That's a great question.
When veterans talk about “disability benefits”, we are primarily talking about the single and sole benefit that every veteran gets. There is only one. That is the monthly disability tax-free injury benefit. In the context of wartime service, that's $3,000. That's the maximum amount. It's a $3,000 tax-free amount of money that if you are 100% incapacitated, you will receive $3,000 tax free.
Some of the really important pieces about that are that it doesn't show up in your taxes. It also doesn't show up in family court. It can't be divided in divorce. That means it's tied to the individual because it's compensation from the government for your injury during active service. For that piece, it stays with you no matter what. No matter where you go, that's always your piece for your injury.
In the context of the Veterans Well-being Act, they've reduced that number to $1,200. Mathematically, that is at the 40% number, which I've indicated. They originally started at 20%. They were giving $600 a month. They increased it to $1,200, which is 40% compared to the wartime service pension. Right away we see significant disparity between the two pension systems.
I keep leaving them out, but the RCMP as well has that system for a reason. They chose to keep that system when the government tried to force them onto our system. They chose that system because it's a better system.
That monthly disability benefit is by far the most contentious piece of data when it comes to veterans. Again, a German bullet pays $3,000. A Taliban bullet pays $1,200.