Thanks very much for the question, and I might say, it's a pleasure to be here with this committee.
The earnings loss benefit is an income-support benefit paid to veterans eligible for our rehabilitation program. If you have a rehabilitation need—vocational, psychosocial, or medical—while you're in that program you are eligible to receive income support. Those decisions are made at the front end of the process at the operational level, and they're made relatively quickly. You can stay on earnings loss benefits for the whole length of time you are completing your rehabilitation plan.
For example, you and your case manager will work out whether it's a vocational rehabilitation need, what your goals and plans are, and what you have to do to become re-established. During that period, which could be three years or even more depending on the circumstances, you will get this monthly income-support benefit. If at the end of that exercise you and your case manager determine that you are not going to meet the goals and objectives of the plan, that you are essentially totally and permanently incapacitated, which is the term the legislation uses, you can then go on what we call the extended earnings loss benefit at the same rate, 90%, through to age 65. At age 65, it ends and you are then qualified for our retirement income security benefit, which is a different program but provides benefits after age 65.