Who qualifies
Disability pension applies to Armed Forces personnel who are invalided out — or deemed to have been invalided out — due to a disability that is attributable to, or aggravated by, military service. This covers injuries in combat, accidents during training, and ailments that were made worse by service conditions. It's distinct from regular service pension, which is based on years served rather than a service-connected injury or condition.
The eligibility threshold
Disability must be assessed at 20% or above by the Retention-cum-Impairment Assessment Medical Board (RIAMB) for disability pension to apply. The Medical Board's job is to give the actual, real assessed percentage — it doesn't round up or apply any banding itself.
Broad-banding: how the final percentage is set
Once the Medical Board's actual assessment is in, the Pension Sanction Authority applies broad-banding to arrive at the percentage your pension is actually based on:
| Actual assessed disability | Broad-banded to |
|---|---|
| Less than 50% | 50% |
| 50% – 75% | 75% |
| Above 75% | 100% |
Broad-banding applies for personnel retained in service despite the disability, as well as those invalided out — but only where the underlying attributable/aggravated condition is confirmed, and (for those retained) where the actual assessment is itself 20% or above and considered for life.
A note on the "presumption of service connection"
Courts have periodically reinforced that an illness is presumed to be service-related if no such condition was recorded by the medical board at the time of entry into service — this shifts the burden in disputed cases toward treating an illness that developed during service as connected to it, rather than requiring the individual to separately prove causation from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
What's the minimum disability percentage to qualify for disability pension?
20%, as assessed by the Retention-cum-Impairment Assessment Medical Board.
What is broad-banding?
A system that rounds your actual assessed disability percentage up into one of three bands (50%, 75% or 100%) for the purpose of calculating your disability pension element.
Does the Medical Board apply broad-banding itself?
No — the Medical Board reports only the actual assessed percentage; broad-banding is applied afterward by the Pension Sanction Authority.