VAC Return to Lifetime Pensions Discussion

[Dhillongs]

I think the big thing is them realizing, we didn’t give them what they wanted now they are mad. Of course their are going to be a lot of false promises. Seems to be the liberal agenda as of late, even cons too. I just want to get by without working 50 hours a week, and delivering papers. A couple grand in medical bills that blue cross is denying payment for recognized conditions for has really hurt my family.

well I do think by now everyone has realized that pension for life is a absolute insult and a joke, especially for those people who are getting $12-100 a month, how can the PM or the CDS even call that PFL, I guess they don't really care they have fulfilled a promise, I am however a bit surprised that there have been no objective articles on CBC or CTV or any of the newspapers that tell the public what PFL has meant for Veterans. Trudeau is done I think this year anyways, he has a long list of good screw ups he gave the all Canadians, had a lot of hopes from him but unfortunately he is just another politician.

 

[brihard]

well I do think by now everyone has realized that pension for life is a absolute insult and a joke, especially for those people who are getting $12-100 a month, how can the PM or the CDS even call that PFL, I guess they don't really care they have fulfilled a promise, I am however a bit surprised that there have been no objective articles on CBC or CTV or any of the newspapers that tell the public what PFL has meant for Veterans. Trudeau is done I think this year anyways, he has a long list of good screw ups he gave the all Canadians, had a lot of hopes from him but unfortunately he is just another politician.

In fairness, anyone getting a few dozen bucks a month is getting the monthly extra on top of a prior lump sum. It’s not like a fresh claim after PFL implementation is going to net someone $27 monthly. Obviously it’s still much lower than the old pension act amounts, but let’s at least be accurate in pushing the issue.

 

[Teager]

I found one rather big misleading benefit from VAC is the 1% career progression which you get if DEC and under 20 years of service and under age 65. Now VAC had said those receiving CIAS would still be eligible but what they didn't tell anyone is that your protected amount which has the CIAS included does not actually get the 1% added to it. They add the 1% to the IRB amount that they calculate under the new system. They then take whichever is higher which of course will most likely be your protected amount. I do believe they re calculate everything every year and if the IRB amount surpasses your protected amount you would get the higher amount.

I think they may have done it this way to make it a bit more fair for those that can't get CIAS anymore. I just found it very misleading in how they told veterans about it but was only noticeable once the calculation sheet was produced.

 

[JP199999]

My total monthly payments went up $157. No idea what area was increased. When I see the same for three months running, I'll be semi satisfied it's real. :not-again:

On another note, I submitted two disability claims on 27 March 19, to ensure lump sum payments. Sent in electronically, so date stamped as that day. When they didn't appear in my list of applications, I went back and checked. VAC shows 04 Apr 19 as the date of reception and they just listed them yesterday showing an application date of 02 May 19. Both dates after the cutoff date.

Guess I'll wait a year or so and see how they want to pay them out, if they are even completed by then  :. I'm sure application and delivery rules will have changed again by that point. Maybe a couple of times, with some new program names and qualifiers thrown in our way, for good measure.

For anyone interested, Blue Cross is dicking around. Again. Denying patients their full medical cannabis prescriptions and trying to force them back to 3 gram/ day. It appears they have some new paper shufflers that think they are better qualified than the patient's medical specialists at diagnosing medical and mental problems and determining what prescriptions best fit the individual.

Great work if you can get it, I guess.

Turns out the date/time stamp of the initial claim submission does not matter... I had claims I submitted in Feb 2018 and they just adjudicated them a few days ago and VAC told me that since the adjudication occurred after 1 April, it automatically goes under the new system. I feel cheated since older claims I had, where I received a lump sum and after April 1st, an additional monthly amount, even if its only a hundred $ its better than nothing.

Now you can either take the lump sum or the monthly amount but you can't get both (i.e. a lump sum and a reduced monthly amount) as you would've gotten if your claim was processed before 1 April. So basically because VAC took forever I'm losing out on an additional monthly amount. Pension for life...  : Were being penalized for choosing a lump sum or receiving a tiny monthly amount haha gotta love the choices. Ill be interested to see if anything new gets released after the elections, if the gvt changes...

 

[TCM621]

Turns out the date/time stamp of the initial claim submission does not matter... I had claims I submitted in Feb 2018 and they just adjudicated them a few days ago and VAC told me that since the adjudication occurred after 1 April, it automatically goes under the new system. I feel cheated since older claims I had, where I received a lump sum and after April 1st, an additional monthly amount, even if its only a hundred $ its better than nothing.

Now you can either take the lump sum or the monthly amount but you can't get both (i.e. a lump sum and a reduced monthly amount) as you would've gotten if your claim was processed before 1 April. So basically because VAC took forever I'm losing out on an additional monthly amount. Pension for life...  : Were being penalized for choosing a lump sum or receiving a tiny monthly amount haha gotta love the choices. Ill be interested to see if anything new gets released after the elections, if the gvt changes...

Send a letter to the Veteran's Minister and your MP. We need to be more vocal and let them know that we will vote accordingly. We are a small group but large enough that we can make people listen if enough of us say something.

 

[upandatom]

My son in law (late 40's YOA) put in a claim last Oct for PTSD related to his first tour in Afghanistan. He received a Pension For Life letter yesterday for less than $300 @ 27%. Why PFL when this was his first claim and submitted prior to 31 Mar 19?

Most likely its wording.
He has to most likely request the full payment.

 

[meday875]

Please can someone explain to me the CIA Supplement? I was approved DEC in February of 2019, and as soon as my approval went through, my case manager stopped answering my phone calls since I guess now that I'm no longer Rehab I'm no longer her problem. However before she stopped answering my calls she did have me fill out the application for the CIA Supplement. I did that on March 5th. From what she told me it is $1145.00 (Tax free) a month on top of the $1000.00 (tax free) APSC Grade 2. My application was FINALLY completed last week, or at least I'm assuming because that was last Wednesday October 30th, and there still hasn't been a letter generated about the decision much less can anyone at VAC tell me anything. I am guessing it was approved because my APSC (Previously CIA) went up from the $500 to $1000 as i can see on my benefits online, but I still don't see anything about a supplement, and yet my IRB increased? So I received an $888.00 monthly taxable increase on my IRB, but no supplement? I got a back pay for the IRB increase, but no back pay for the CIA increase, which as far as the regulations, of which I have searched through many, say that it should be back dated to the date of the application. Can someone please tell me if the IRB increase IS the CIA Supplement? Or is it something entirely different? I'm at a total loss and VAC is literally NO help. Every time I call them I end up educating someone on the way a specific benefit works, I had someone last week not even knowing that the APSC (Previously CIA) is non taxable.

 

[upandatom]

Please can someone explain to me the CIA Supplement? I was approved DEC in February of 2019, and as soon as my approval went through, my case manager stopped answering my phone calls since I guess now that I'm no longer Rehab I'm no longer her problem. However before she stopped answering my calls she did have me fill out the application for the CIA Supplement. I did that on March 5th. From what she told me it is $1145.00 (Tax free) a month on top of the $1000.00 (tax free) APSC Grade 2. My application was FINALLY completed last week, or at least I'm assuming because that was last Wednesday October 30th, and there still hasn't been a letter generated about the decision much less can anyone at VAC tell me anything. I am guessing it was approved because my APSC (Previously CIA) went up from the $500 to $1000 as i can see on my benefits online, but I still don't see anything about a supplement, and yet my IRB increased? So I received an $888.00 monthly taxable increase on my IRB, but no supplement? I got a back pay for the IRB increase, but no back pay for the CIA increase, which as far as the regulations, of which I have searched through many, say that it should be back dated to the date of the application. Can someone please tell me if the IRB increase IS the CIA Supplement? Or is it something entirely different? I'm at a total loss and VAC is literally NO help. Every time I call them I end up educating someone on the way a specific benefit works, I had someone last week not even knowing that the APSC (Previously CIA) is non taxable.

CIA was taxable, CIA turned into APSC,
APSC and IRB are unrelated.


PSC, is the monthly "Pension" TAX FREE
APSC is the stipend that recognizes permanent and severe conditions limiting work. $500, $1000, $1500, dependent on severity
APSC is TAX FREE

IRB, PSC and APSC are supposed to be backdatable,
PSC is the pension that is related to your DA, varies per person dependent on the amount of DA you received and the amount you were paid out.

 

[meday875]

But what about the CIA Supplement? Which is separate from the CIA, there is no equivalent with the new regulations as of April 1, but as I understand it, I would be grandfathered since my application is prior to that.

 

[upandatom]

But what about the CIA Supplement? Which is separate from the CIA, there is no equivalent with the new regulations as of April 1, but as I understand it, I would be grandfathered since my application is prior to that.

Yes, CIA is equivalent too APSC

 

[meday875]

No, the CIA (APSC) and the CIA Supplement are two different things.

 

[upandatom]

No, the CIA (APSC) and the CIA Supplement are two different things.

Sorry I missed the supplement part,
The supplement part is a top up, and was taxable. Im not sure where that went in the shuffle.

 

[meday875]

So it is taxable? That would make more sense then.

 

[Teager]

But what about the CIA Supplement? Which is separate from the CIA, there is no equivalent with the new regulations as of April 1, but as I understand it, I would be grandfathered since my application is prior to that.

Your CIA supplement is not tax free it is taxed and they include it with your IRB. They just don't show it as a separate line in your VAC account. Your APSC was granted to level 2 and that is tax free.

 

[meday875]

Thank you! No one has been able to tell me that so far! I’ve spoken to like 5 people at VAC and no one had any idea, and since I haven’t gotten a decision letter yet (not even one generated) I have had no idea what has been going on with my benefits.