Disability pension

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability. An example of a disability pension is the Canada Pension Plan. Another example is Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in the United States.

In Australia, people on disability pension receive more money than someone would get on any kind of unemployment benefit, unless they had children or were aboriginal (or both).

The United Kingdom equivalents are:

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) which is a benefit for people under 65 years of age who have walking difficulties or need personal care due to physical or mental disability. Attendance Allowance (AA) which is a benefit for people aged 65 or over who need help with personal care due to physical or mental disability.

In New Zealand income support exists for people with physical or mental health issues. The two main disability benefits are the Sickness Benefit, and the Invalid's Benefit. A doctor's referral and medical certificate (or equivalent) is needed to claim the benefits. The Invalids Benefit is for someone who has a severe disability, and/or long term sickness, which is paid slightly more than the Sickness Benefit. In addition, there is the Disability Allowance, to supplement medical costs. If the Disability Allowance does not pay for all medical costs, then Temporary Additional Support is provided, but obtaining it is more difficult. All of these benefits have maximum limits, depending on such things as income (both the individual and their partner) and cash assets. Note that the Sickness Benefit and Invalid's Benefit are for people aged less than 65 but the Disability Allowance is for anyone over 18 years.