They served their country and now, it seems, many are being short-changed. A welfare adviser is calling for veterans to come forward and claim entitlements, with estimates that up to 15,000 of those who served in wars and emergencies are missing out. Their New Zealand Super income could be boosted by a war disablement pension of $182.02 a week, depending on their level of disability. That's money which would go a long way towards helping the oldest, those who served in World War II, cope with rising medical bills. Many could also switch from NZ Super to the veteran's pension, which offers extra help with costs like medical bills. It is not reduced should the recipient have to go into long-term care, and provides a surviving spouse's pension. Currently just under 15,000 are receiving the extra help and Auckland RSA pension and welfare adviser Matthew McMillan says that's not good enough. Overseas experience shows for every veteran claiming entitlements, there are two or three who don't. McMillan advertised in a local paper calling for veterans to come to him to have their pensions assessed. Over two lunchtimes at Auckland's New Lynn RSA last week more than 200 war veterans, mostly WWII veterans, took up the offer. Some cases shocked McMillan. "We had a nuclear test veteran come in. He's riddled with cancer and he's getting bugger all, just NZ Super." One 88-year-old McMillan helped recently was managing on NZ Super alone, despite being eligible for a war disability pension, and despite being the main caregiver for his even more disabled wife. McMillan says it isn't just because of ignorance that veterans are missing out. "A lot of them are hugely proud, and hugely stubborn. They don't want to be seen as bludgers." But he says: "These aren't handouts. It is just what veterans are entitled to." McMillan says little is being done to ensure veterans are getting the entitlements and there is not even a reliable record of who they are. Two years ago Winz started asking retirees applying for NZ Super whether they served in the forces, but only after a three-year battle, McMillan says. Now the largest cohort of veterans - those that served in World War II - are dying at a rapid rate. "We are trying to catch them before it is too late," McMillan says. Last week Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins announced the completion of a restructuring designed to speed up case handling, something the Law Commission had dubbed "unacceptable". The commission is reviewing war pensions legislation, but believes the number of those missing out on entitlements may be lower than overseas predictions. Collins says the onus is on veterans to claim war pensions. "If you don't ask for it, you don't get it."
