people’s pension entitlements can be affected by supplementary allowances. Our War Pensions team does not usually receive queries from War Pensioners who have been incorrectly advised that they cannot claim their State Pension alongside their War Pension. We do, however, receive queries about supplementary awards and State Pensions, and our advisers are trained on how these interact for awareness and information purposes. Our Benefits, Debt and Money Advice (BDMA) team also regularly supports beneficiaries approaching State Pension age with questions about how changes in entitlement may affect their benefits, including through better-off calculations, to help them make informed decisions.

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Further reading and resources

Mo Stewart is the research lead for the Preventable Harm Project (external link will open in a new browser tab or window)

Read about Pension Credit for older people on low incomes

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