What are the new disability pension rules for armed forces?

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has come up with new rules for the grant of disability pensions to armed forces personnel. The new policy changes the definition of pension, how disability pension is calculated, and eligibility criteria. Titled ‘Entitlement Rules for Casualty Pension and Disability Compensation Awards to Armed Forces Personnel, 2023’, the new rules released on 21 September will replace all such previous entitlement norms. What are the new rules? Why was there a need for it? Why is there opposition? What about disability pensions in other countries? Let’s understand better. MoD’s new disability pension rules The new rules have revised some terms, types of disabilities and diseases covered, assessment methods, as well as fixed the percentage of disability, reported The Tribune. The defence ministry has introduced the concept of ‘impairment relief’ which will supersede the term ‘disability element’. According to an Economic Times (ET) report, ‘impairment relief’ will cover lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and Type-2 diabetes. [caption id=“attachment_13184972” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Only those armed forces personnel will be eligible for disability pension who have acquired diseases or disabilities during the period of military service and on active duty, as per the new MoD’s rules. Reuters (Representational Image)[/caption] From now on, only those armed forces personnel will be eligible for disability pension who have acquired diseases or disabilities during the period of military service and on active duty, such as in high altitude areas or due to excessive physical exertion, the report added. Officer trainees or cadets will continue to not be entitled to disability pension but will receive an ex-gratia payment. ALSO READ: Why India’s armed forces are seeing a shortfall of over 11,000 officers What was the need for new rules? The new policy comes after armed forces set up an inter-services panel chaired by the Army’s Adjutant General (AG) earlier this year to review several aspects of disability pension granted to personnel, reported Indian Express. The Department of Military Affairs had directed to establish a committee after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in Parliament on 27 March had called into question the disability element of pension being granted to a “higher percentage” of officers, especially medical officers. As per Times of India (TOI), the CAG report said that 36-40 per cent of officers discharged from service every year get disability pension, while only 15-18 per cent of jawans get the compensation. The percentage of retiring medical officers (mostly doctors) getting disability pensions was found to be “significantly higher” at 44-58 per cent as compared to other officers of the Army. “Further, 22 per cent and 13 per cent of the disability pension cases granted to the officers and PBORs (personnel below officer rank), respectively, were exclusively on the ground of lifestyle diseases (primary hypertension and Type-2 diabetes),” the CAG said, as per TOI.  The audit watchdog had asked the MoD “to assess the reasons” for the high percentage of officers claiming “the disability element” of pension. It must be noted that armed forces personnel who get disability benefits – which are exempt from income tax – receive 20-50 per cent higher pensions than others. According to Indian Express, defence pensions saw an uptick in the last five years, rising from Rs 1.08 lakh crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1.38 lakh crore in 2023-24. The amount of disability pensions has also increased significantly over the last 20 years and reached approximately Rs 4,000 crore in 2022-23, the newspaper reported citing government sources. ALSO READ: Army personnel entitled to disability pension only if disability attributable to military service: Supreme Court Opposition to new rules The All India Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association has objected to the new rules on disability and death benefits to armed personnel and their family and demanded the repeal of the MoD’s letter issued last week. The association says the policy is unfavourable to soldiers as compared to civilian employees, as per the Indian Express report. Expressing protest against the term ‘impairment relief’, Bhim Sen Sehgal, chairperson of the ex-servicemen association, said in a statement, “The definition of Invalidation has also been changed in a regressive manner and it has been reiterated that there would be a requirement of ten years of service to earn an Invalid Pension. This requirement was already abrogated for civilian employees in January 2019”. “The service connection of disabilities has also been altered, belying medical science and common sense. For example, the existing rules and also the CCS (EOP) rules for civilians, provide that all heart diseases are linked with stress and strain of service without any preconditions attached. However, the new rules of the MoD state that heart diseases shall only be considered as linked with service in case the same occurs in high altitude areas,” the statement added. The ex-servicemen organisation pointed out that the stress and strain of military service can happen irrespective of the area of posting. The association alleged that not granting disability pensions to cadets puts them at a disadvantage as compared to civilian trainees. It said this is against the Supreme Court’s decisions and “global medical knowledge”, reported Indian Express.  Disability pensions in other counties In the United States, active duty retirees, reservist retirees and retirees with disability get defence pensions. To get disability benefits, the armed forces personnel must have a current physical or mental illness or an injury caused or worsened during active duty service or training to qualify for benefits, according to the US government website. As per a 2020 report titled ‘Defence Pension: A Comparative Study of India, US and UK’ published by Manohar Parrikar IDSA, military personnel retired with 30 per cent or more disability are eligible for the monthly pension, irrespective of years of service. “The disability pension is capped at a maximum of 75 per cent of the basic pay,” the report said. [caption id=“attachment_13185062” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] US Army hosts multinational live firing exercise in Germany in March. Reuters File Photo[/caption] The United Kingdom offers two types of compensation awards for military personnel discharged from service due to disability – a lump sum amount for pain and suffering exempted from tax and a “tax-free, index-linked monthly Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP)”, as per the Defence Pension report. The lump sum payment ranges from £1,200 to £570,000 depending on the nature of the injury. The GIP is granted to personnel retired due to grievous injury. In Canada, retired armed forces personnel who have a diagnosed medical condition or disability and can prove that the condition is linked to their service qualify for disability benefits. Those who get “pain and suffering compensation”, can opt for a monthly benefit or lump sum benefit. Meanwhile, in the case of a disability pension, the monthly amount will increase if the retiree has a dependent famil member such as a spouse and children. Only those who served with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in the Second World War or Korean War are eligible for disability pension, as per the Government of Canada. With inputs from agencies