Our healthcare professionals conduct assessments on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, which advises on disability arising from injuries or illnesses acquired when serving in the Armed Forces.
Veterans UK may ask for reviews of previously accepted conditions and also for newly claimed conditions to be assessed.
Please see the Veterans UK section of the Government’s website for detailed information about pensions and compensations in respect of service in the Armed Forces.
Select the relevant option below to go direct to that section:
You may be able to get a payment if you have an injury, illness or medical disorder caused or made worse by UK armed forces service.
Claims can be made for both physical and mental health conditions.
If you want to claim for a condition related to exposure to asbestos, read the guidance on GOV.UK first
Claims for injury or illness must be made within 7 years of the earliest of the following dates:
- the date of the incident leading to the injury or illness
- the date on which an injury or illness not caused by service was made worse by service
- in the case of illness, the date of first seeking medical advice for that illness
- the date of discharge
While there are time limits, above all you should submit a claim for compensation at a time which is best for you. There are certain circumstances when a claim will be accepted outside the time limits above such as being prevented from claiming due to ill health or your illness occurs later. Please contact Veterans UK if you would like more advice on this.
To claim online you’ll need:
- an email address
- National Insurance Number
- your armed forces service
- doctor’s details
- bank details
Or you can claim by post
Ask for a paper form by calling the Veterans UK Helpline on 0808 1914 218 Mon to Fri 8am to 4pm or email veterans-uk@mod.gov.uk. The helpline will send you a form and a pre-paid envelope to return it.
The healthcare professional will discuss your medical history and activities you undertake in a typical day. This information will be recorded but will not be a word-for-word record.
You can bring extra information or medical information with you to assist the assessor with their report. You can also bring a companion for help and support who can also supply information.
The healthcare professional will discuss your relevant history and perform the appropriate functionally-based assessment in order to summarise how the problems affect you.
This information is used by Veterans UK’s own assessors to decide on any payable pension.
What if i'm not happy about the decision?
If you do not agree with the decision made by Veterans UK, you can ask for it to be reconsidered. This means that someone who was not involved in the original decision will look at your claim again.
You will need to ask for a reconsideration in writing within 12 months of the date of your original decision notification. You can include information which you did not provide at the time of your claim, relating to your condition or to the events surrounding the injury or illness.
We will notify you of the outcome of the reconsideration. If you still feel our decision is wrong you can appeal to an independent tribunal.
If you have any questions, contact Veterans UK.
