Program directory · Veterans Affairs Canada
Disability Benefits
- Department
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Program code
- BWI16 (VAC)
- Core responsibility
- Benefits, Services and Support
- In Departmental Plans
- 2019-20 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Disability Benefits recognize and compensate eligible Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members, current and former Royal Canadian Mounted Police members, and some civilians for the effects of a service-related disability/death (eligibility for the specific benefits varies). Some Disability Benefits are also available to eligible survivors and dependents. Disability Benefits include Disability Pensions, Pain and Suffering Compensation, Additional Pain and Suffering Compensation, Clothing Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Exceptional Incapacity Allowance, Critical Injury Benefit, Education Assistance Program, Treatment Allowance, Detention Benefit, Prisoner of War Compensation, and Death Benefit. Disability Benefits are tax-free, and the payment method -- monthly or lump sum -- depends on the benefit.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2019-20. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disability Pension Benefits and Allowances | Earlier program (name match, low confidence) | 2018-19 – 2020-21 | $1.24B |
| Disability Awards, Critical Injury and Death Benefits | Earlier program (name match, low confidence) | 2018-19 – 2020-21 | $1.38B |
| Disability Benefits | This program | 2019-20 – 2028-29 | $17.8B |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Appears to combine earlier programs: Disability Pension Benefits and Allowances; Disability Awards, Critical Injury and Death Benefits | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2022 | Budget 2022 measure “Reducing Veterans Disability Benefit Wait-Times”: $140M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2022, PDF page 272 |
| 2023-24 | Employees (FTEs) 1,385, against 999 in 2022-23 (+39%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $4.19B, against $3.02B in 2023-24 (+39%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned employees (FTEs) 1,087, against 1,550 in 2025-26 (−30%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $2.43B, against $4.1B in 2026-27 (−41%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2025 | 68% We remain fully committed to the health and well-being of Veterans and their families. In 2024, 68% of our clients told us their disability benefits adequately reflect the impact of their service-related disability, just 2% below our 70% target and up from 61% reported in the last VAC National Client Survey (VNCS). This progress shows we are moving closer to meeting client expectations. We plan t… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 75% | 2025 | 79% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 75% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | $2.15B | $2.47B |
| 2020-21 | $2.79B | $2.49B |
| 2021-22 | $3.53B | $2.9B |
| 2022-23 | $2.7B | $2.74B |
| 2023-24 | $2.99B | $3.02B |
| 2024-25 | $3.04B | $4.19B |
| 2025-26 | $4.03B | — |
| 2026-27 | $4.1B | — |
| 2027-28 | $2.43B* | — |
| 2028-29 | $2.43B* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 887 | 893 |
| 2020-21 | 795 | 979 |
| 2021-22 | 1,029 | 1,052 |
| 2022-23 | 951 | 999 |
| 2023-24 | 1,395 | 1,385 |
| 2024-25 | 1,418 | 1,428 |
| 2025-26 | 1,550 | — |
| 2026-27 | 1,087 | — |
| 2027-28 | 874* | — |
| 2028-29 | 856* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 plan | $2,149,709,319 | $2,072,632,361 | $2,114,967,351 | |||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $2,790,853,414 | $2,738,451,159 | $2,778,918,347 | |||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $3,530,215,028 | $2,489,608,148 | $2,159,994,681 | |||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $2,698,499,116 | $2,154,280,558 | $2,154,277,313 | |||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $2,986,657,288 | $2,417,115,877 | $2,413,352,423 | |||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $3,043,430,988 | $2,812,490,436 | $2,428,588,409 | |||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $4,028,772,066 | $2,457,294,621 | $2,424,773,111 | |||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $4,101,266,001 | $2,426,240,757 | $2,426,050,145 | |||||||
| Actual | $2,472,062,667 | $2,492,690,220 | $2,896,071,540 | $2,738,066,971 | $3,019,822,468 | $4,190,554,574 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
