Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)

What AFIP is for

AFIP is part of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, but it does a different job from the two main awards. The tariff lump sum compensates the injury itself, and the Guaranteed Income Payment replaces lost earning capacity. AFIP covers the day-to-day cost of living with a serious injury. The legislation that set the 2026 rate describes it as designed "to cover extra costs that a recipient of that benefit may incur as a result of a relevant injury".

It exists only in the AFCS, so it applies to injuries and illnesses caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. The War Pension Scheme, which covers earlier service, has its own allowances instead, such as the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement.

How much AFIP is in 2026

From 6 April 2026 AFIP is £194.60 a week, which is about £10,119 over a year. The rate is written into article 24A of the AFCS order and was raised from £187.45 by article 6 of SI 2026/272.

It is set to match Personal Independence Payment at its highest level. The 2026 to 2027 enhanced PIP rates are £114.60 for daily living and £80.00 for mobility, and those two added together come to exactly £194.60.

The rate has risen every April except 2016, when it stayed at £139.75. These are the rates written into the scheme order each year.

Who qualifies for AFIP

Article 24A of the scheme order sets three conditions. You must have made a valid claim for AFIP. You must be entitled to a Guaranteed Income Payment "in respect of which the relevant percentage ... is 50% or greater". And from the date of your GIP award you must not be getting, or have a claim or appeal outstanding for, an extra-costs disability benefit such as PIP.

The GIP condition is the one that decides most cases, and it is about your GIP band, not about the type of injury.

The GIP percentage is set by band. Tariff levels 1 to 4 pay 100%, levels 5 and 6 pay 75%, and levels 7 and 8 pay 50%. Those are Bands A to C, so on an award for a single injury, tariff levels 1 to 8 bring AFIP. Levels 9 to 11 pay a GIP at 30%, which is below the threshold.

Treat "levels 1 to 8" as the usual rule rather than an absolute one. Where an award covers several injuries, the scheme can move a level 9 to 11 award up into a higher GIP band, and if that band is 50% or more, AFIP follows. What counts is the band your GIP is actually paid in.

Because the test is the GIP band, a serious mental health condition qualifies in the same way as a physical injury. A PTSD award that carries a GIP of 50% or more brings AFIP.

How to claim AFIP

You do not usually have to find the form yourself. Veterans UK automatically sends the AFIP claim form to people whose AFCS GIP is in Band A to C. Its guidance says: "If you do not receive a claim form, please contact us." There is no deadline for claiming.

AFIP queries go to the same Veterans UK helpline as the rest of the AFCS, on 0808 1914 218. There is no separate AFIP number. The full contact routes are on our War Pension and AFCS contact page.

If your award sits at tariff level 8 or above and no form has arrived, it is worth calling rather than assuming AFIP has been set up.

AFIP, PIP and Motability

AFIP is paid instead of Personal Independence Payment. It is paid at the same rate as the two enhanced PIP components combined, and because it follows from your GIP band, there is no separate PIP-style assessment to go through. You cannot hold both: the scheme order rules AFIP out while you are getting PIP or another extra-costs disability benefit, or have a claim or appeal for one outstanding.

You can use AFIP to get a vehicle through the Motability scheme. The scheme order allows up to £80.00 a week of AFIP to be paid to Motability for the hire or hire purchase of a vehicle. That is a cap on how much can be redirected out of your AFIP, not extra money on top of it, and it matches the enhanced PIP mobility rate.

AFIP and means-tested benefits

AFIP does not reduce your means-tested benefits. Pension Credit rules exclude it from income by name, alongside PIP, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance. Universal Credit does not count it as income at all, so it is ignored in full there too.

Other AFCS payments are treated differently, and the tariff lump sum in particular can count as capital. Our guide to AFCS and means-tested benefits goes through each payment and each benefit.