5.8.7 Offering Interim Payments

Under section 78 of the MRCA, a person may be entitled to choose to convert all or part of the periodic compensation payable to a lump sum. This could potentially lead to a situation where someone receives a combination of periodic and lump sum payments if more than one interim offer is made. 

For more detailed information about section 78 and the choice to convert MRCA PI to a lump sum, please refer to Chapter 5.11 of the MRCA PI Policy Manual. 

In cases where a person is offered more than one interim payment and put into periodic payments, the six month timeframe within which to make an election to commute one or more of those offers to a lump sum may become a relevant consideration. If that is the case, the 'special circumstances' provision under subsection 78(4) can be invoked when the final assessment occurs. Effectively this would mean that the veteran has the option of taking all of the PI compensation owed to them (that has not previously been converted to a lump sum) as either a lump sum or a part lump sum. This use of the special circumstances provision is a good example of a situation that can rightly be classified as exceptional.