pension quiery?

Question

i wasn't permitted to join the regular army due to a bad police record when i was very young. i therefore got social assistance that enabled me to join the TA, that was in 1983, in 1993 i went NRPS (nonregular permanent staff) and was averaging around 300 320 days every year, where the average regular soldier only worked aaround 180/ 240 days a year. i done various 6 month attachments and completed numberous courses but still managed to complete full training with my own units. then in August 1995 i was attacked by 3 youths who crushed my skull with a bottle. i had finished duty at 1930 and headed into town for a drink. i stayed sober as i was due back on duty at 0600 the following day. i left the pub at qtr to 1 so to pick up my girlfriend from work, and stopped to prevent 3 yobs urinating on an old gent who was leant against the bank wall. i got told to F# off, and we went in opposite directions. i picked my girl up and crossed the road to get our taxi, and seemeingly an agruement st

i was kicked to the floor and was unconsious before i started falling. i got airlifted to hosp as they didnt think id see thru the nite. i signed myself out after week & started training to go to Boz. i passed all medicals & left in Dec95, i was RTU'd in april 96 as unfit for any form of Mil duty. they say i went back too soon. at DOKM Hosp, i got told that as was serving as reg when prob was defined, i would get same resettlement and pension afforded to my reg counterparts. i was eventually med d'charged in june 97, & have fought continually for my pension. to date i have recieved nil, the regs state that it should be the TA look after me as i was TA soldier, the TA say i was passed af A1 fit as reg soldier & should have continued RX'ing full pay till passed fit again or d'charged. nobody seems interested or willing to help & to date i only get a pension of 14% which means no cash, & told no future assesments will be made. i am disabled & unfit 2 work due to personality disorder. help

Answer 1

I have a couple of points:
You say that you were NRPS (non-regular) when you decided to volunteer for mobilisation to Bosnia. Were you still TA, you don't mention having signed up as a regular? Mobilised TA/NRPS are not the same as regular soldiers.

Also, your eventual MD was not attributable to your service. You may even have contributed to the problem as you decided to discharge yourself from DKMH and then suffered some sort of relapse while in Bosnia.

You don't say how old you are either. A regular soldier with only 4 years service gets a preserved pension payable at 60 or 65 yrs old. You have 4 yrs full time service so you should not expect any pension until then. A regular who completes the 'normal' engagement of 22 years is reckoned to have completed 22/37 possible years service so his pension is calculated as a % of the 'full' 37 years but is payable immediately. Your 14% figure will have been calculated as a percentage of 'possible' years worked.

I've just looked at the TA Regulations, Chapter 9 deals with the pay & pensions for NRPS. The relevant paragraph is 9.024:-

Pensions
9.024.
a. A pension will be awarded to a member on retirement after 5 April 1978 who is at least 60 years of age.

b. A pension may also be awarded to a member who has completed at least 5 years reckonable service and is at least 55 years of age provided his service is terminated in any of the circumstances set out below:
(1) Interests of the Service including termination of service on the completion of an NRPS (05) tenure of appointment.
(2) Change in Ministry of Defence policy or regulations.
(3) Abolition of appointment.

c. Pensions will be assessed at the rate of 1/80th of the member’s salary at non-regular permanent staff rates (in
whichever period of 12 consecutive months during the last 3 years of reckonable service gives the highest figure)multiplied by the length of reckonable service. The maximum pension rate is 40/80ths of such salary.

d. A lump sum is payable in addition to pension, calculated at 3/80ths of the member’s salary and pensionable emoluments (as in sub para c) multiplied by the length of reckonable service. The maximum lump sum payable is 120/80ths of the said salary.

e. From 6 April 1988 a member whose service terminates before he becomes eligible for an immediate pension under sub para a will be awarded a preserved pension and lump sum provided he has completed 2 or more years reckonable service. These will be brought into payment when he reaches the age of 60, and will be calculated in the way described in sub para c.

I think paras e. and c. tell you what you are entitled to ie 14% of a full pension, payable at 60yrs of age.

But, if you are not satisfied with this I have two suggestions for you:

1. Get in touch with The Forces Pension Society, you have to become a member of the society (£23 a year) but they have been dealing with military pension problems for more than 60 years.

http://www.forpen.org/index.php?location=0

2. Get in touch with The Royal British Legion. Again, they are there to help ex-Service personnel.

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/


And one final thing -

Where do you get the idea that regulars only work 180/240 days a year? They all get 6 weeks annual leave plus Bank Holidays. That's about the same as you were working back in 1993. And in 1993, leave for the regs was rank-related so most of them would be working more days than you!

Answer 2

Your question was only partially reproduced so I cannot go any further with the reply than to say well done! for the Voluntary Service and sorry to hear of your injury. However as the question was not put, can I ask you to complete it, I might just be able to help you. Cheers.
OK Thanks for the further information.
Now all depends on whether or not you have a Pay Book that describes you as a REGULAR Soldier.
I guess the Army does not consider you anything other than a TA man, so they must have some grounds for believing that.
It is a pity we cannot exchange names and addresses on this site so I will recommend you visit your MP's surgery in your Constituency. The MP will ask the right questions for you and be able to open doors not available to you with the relevant Ministry.
I do hope you get what you believe you are entitled to and perhaps you might be in a position to obtain some assistance from the DW&P.

Answer 3

Agree with previous contributor. Im guessing you have already sought help from the DWP, if you are disabled & unfit to work then you will be already receiving benefit from that.
I suggest you start writing, to your MP to start off with and then to the following people - Defence Minister, Minister for Armed forces. I also think that you should contact the Veterans Agency (through www.mod.uk ) and see if they will help you out in any way/shape or form.
Also what might be of some use is if you know of any local associations that are for ex-forces such as the Legion or if there is anything Army specific. Good luck....