The soldier’s retirement benefits improve if he or she is medically downgraded due to a handicap. A disability pension can be 20%-50% higher than a regular pension for the same rank, on average, and it is free from income tax.
As a result of the CAG’s finding that nearly 40% of officers, and 18% of personnel below officer rank (PBOR), who retire annually are claiming disability pensions, the Union defense ministry has been tasked with conducting an examination of the causes of disability among soldiers.
These facts were uncovered when the national auditor looked into disability benefits paid out to former army members who were discharged between 2015-16 and 2019-20.
The CAG reported on Monday that between 15% and 18% of PBOR retirees and 36% to 40% of officers retired due to incapacity.
The soldier’s retirement benefits improve if he or she is medically downgraded due to a handicap. A disability pension can be 20%-50% higher than a regular pension, on average, for the same rank, and is free from income tax.
According to the CAG investigation, the medical corps has a disproportionately high number of officers who received disability pensions from the Army. It also raised alarm bells regarding lifestyle disorders like diabetes and hypertension being used to qualify for disability payments.
Furthermore, 22% of officer disability pensions and 13% of PBOR disability pensions were awarded solely on the basis of lifestyle disorders. The ministry “may ensure that full database with all essential information is maintained to conduct out a study of the primary reasons of incapacity, including lifestyle disorders among the defense forces for possible remedial action,” the report said.
The military’s top doctor expressed concern in December 2014 over a “alarming trend” of physically healthy officers utilizing the lower medical category to retire with larger tax-free pensions, as reported by the Washington Post.
“I would like to apprise you of an alarming trend evolving in the services with regard to claims for disability pension being preferred by senior officers of the rank of lieutenant general and major general, and their equivalent,” wrote Lieutenant General BK Chopra, then the director general of Armed Forces Medical Services, to the defense secretary.
According to a December 16, 2014 memo, “these senior officers, who had remained in Shape-1 medical category throughout their employment, suddenly present (themselves) with diseases…at the fag end of their service.”
Disability pension applications, officials said, increased dramatically after the implementation of the sixth pay commission report in 2006, which increased benefits.
The records were thoroughly examined, and it was found that very few high officers had requested disability benefits prior to 2006. In 2015 though, that number had risen to roughly 21 percent. Chopra has previously stated, “If someone has a handicap, they should reveal it earlier in service and not a few months before retirement.”
