Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Pension Credit Entitlement: Veterans

Monday 9 March 2026 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Josh Babarinde asked about the potential cost to the public purse of disregarding the war pension scheme and the armed forces compensation scheme for calculating pension credit entitlement.
  • The Minister acknowledged discussing the issue with Josh Babarinde and a constituent, Staff Sergeant Pauline Cole, who is a veteran.
  • Pauline Cole received military compensation for injuries sustained during service, which reduced her pension credit from 77 a week to 10 a week due to the compensation being considered income by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Josh Babarinde Lib Dem Eastbourne
Benefits & Welfare Veterans
Context

The question arises from concerns about the impact of disregarding war pension and armed forces compensation on pension credit entitlement. The case of Staff Sergeant Pauline Cole, a constituent of the MP, highlights the issue, as her pension credit was significantly reduced due to the inclusion of military compensation as income.

Question

If he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of disregarding the war pension scheme and the armed forces compensation scheme for the purpose of calculating pension credit entitlement.

Answer from Torsten Bell

I am glad that the hon. Member and I have had the chance to discuss this issue on a number of occasions, and, more importantly, that we had the chance to do so with his constituent Staff Sergeant Pauline Cole, who served our country and campaigned on behalf of other veterans. I know that she has sadly passed away since our meeting, so I wish to put on the record my condolences to her family—not least to her son Les, on whose behalf my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor) has been in touch in recent days. As the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde) is aware, exactly because of the service of our armed forces, £10 per week of any armed forces compensation scheme award is disregarded when calculating pension credit entitlement.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The potential cost to the public purse of disregarding war pension and armed forces compensation for pension credit entitlement.

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Q2 Josh Babarinde Lib Dem Eastbourne
Benefits & Welfare Veterans
Context

The issue concerns the impact of the armed forces compensation scheme and war pension scheme on pension credit entitlement, particularly focusing on a case involving Staff Sergeant Pauline Cole, who was a veteran and received military compensation.

Question

The Minister will remember that Pauline was a veteran who was awarded military compensation for injuries sustained in her service, but that led to her pension credit being cut from £77 a week to £10 a week, because military compensation is considered income by the Department for Work and Pensions. I have introduced Pauline's law—the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pension Scheme (Report) Bill—to ask the DWP to correct that injustice and disregard military compensation in those calculations. Will the Minister work with me, and with Pauline's sons, Les and Simon Haffenden, to conduct a review into the merits of disregarding that income in order to protect our veterans in future?

Answer from Torsten Bell

I recognise the powerful arguments that the hon. Member and Pauline made in our meeting. Our position today reflects the balance between recognising service injuries and being consistent across the welfare system. Pension credit is a means-tested benefit, the goal of which is to top up pensioners' income to a guaranteed minimum level, so in order to ensure consistency, most forms of income—including those he refers to—are taken into account. However, as I said, there is a partial disregard in order to recognise veterans' service, and the value of lump-sum payments received in respect of personal injury are fully disregarded.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to work with the MP and Pauline's sons to conduct a review into the merits of disregarding military compensation in pension credit calculations.

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