Disability Benefit Processing – Summary Report

Quarter Four of Government Fiscal Year 2021/2022 (ending 31 March 2022)

*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 and 2019-20, the Department received 40% more disability benefit applications, including an increase of more than 75% in first applications. Although the number of applications received in 2020-2021 decreased, perhaps due to the pandemic, intake in 2021-2022 increased and was slightly higher than the number of applications received in 2019-2020.

To process the increased number of applications, we have hired more staff, made improvements to the application process, and simplified decision-making for some medical conditions. Temporary employees are now fully trained and have been extended to March 2024 thanks to $139.6 million in funding announced in February 2022.

Our priority continues to be making faster decisions on disability benefit applications. In June 2020, we released a strategy to address the long-standing issue of decision processing times. We have implemented and are refreshing our strategic direction document to address this long-standing issue, and regularly report on performance.

Statistics

In the past four years, we completed more than 180,000 applications. In fiscal year 2020-2021, we delivered $2.2B in disability benefits to Veterans. Below, you will find data on the number of applications received, completed and pending, as well as percentages of approved applications.

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 which has been waiting longer than our service standard is considered to be in the backlog.

Service standards are our commitment to a measurable level of performance which clients can expect under normal circumstances. Our 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: Q1 2019 data is not available due to upgrades to our application tracking software.

There are three types of pending applications in the table above:

1) Incomplete application stage

In most cases, applications at this stage are missing information such as proof of identity, signed forms or required medical questionnaires.

As of 31 March 2022, we had 12,420 incomplete applications.

2) Applications ready for assignment stage

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 condition 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.

As of 31 March 2022, we had 1,943 applications awaiting assignment.

3) Complete applications waiting for a decision stage

These are completed applications working through the process.

As of 31 March 2022, there were 16,462 complete applications ready for a decision.

Incomplete applications + applications ready for assignment + complete applications = 30,825 applications pending (as of 31 March 2022)

Historical summary - Applications received and processed

*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 a First Application or Reassessment decision and has new evidence to present, they may request a review or appeal.

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

Not all conditions can be processed at the same speed. One factor which can slow the processing of a condition is its complexity.

Put simply, a straightforward condition is one which does not need to be reviewed by someone with a medical background. Conditions can be complex for a number of reasons. Sometimes, the medical condition itself is complex—like a rare cancer. Other times, evidence or circumstances surrounding the condition are complex. It may also be difficult to establish a link between the condition and the applicant’s service.

Once we determine a confirmed disability is service-related, we look at the severity and its 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 which is severe and impacts their quality of life significantly. A Veteran may also have a combination of disabilities which 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 processing times

We are looking closely at the longer processing times for applications from Francophone Veterans to determine how this can be improved.

In addition to our dedicated French unit and two bilingual teams, we established five more bilingual teams in the fall of 2020. After they completed their training, they began processing applications in January 2021, and are focused predominantly on French applications.

Also, the Department now has a Veteran Benefit Team dedicated to processing applications from female Veterans/members. This team is developing expertise to ensure we can systematically address the current barriers and close the gap in processing times for female and male applicants. This approach is already having a positive impact on processing times for female applicants.

We administer disability benefits on behalf of the RCMP. Decisions for RCMP applications are difficult to compare to other types of applications (e.g., applications by CAF members and Veterans) due to the differences in service and legislation.

Note: To start counting the processing time, we must first have all required information from the applicant. Please see our Wait time tool for processing times across various programs, updated weekly.

Additional Information

Veterans Affairs Canada Statistics - Facts and Figures

Veterans Affairs Canada Service Standards Results