Program directory · Veterans Affairs Canada
Income Replacement Benefit
- Department
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Program code
- BWI19 (VAC)
- Core responsibility
- Benefits, Services and Support
- In Departmental Plans
- 2026-27 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Income Replacement Benefit (IRB) is a taxable monthly benefit that compensates a Veteran for the economic impacts that health problems resulting primarily from service can have on their ability to earn income and save for retirement. The benefit is payable while the Veteran is engaged in Veterans Affairs Canada’s (VAC's) Rehabilitation Services and Vocational Assistance Program and may be payable for life if the Veteran is determined to have a Diminished Earning Capacity (DEC) due to their IRB-eligible health problem and continues to meet IRB eligibility requirements.
The IRB is also available to eligible survivors and/or orphans in certain circumstances.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in the Departmental Plans in 2026-27. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income Support | Earlier program (name match, low confidence) | 2018-19 – 2027-28 | $6.62B |
| Income Replacement Benefit | This program | 2026-27 – 2028-29 | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Appears to be split across: Income Support; vac-bwi20 | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
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
No results reported yet.
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 80% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 60% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 100% | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $1.79B | — |
| 2027-28 | $1.38B* | — |
| 2028-29 | $1.38B* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 65 | — |
| 2027-28 | 65* | — |
| 2028-29 | 65* | — |
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 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 plan | $1,794,363,721 | $1,381,733,013 | $1,381,717,027 |
| Actual |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
