Disability Benefit Processing – Summary Report

Quarter Four of Government Fiscal Year 2020-2021 (ending 31 March 2021)

*This report will be updated with new quarterly statistics within 90 days of the end of each quarter.

What's on this page

1. Overview
2. Statistics
3. Additional Information

Overview

More and more Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) members are coming forward to get the benefits and services they need to improve their well-being. Between 2015-16 to 2019-20, first applications for disability benefits increased by more than 75 percent. Campaigns to raise awareness of My VAC Account, the growing need for mental health services, and improvements to our benefits and services appear to be driving this increase. While the number of applications decreased in 2020-2021, perhaps due to the impacts of the pandemic, intake began to rise towards the end of the fiscal year.

To process the increased number of claims, we have hired more staff, made improvements to the application process, and simplified decision-making for some medical conditions. Recently-hired employees completed their initial training and began making decisions in January 2021.

Our most important priority continues to be providing more timely decisions on disability benefit applications. In June 2020, we released our plan to address the long-standing issue of decision wait times. While we implement this plan, we will continue to inform Canadians about our performance by proactively sharing the information below.

Statistics

In the past four years, we processed more than 160,000 applications. In fiscal year 2020-21, we delivered $2.3B in disability benefits to Veterans. Below, you'll find data on the number of applications received, completed and pending, as well as average approval rates for decisions.

Veterans receiving Disability Benefits (as of 31 March 2021)*

Receipt of Disability Benefits
130,839

^* including RCMP

Disability benefits are payments made to individuals for a service-related disability in one of two ways:

• Pain and suffering compensation
• Disability pension

What is the backlog?

A complete application that has been waiting longer than our service standard is considered to be in the backlog.

Note on service standards: Service standards are our commitment to a measurable level of performance which clients can expect under normal circumstances. Our service standard target for disability benefits is for 80 percent of decisions to be made within: 16 weeks for First Applications and Reassessments; and 12 weeks for Departmental Reviews.

What is the total number of pending disability benefit applications?

*Note: As part of our wait time plan, we continue to improve the accuracy and transparency of our statistical reporting on disability benefits applications. Incomplete applications include those where essential information is missing, such as proof of identity, signed forms or confirmed diagnosis. Applications awaiting assignment are complete applications ready to be assigned for a decision.

Note: Data for Q1 2019 was not available due to upgrades to our application tracking software.

There are three types of pending applications:

1) Incomplete applications

Incomplete applications may be missing information such as proof of identity, signed forms or required questionnaires. Applications at this stage either require information to be submitted, are being validated for completeness or are being prepared as a package for the next step.

As of 31 March 2021, we had 13,933 incomplete applications.

2) Applications awaiting assignment

During this stage, most of these applications are waiting to be assigned. An administrative decision-maker looks at the application to determine whether or not the claim is straightforward. If it is, they will make a decision. If the condition is more complex, the application is moved to a nurse decision-maker.

Our wait time plan includes the hiring of 300 employees dedicated to processing applications. With the recent investment of $192 million, our goal is to significantly reduce the backlog, and improve how we make decisions to ensure that we maintain productivity beyond 2022.

As of 31 March 2021, we had 10,290 applications awaiting review.

3) Complete applications waiting for a decision

For these applications, we have the required information and the files are working through the process.

As of 31 March 2021, there were 19,004 complete applications ready for a decision.

Incomplete applications + Complete applications = 43,227 applications pending (as of 31 March 2021)

Historical summary - Applications received and processed

Chart 1: Disability Benefit Applications by Fiscal Quarter (2017-2020)

	2017 Q1	2017 Q2	2017 Q3	2017 Q4	2018 Q1	2018 Q2	2018 Q3	2018 Q4	2019 Q2	2019 Q3	2019 Q4	2020 Q1	2020 Q2	2020 Q3	2020 Q4
Incomplete Applications (need more information)	11,032	12,158	12,899	13,713	16,188	15,634	14,732	13,564	18,330	20,995	22,545	12,125	12,739	14,446	13,933
Awaiting Assignment	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	9,244	9,467	9,647	10,290
Complete applications waiting for a decision - within service standard	6,865	6,731	6,640	6,511	8,463	9,101	8,972	9,862	3,074	4,980	4,533	2,355	3,678	4,227	3,790
Complete applications waiting for a decision - outside service standard	6,645	8,714	10,136	10,591	11,288	14,022	15,863	16,879	23,260	20,233	22,138	21,572	19,633	16,346	15,214
Total	24,542	27,603	29,675	30,815	35,939	38,757	39,567	40,305	44,664	46,208	49,216	45,296	45,517	44,666	43,227

	2017 Q1	2017 Q2	2017 Q3	2017 Q4	2018 Q1	2018 Q2	2018 Q3	2018 Q4	2019 Q2	2019 Q3	2019 Q4	2020 Q1	2020 Q2	2020 Q3	2020 Q4
Applications Received	13,661	12,302	12,130	14,170	16,619	13,614	15,373	15,318	17,045	14,781	14,531	8,154	9,827	12,462	13,704
Applications Completed	8,625	8,083	8,733	10,997	9,905	8,820	12,180	10,877	12,133	8,905	9,510	9,550	7,380	10,904	11,795

Note: Data for Q1 2019 was not available due to upgrades to our application tracking software.

Individuals applying for a Reassessment have previously received a favourable decision for the same disability. This allows them to access treatment benefits, which provide coverage for things such as prescriptions, medical equipment, nursing services and appointments with specialists.

If the Veteran disagrees with the decision on their First Application or Reassessment and has new evidence to present, or there is an error in fact or law, they may request a review (Departmental Review) or appeal.

When we have made a decision on an application and the Veteran has been informed, the application is considered finalized.

Once we determine a confirmed disability is service-related, we look at the severity and impact on quality of life. Using this information and the Table of Disabilities we assign an assessment level ranging from 0-100%.

For example, a Veteran assessed at 100% may have a disability that is severe and impacts their quality of life significantly. A Veteran may also have a combination of disabilities that amount to a 100% assessment level.

Above is a summary of how many Veterans are currently receiving disability benefits based on different assessment levels. As the table shows, about three quarters of Veterans are assessed at levels of disability less than 40%. Less than 10% of Veterans are assessed at 80% or above.

Average wait times

Please see our Wait time tool for wait times across various programs, updated weekly.

Note: To start counting the wait time, we must first have all the required information from the applicant.

Additional Information

Veterans Affairs Canada Statistics - Facts and Figures

Veterans Affairs Canada Service Standards Results