Progress made on reducing Veterans’ Unclaimed Pensions!

Last year’s campaign launched by the Forces Pension Society and supported by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs working with the MoD, has begun to show tangible results.

The latest AFPS Annual Report published in July, reveals a reduction in the number of Veterans’ unclaimed pensions. This year’s report records 14,797 unclaimed pensions (17,139 in 2023), a 14% improvement.

However, it remains a cause for great concern that there are still almost 15,000 pension benefits that remain unclaimed and thousands of entitled Veterans could be missing out. These are the details:

• Anyone serving after April 1975, now aged 60 or over, could have an Armed Forces Pension if they served for two years or more.
• The pension is not paid automatically and Veterans must apply to Veterans UK using AFPS Form 8 or call 0800 085 3600 for information.

Commenting on these latest figures, Forces Pension Society CEO, Maj Gen Neil Marshall said:

“It’s clear that our call-to-action to a wide community including the Office for Veterans’ Affairs has made a real difference. But we won’t be satisfied until we reduce the outstanding number of unclaimed pensions substantially.

“Many of these pensions involve significant sums of money which could make a serious contribution to the quality of many lives. So, if you know a Veteran who might not have claimed their entitlement, please visit the Veterans’ Gateway website without delay.

“For our part, the Forces Pension Society will maintain its focus on the issue until we see many more pensions in the hands of those who earned them.”The Forces Pension Society is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that serves as a watchdog for the whole military community. If you would like to know more about our work and how we can help you make the most of your personal pension worth, visit forcespensionsociety.org