3.3.2 Payment of Service Pension and Income Support Supplement
Last amended: 13 January 2014
Commencement date for pension payability
Service pension or ISS may not be payable in some circumstances
Section 36A VEA
Section 37A VEA
Section 38A VEA
Section 45B VEA
Section 59M VEA
Section 59P VEA
Partner service pension not payable to war widowers
Section 38C(2) VEA
Service pension or income support supplement will not be payable to a person before the person's provisional commencement day. A person's provisional commencement day is usually the day on which the person claims a service pension or income support supplement. If an informal claim is made prior to making a proper claim then the pension will be payable from the day the informal claim is made, providing the proper claim is:
- made within three months of being notified that the initial claim was not a proper claim, or
- if the person was not notified, made at any time.
Backdating pension payability
It is DVA policy and the intention of the legislation to allow a claim to be lodged before the claimant reaches pension age or qualifying age so that the new claim can be processed and ready for payment from the date the claimant becomes eligible. Backdating pension payability to the date of the informal claim requires that the claimant be eligible on the day the informal claim is lodged. This means that if an informal claim is lodged, for example, before a claimant reached pension age or qualifying age or attained invalidity status; the eligibility conditions are not satisfied and backdating is not permitted. This rule does not apply to proper claims, which may be lodged at any time. A legislative change is being sought to remove the requirement that for backdating to occur, a veteran must be eligible at the time of lodging an informal claim.
Assisting applicants to lodge valid claims
Members of the veteran community should be assisted to lodge either a proper claim, or at least an initial incorrect claim by their earliest eligibility date. Proper claims should preferably be encouraged before the person attains the applicable pension age or qualifying age. This practice is particularly important where veterans are encouraged to lodge claims early, for example where a veteran's qualifying service [glossary:(:]QS[glossary:):] status may be determined in advance.
Earlier commencement date for pension payability may apply
In some cases, a person may have a different provisional commencement day to the day on which the person claims a service pension or income support supplement.
Earlier commencement date for income support supplement
Where a person starts to receive a war widow's/widower's pension from a particular day (the pension receipt day), and
- immediately before the pension receipt day a social security pension or social security benefit was payable to the person, and
- as a result of becoming a war widow/widower the social security pension or benefit is no longer payable from the pension receipt day, and
- the person makes a claim for income support supplement after the pension receipt day, and
- would have been eligible for income support supplement from the pension receipt day, then
the determination takes effect on the pension receipt day, and income support supplement is payable to the person on and from that day.
Note: War widows/widowers receiving a partner service pension or a social security age pension from DVA immediately prior to becoming a war widow/widower, are not required to claim income support supplement. Their entitlement to income support supplement will be automatically assessed and paid from date of grant of war widow's/widower's pension.
Earlier commencement date for partner service pension
Where a person applies for a partner service pension, and
- the claim has been refused, and
- the person's partner has subsequently been notified that he or she has been granted a disability compensation payment at the special rate, and
- the person makes another claim for partner service pension within 3 months of the notification to the veteran,
then the provisional commencement day for the payment of partner service pension will be the later of:
- the day that the original claim for partner service pension was made, or
- the day that the veteran became eligible for the special rate of disability compensation payment.
Lodgement of a proper claim
A service pension or income support supplement is not payable unless a proper claim has been made or is deemed to have been made.
Pension payment arrangements if the person is in gaol
While a person is imprisoned, their payments may be forfeited or suspended if a pension instalment is payable after the day on which the person goes to gaol and before the day the person is released. If the person has a partner or child/ren then the Commission may direct that the payment or part of the payment be paid to:
- their partner,
- their child, or
- someone else approved by the Commission.
In such a case the payment is taken, for all purposes, to be a payment made to the person in gaol.
Restrictions on dual pensions
A service pension or an income support supplement is not payable to a person if they are receiving:
- another service pension, or
- a pension or benefit under the Social Security Act 1991.
Loss of eligibility
If a person's eligibility for service pension or income support supplement is lost, any subsequent new claim from that person for an income support pension needs to meet the eligibility requirements current at the time of the new claim.
Loss of payability
If the pensioner's payability for the service pension or income support supplement is lost, their eligibility for that pension continues. Any later request for resumption of the pension will need to satisfy the payability aspect.
Pension is cancelled or suspended
Cancellation or suspension of pension
Section 56 VEA
Section 56A VEA
Section 56E VEA
Section 56EA VEA
Section 56EB VEA
Section 56EC VEA
Section 56J VEA
Section 56K VEA
Service pension or income support supplement may be cancelled or suspended where a person:
- has a change of circumstances, which causes eligibility for the pension to cease,
- fails to comply with a section 54A VEA or section 54AA VEA notice,
- requests that their pension be cancelled,
- cannot be contacted and their whereabouts are unknown,
- fails to take reasonable action to claim a comparable foreign pension to which they may be entitled,
- fails to draw their pension payments for a continuous period of six months. This would apply if a person has closed a bank account and cannot be contacted to make new arrangements. It is not intended for a situation where a person is accumulating pension instalments in a bank account, or
- where the Commission is satisfied that it is being, or has been paid to a person to whom it is not, or was not payable (e.g. where there is evidence the person had failed to declare significant income or assets).
The service pension or income support supplement may also be cancelled where the pension has been determined to be nil. Note: Cancellation where the pension has been reduced to nil is not normal practice and would only occur in special circumstances where this was considered appropriate.
Provision of tax file number
A person in receipt of service pension or income support supplement is required to provide DVA with their and their partner's tax file number[glossary:.:] The provision of a tax file number is necessary for the purposes of the data matching program. If the tax file number is not provided, the pension is not to be paid, unless the requirement to provide the number is waived by the Secretary, or an exemption applies.
Pension rate is nil
Section 36A(2) VEA through to Section 36A(4) VEA
Section 37A(2) VEA through to Section 36A(4) VEA
Section 38A(2) VEA through to Section 36A(4) VEA
Where a person's service pension rate would be reduced to nil, the pension is not payable. However, where the service pension rate is nil only because an advance payment of pension has been paid to the person, the pension remains payable.
Minimum amount
Where a person's service pension or income support supplement (ISS) rate including pension supplement would be reduced to less than the minimum amount, the minimum amount is payable. Once the rate is reduced to nil the pension/ ISS is not payable.
Impact of pension no longer being payable
Eligibility for treatment
Section 85 VEA
Advance Payments
Section 79J VEA
Eligibility for Pensioner Concession Card
Section 53A VEA
Loss of payability may mean loss of:
- eligibility for treatment
- payability of advance payment of pension,
- eligibility for pensioner concession card, and
- eligibility for bereavement payments.
Source URL: https://clik.dva.gov.au/compensation-and-support-policy-library/part-3-income-support-eligibility/33-service-pension-and-income-support-supplement-payability/332-payment-service-pension-and-income-support-supplement