“Thanks so much for your help and support with this. Certainly helped clear things up for me and without your guidance, I wouldn’t have gotten to the bottom of this anytime soon, if ever!“
Alan, a former Royal Marine, was tied up in knots and disheartened, drowning under the weight of interminable bureaucracy. He had for many years been unsuccessfully trying to challenge his minimal pension payout following medical discharge due to the hearing loss suffered as a result of his seven years’ service.
His payout had been just a few thousand pounds, but he felt entitled to additional compensation however was getting nowhere; the multiple agencies involved with making such a claim meant he was going around in never-ending circles.
Exasperated with no seeming end in sight, and with little expectation, he finally turned to RMA – The Royal Marines Charity’s War Pensions & AFCS (Armed Forces Compensation Scheme) team to ask if there was any support they might give.
Having assessed all the available paperwork, the team quickly responded: ‘Currently there is a lot of confusion and we need to try and help sort this out for you. From what we have been told so far, we believe you should have received a lump sum based on your service under the 2005 Pension Scheme and a separate payment from your AFCS claim.’
They set about methodically unravelling Alan’s case, then itemising everything that he needed to do, how – and with whom. They clearly and concisely explained all the relevant regulations and various appeal limitations, setting out how these might impact the steps required for him to successfully submit a claim.
Having followed their guidance, he was overjoyed to be contacted by JPAC (the MoD’s Joint Personnel Administration Centre) and, after completing one final form, at long last receiving the gratifying news that he was indeed due almost FOUR times the amount he had originally received!