Terminal Rate or Lump Sum
(Scheme One)
For terminal illness or injury, your (War) Disablement Pension may be paid at the maximum
rate or as a lump-sum.
Qualifying
Getting paid
You must have a progressive disease that’s
been:
You choose whether to get payment as
Terminal Rate or Terminal Lump Sum.


granted a (War) Disablement Pension;
and
confirmed by medical certificate as
likely to cause death within 12 months.
Applying
If you have difficulty applying yourself,
someone with authority to act for you can
apply on your behalf. To action your
application, we must get it before your death.
Applying for Disablement Pension
If not already on (War) Disablement Pension
for the condition, you must apply for
Disablement Pension for it.
You can send this application together with
your application for terminal entitlement.
Applying for terminal entitlement
Application form (terminal entitlement) must
be completed, to either:


apply for terminal entitlement
(indicate whether you want
Terminal Rate or a lump sum)
transfer between payment types
(from Terminal Rate to a lump sum).
Terminal Rate
This pays (War) Disablement Pension at
maximum rate. Entitlement is from day we got
your application to 28 days after your death.
Terminal Lump Sum
This is 12 months of (War) Disablement
Pension at maximum rate, paid as a lump
sum. Entitlement is from day we got your
application, till the earlier of:


end of 12-month period
day of your death (your estate keeps
the remaining lump sum, but can’t get
any increase).
If you’re on (War) Disablement Pension when
applying for the lump sum, we’ll:


pay your pension till a lump sum’s
awarded; then
deduct, from the lump sum, any
pension paid since we got your
application.
Should you die before payment of your lump
sum, we:


can’t pay it to your estate; but
may be able to pay Terminal Rate
instead (for limited period, as above).
Transferring
While on terminal entitlement, you can
transfer between payment-types as follows:


if you’re on Terminal Rate
(you can transfer to a lump sum any
time—so long as we’re able to pay it
before your death)
if you survive your lump-sum period
(you’ll transfer to Terminal Rate—but
can’t then reapply for the lump sum).
Rate increase
Maximum rate of (War) Disablement Pension
may increase once in a year, to reflect
inflation. You’ll get any increase, from the
applicable date:


Phone: 0800 483 8372 (NZ); +64 4 495 2070 (overseas)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.veteransaffairs.mil.nz
for Terminal Rate — as an increase in
your payments
for Terminal Lump Sum — as an extra
payment reflecting the increase.