War Pension contact number

War Pension and AFCS: the Veterans UK Helpline

The Veterans UK Helpline handles War Pension Scheme and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme enquiries: new claims, existing awards, reviews, payments and allowances. The freephone number is 0808 1914 218, and lines are open 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

From outside the UK, call +44 1253 866 043. You can email veterans-uk@mod.gov.uk, or write to Veterans UK, Ministry of Defence, Norcross, Thornton Cleveleys, FY5 3WP, United Kingdom.

The helpline is also where you request paper claim forms if you cannot download or print them, including form WPS0012 for a deterioration review.

Your AFPS service pension is a different number

This is the distinction that causes most of the wasted calls. The War Pension Scheme and the AFCS are compensation for injury or illness caused by service. Your AFPS pension is the pension you earned through your career, and it is administered separately.

For AFPS pension enquiries, including forecasts, preserved pensions and payments in retirement, contact the Joint Personnel Administration Centre on 0800 085 3600 from the UK, 0044 141 224 3600 from overseas, or 94560 3600 on the military network. The email address is dbs-pensionshelp@dbspv.mod.uk, and the postal address is JPAC, Mail Point 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX.

Our JPAC page explains what that office does, and Veterans UK explained covers the wider organisation.

Which number do I need?

Call the Veterans UK Helpline on 0808 1914 218 if your question is about an injury, an illness, a disablement assessment, a tariff award, a Guaranteed Income Payment, a war widow's pension, or a claim or review under either compensation scheme.

Call JPAC on 0800 085 3600 if your question is about the pension you built up through service: how much it will be, when it is payable, a forecast, a lump sum, commutation, a preserved pension or a payment that has not arrived.

If you genuinely have both, which is common after a medical discharge, you will need both numbers, because neither office can answer for the other.

What to have ready before you call

Have your service number, National Insurance number and date of birth available, plus any existing claim or award reference. For a compensation query, knowing roughly when the injury or illness occurred saves time, because the date decides whether the claim sits under the War Pension Scheme or the AFCS.

If you are calling on behalf of someone else, including a bereaved family member calling about a war widow's pension, be ready to explain your relationship to the member; Veterans UK will explain what authority it needs before it can discuss a case.