State pensioners could get another DWP benefit worth £200 a week with a 'lump sum payment'

State pensioners over 70 could be missing out on benefits worth HUNDREDS per month. The War Pension Scheme (WPS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service before 6 April 2005, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says.

There are two main types of WPS awards. Which one you get depends on the level of your disablement: a gratuity is a lump sum payment for disablement less than 20 oer cent or a pension is an ongoing payment paid weekly or monthly for disablement more than 20 per cent.

These payments can vary significantly, ranging from £40 a week to over £10,000 a year. Veterans of the 1914 and 1939 wars may be eligible to claim £140 a week through the War Disablement Pension, with amounts increasing to £160 for over 80s, £180 for over 90s and £200 a week for centenarians.

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You can claim under the WPS if you are no longer serving in His Majesty’s (HM) Armed Forces and your claimed disablement arose before 6 April 2005. Payments are made directly into your bank, building society or other account providers.

If you receive additional allowances on top of your basic War Pension, some of these extra allowances may affect your entitlement to other means-tested benefits. You must inform the relevant benefit offices, local authorities and tax credit office if you receive payment under the War Pension Scheme.

Legislation dictates that War Pensions Benefits and Allowances are uplifted annually using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the previous September. The September 2021 CPI was 3.1%. In May 2023, the then Minister for Defence People, Veterans, and Service Families, Dr Andrew Murrison, announced a new scheme for those who lost their war widows pension due to remarriage or cohabitation before the 2015 rules change. Under this scheme, eligible widows and widowers received a one-time, tax-exempt payment of £87,500.