Changes to AFCS

Today, the revised Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS)  was launched, incorporating all of the recommendations made by Admiral the Lord Boyce, former Chief of Defence Staff, in his Review of the Scheme in 2010.

This means Service personnel who become injured or ill as a result of their service will now be able to benefit from an even more comprehensive compensation package.

And from today, all Service personnel and ex-Service personnel who submit a claim for AFCS compensation will have their claims assessed under the new rules.

This means that they may benefit from several changes to the scheme, notably:

•  An increase, which averages in excess of 25 per cent, to all lump sum payments, except the top award which was recently doubled to £570,000; 
• An increase to the maximum award payable for mental illness from £48,875 to £140,000, in order to accurately reflect the impact of the most serious mental health conditions; and
•  An increase to all Guaranteed Income Payments (GIPs) which are paid to those who are seriously injured. A GIP is a monthly tax-free, inflation proof income stream which is payable from discharge, for life. The increase reflects the lasting effect of more serious injuries on future promotion prospects and on the ability to work to age 65.

Anyone who have previously received an award from the scheme (since its started in April 2005) will have their awards uplifted in line with the new increases. Over the next year, our Agency will be reviewing some 10,000 awards and informing previous recipients of the increase to their awards. Those affected do not need to take any action, we will be contacting you.

The contact card designed to fit in a wallet

There have been significant changes made to the scheme, with some 69 changes made, from a change to how we calculate claims where an individual has suffered multiple injuries in a single incident - compensation is now paid for each of the injuries to improved awareness and understanding of the scheme in the Armed Forces community.

  



The AFCS leaflet ready to download



So, to get more information, you can visit the AFCS webpages which has been updated with new pages of information and materials targeted towards Service personnel; families and dependants; and the wider military support network.

You'll be able to download an AFCS leaflet, contact card, poster, presentation or podcast. We’ve produced a series of three podcasts providing information on the changes which include an interview with the Army’s Pay Colonel, Colonel Fiona Gardner. You can download the podcasts direct from the the SPVA social media hub or via iTunes.

  

This poster is available to download and print

If you do want to speak to someone direct, you can phone our free helpline - 0800 169 2277 - for further advice and guidance.  The chain of command or voluntary organisations are also able to provide support.

 
I f you have a specific query or need advice relating to claims then call our helpline on 0800 169 2277 or visit the MOD and SPVA webpages.

The AFCS Review – one year on

It’s been a busy year since the Review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme was published last February. The Review was carried out by former Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral the Lord Boyce, in 2010 and it made a number of recommendations.

The majority of changes required legislative amendments to the Scheme and all of these have now been laid before Parliament.

With this legislation now in place, it will mean that the Government has fulfilled its promise to implement all of Lord Boyce’s recommendations within a year.

Some changes recommended by the Review were made more quickly and took effect from August 2010.

Changes to the Scheme have included an average increase of 25% to all lump sum payments, (except the highest payment which was already doubled to £570,000 in 2008) and a change to the way payments are calculated for multiple injuries, which will ensure that individuals will receive some compensation for each of their injuries that occur from a single incident. The changes will still guarantee that the most seriously injured receive the most compensation.

Another recommendation was for the creation of an Independent Medical Expert Group (IMEG) to look at how specific illnesses and injuries, including mental health, are compensated. The group has just published their first report. All of the recommendations made by the IMEG have now been incorporated to the Scheme for example, the maximum amount payable for mental illness has now almost tripled, to £140,000.

All of the changes to the Scheme will be operational from 9th May 2011.

The Government’s Response to the Lord Boyce Review has now been published. You can read it here.

Changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

SPVA has created a communications toolkit to help explain the changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

The period in which anyone who has been injured in service can claim compensation will rise this month from five to seven years from point of diagnosis as part of a series of changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

The change came into effect on August 3, and is one of several to be introduced following the recommendations from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review, carried out by former Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral the Lord Boyce last year.

The Review, which was assisted by an independent scrutiny group that included Service charities, medical experts, serving personnel and veterans, announced its recommendations for improvements in February this year.

The majority of these improvements require legislative amendment to the Scheme and will be implemented by February 2011, but some changes can be made more quickly and have taken effect from August 3.

These improvements include;

An increase in the maximum level of Bereavement Grant from £20,000 to £25,000 to reflect the increase in Armed Forces pay since 2005.
An increase in the maximum level of Bereavement Grant for Reservists who are not members of a reserve forces pension scheme to £37,500, to help bring their benefits in line with their Regular forces colleagues.
An uplift of the majority of awards for hearing loss by one Tariff level.

The full press announcement can be found on the MOD website.

To support and provide information on the changes, the AFCS toolkit has been created to allow you to view, listen to or download information via a bespoke webpage on the Veterans-UK website. The products have been designed to provide information for you or help you when providing advice about the scheme from a podcast to a poster for display in your office.

SPVA embraces Social Media

Don Goldie and Clare Ellis, the SPVA podcast presenters

Podcasting is a really good way to get information to the Armed Forces Community (Service personnel, Veterans and their families) and the general public. Here in SPVA, we launched our regular programme of podcasts in February this year.

We've already released podcasts on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review and The Ilford Park Polish Home. The podcasts are available from our Social Media Hub. If you prefer, they can be downloaded from iTunes. The link can be found on the Hub.

We are also on Twitter, so you can also follow our tweets.