Earnings Loss Benefits and the Clawback of VAC Disability Pensions

I have not yet received a notice from VAC. However each case has to go to ajudication first, of that I was notified. I am sure they will look after the men and women that were zeroed out from ELB because of the clawback. Which is the way it should be. I'm at 40% under the old veterans pension act so I can wait for them to get their money first. But we will recieve retro cheques for October and November in the amount of your monthly pension. and soon after our cases are ajudicted we will see the permanent increase. I'm so happy because I'm in college and moved to a new city to attend and my rent doubled. I need the extra grand every month!

Has anyone received their notices from VAC re: the clawback of the disability portion of ELB? I guess its half an hour later in Newfoundland. lol

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/ottawa/story/2012/10/10/pol-veterans-affairs-benefits-changes.html

Very good news for 2500 families today!!!

Sitrep here's the phone number for the OVO 1-877-330-4343

The person who answers will take the info and assign it to an investigator. Make sure you tell them the strain on your finances for the month that this insane policy has done.

Just a note for everyone if you are having a problem with VAC and can't figure out why or have a problem with their explanation call the OVO. The Ombudsman needs this info to fight for us. They need to know so they can show if a certain problem is systemic then they can go to VAC and get it fixed.

I'll call the Ombudsman Tuesday afternoon when I get home from school teentitan. Thanks for the heads-up. I never thought of calling the ombudsman and if they can fix that for other vets, that would be great!

My thoughts are, if I have the list of books and the costs, why doesn't the gov just send the college a cheque?

It will be a tight month, but I'll survive. My friends are very supportive.

kindest regards

SITREP I'm sorry that the info did not come out at the end of August like I was told by the Ministers Office. But I will give you one guess what my first phone call on Tuesday morning is going to be to?

Oh, about your books give the Ombudsman's office a call and tell them the reason why VAC would not front you the money to pay for your books. This is an issue they want to know because if it's systemic they fight to fix it.

Ya, I'm pissed off. I really need the clawback to be over. I wasn't told until 2 months ago by VAC that I would have to pay for my college text books up front (and they are $950.00) and then would be reimbursed later. All said and done this month, after I paid my bills, bought food, 1 case of beer, new spectacles and gave my daughter extra money for school clothes on top of the child support I gave her mother, and a bus pass, I have $97.00 for the rest of the month. But if the clawback was over I would be fine. Now I have to borrow money from friends to make it to the end of the month.

This delay is a ll a bunch of horse shit.

Thanks for nothing VAC is all I have to say. And thanks for all the added stress, just before I return to school for the first time in 22 years.

Well, it's looking like Blaney's promise to release more information about the process and expected timeline for making the promised changes to the ELB and other benefits, by the end of August, is going to be more empty words and blatant lie perpetrated by the government to reduce public criticism on this beleaguered file. They must think that as long as they say on camera that they are supporting Veterans, it means that they don't actually have to do anything. Kind of like the old trick of walking around the ship with a clipboard, you didn't have to be doing anything, but the clipboard made you look busy. So to Blaney, his little soundbites in the news are his version of the clipboard.

Old zipperhead I agree with everything you said and i also think the law firm did a much better job this time of releaseing infomation. Thou i am a bit worried about the zero sum clients since to me it seems like its going to take along time looking throu all those files and we all know how long VAC takes with paperwork. Also with the retro it does not make sense to me, does it mean that everyone will get paid the first two years of sisip ltd then have to wait to see how long they have or if they quaifly again. Like i said i was zero sum from sept 2004 release until today, After the first 2 years was done i was declared total disabled and had to send sisip ltd mdical forms every year until the last one 2011. I am also tpi from VAC so still alot of uncertainty as to where we all fit . DO i get 8 years of the sisip ltd clawback back or only 2 who knows
navrat out

I have to admit there was some good info in this memo from the lawfirm.

I got the very distinct impression Mr. Toope the mediator is working with them and not against them.

As for the retroactive date I have always felt since Judge Barnes decision that was going to be the hard one. But when the memo said both sides agreed to get a court ruling for VAC and SISIP to share client injury info that was a very good indicator of co-operation between the two parties.

I received a message from the lawfirm that the next meeting is "tentatively" scheduled for Aug 23. That tells me they want as much agreed issues resolved for when they go in front of Judge Barnes at the end of Sept.

With all the posts on this forum I thought that some consolidating could be done regarding some issues that we veterans are worried about and hope are included in the negotiations. The list may not be complete and I welcome additions as people see them. I have also added some of my own opinions on the matter!

1. Retroactivity of Payment –This should be by right, the date stated in the class-action and I believe that it was 17 Apr 1985 to date. But I believe it should also be pushed back to the point when paying into SISIP became mandatory, which I believe was 1982. Also I believe:

a. Deceased members that would have been entitled, be paid out to their estate and surviving members of their family (spouse or children);
b. Surviving members who are permanently disabled and unable to work start to be paid back immediately and as far back as they are eligible;
c. Those members that should have been eligible for LTD payments throughout any re-hab training be paid accordingly up to the point when they became gainfully employed and reaching the 75% of pre-release salary or greater; and
d. If individual was able to return back to work, but at a job that was unable to make up the 75% of pre-release salary, be topped up by the SISIP LTD.

2. Zero-Sum clients – the question is when can they expect their payments to resume or get re-instated, so they can start collecting again;

3. The level of additional compensation for the mental & financial stress, along with the grief the claw-back caused. I think no one wants another slap in the face, especially under the conditions created by the claw-back;

4. Legal fees to be paid out – Our Lawyers definitely deserve payment at a level palatable to all concerned and from a source acceptable. Since the Government caused the problem and was conducting the illegal activity, they should be on the hook for whatever McInnis Cooper receives and not the Veterans; and

5. Taxes paid on back payment- This may be unavoidable, but the government should consider taxing the payment at the lowest taxation level.

Ya, its good advice teentitan.

I know it's agonizing not to know but VVi will try to get some info as soon as we can.

I know it will be hard to do but try to put all the worry and stress on this memo in a box, set it aside and try to enjoy the rest of your summer with your family.

I guess, I just need some good news for once. VRAB approved my back disability after fighting since 2005, but only at 1/5, so instead of the max of 72K, the most I can hope to get is 14K, if they give me the 5%, but I think they'll go lower than that. Plus, it's been over 3 weeks since their ruling and VAC hasn't even sent out a letter stating that their reviewing my case, and apparently they don't even have a required timeline for such unimportant things like actually paying the disability awards once they're awarded by VRAB. Add on the stress of waiting to see if they'll declare me TPI and approve the PIA, and the unknowns surrounding the SISIP negotiations and the ELB and I'm pulling what little hair I have left out.

And as far as the regulatory changes to the ELB that have to be approved in the House of Commons, if there was real political will to make the changes, it could be done a heck of a lot faster than 2013. The only reason the last changes that were proposed took so long was because they needed to be looked into and researched by the parties, and the numerous witnesses claiming that the changes weren't adequate, had to be heard. None of that should happen this time around, no debate needed, no witnesses to be heard. Submit it, vote on it, send it for royal assent and then implement it. All this could be done in a few weeks, if not days, if they really wanted it to.

I for one will believe any information that is on paper in my hands from The lawyers and SISIP and DVA, all saying the same thing with confirmation in the media, I wish it was over now like every one with positive results for us all but I can see that this has become all to consuming for a lot off us and I find it hard to focus on day to day life and some of the old habbits like sleepless nights bad dreams night sweats short temper...... are starting to slip back into the light and cause stress levels to rise, I can remember how mad I was when SISIP told me that I had to give them my DVA chq due to what they said was an over payment I was so sick at the time I could have gone to their head office and I am sure the end result would have been remembered for a long time (that chq was our hope for a better start), but i did not go to their office I just got sicker and lost my marrige almost completely screwed up my life and that of my kids, it has taken years, 10 to be exact to get to a point were I can feel safe enough to help others so for me I am goimg to STEP BACK for a while and check in every now and then and put in what I think might be worth saying to help,

I think we can all agree that we and our families have suffered enough!