September 2009

Welfare and Pensions Column

War Pensions

I thought that we should return to some basics on War Disablement Pensions. Who can claim, what do you need to do, what do you need to provide? What happens once you have sent off your application?

First, you can claim if you served in the New Zealand Forces at any date prior to 1 April 1974. That also includes those who served in the Merchant Navy during WWII and joined from New Zealand. You can also claim if you have recognised war or emergency service after 1 April 1974 and your disability or health condition is due to that service.

You may wish to know that a large number of operations that occurred after WWII are being considered for inclusion in the list of recognised wars and emergencies, and as soon as we learn which ones have been accepted we will be letting your local RSA Pensions & Welfare Officers know, and the list will also be in the next RSA Review.

To make an application you will need to obtain an application form from your local RSA or by ringing 0800 483 837 – Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand (VANZ). The form requires input from you and from your GP. Your RSA Pensions & Welfare Officer can help you with the completion of the form and ensure that you have all the necessary support material, including reports from specialists you have seen in the previous twelve months concerning your claimed disabilities/health conditions. The GP needs a new page to write up each of your disabilities; so you may need to provide him with photocopies of the blank pages for him to complete. You will need to show some evidence of why you consider that your current disability was caused by your service. For those of you who served before 1 April 1974 but did not have recognised war or emergency service you will need to have a greater depth of evidence to show that your current disability was caused by your service. If the original injury shows up on your Service Medical File that is very helpful.

Once the form is complete send it to VANZ in Hamilton, the address is on the form. Your application will be registered and an acknowledgment of its receipt sent to you. If it is the first time you have made an application the staff will send off for your Service Personnel and Medical files. You will be allocated a Case Manager to oversee the passage of your claim.

If you have provided sufficient information then your claim can be considered. If there is a need for more medical information you will be sent to see an appropriate specialist. This is the reason why you need to tell VANZ just which specialist you have been seeing, and provide up-to-date reports from them, if they are to hand.

You will receive a decision in writing in due course. It will take some months for this to come through because of the large numbers of claims that are being made. If you are happy with the decision you receive, wonderful. If not, you have 6 months in which to ask for the decision to be reviewed. Please do not wait for the last few days to arrive before sending off your request. The National Review Officer will reconsider the case and any new information you have provided and issue you a written decision. If you are happy with the decision you receive, wonderful. If not, you have 6 months in which to ask for the decision to go to the War Pensions Appeal Board, where you can go and meet with the Board and have your say and introduce any further new information to help your case. RNZRSA can provide you with a lay advocate to assist you at this stage.

The War Pensions Appeal Board is normally the end of the line. However, if there is an error in law, you do have the opportunity of taking the case to the High Court. This can be expensive as you will need a lawyer to assist you. Also, if new information becomes available you can ask for your case to be re-opened. However, re-opening means that your case starts totally afresh from the date it was received by VANZ.

Vietnam Veterans

RNZRSA has received notification from the General Manager of VANZ that two new disabilities have been added to the Presumptive Lists for those who served in Vietnam. These are Parkinson’s Disease and Ischaemic Heart Disease. If you have either of these two disabilities and have the appropriate service then you should make an application by ringing 0800 483 8372 and requesting an application form. These health conditions will be automatically accepted, but an assessment of the level of disability will be required.

You should also note that Hairy Cell Leukaemia and other chronic B –Cell leukaemias have also been added to the list. They were in fact already being accepted as no distinction was made among the chronic lymphocytic leukaemias.