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Comprehensive guide to veterans’ benefits in the UK: What you need to know
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23rd April 2026
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Veterans’ benefits are designed to offer financial help to those who’ve left the armed forces and their dependents. There is a wide selection of benefits available, depending on your situation, which can seem daunting, but slowly working through the options should help veterans and their families understand what applies to them.
Once you’ve narrowed it down, there’s advice and support on offer to ease the process of applying for military benefits after leaving the forces.
Types of benefits available
To help navigate the world of veterans’ benefits, it’s useful to start by looking at which area the support you’re looking for falls into. It’s likely to be one of the following:
Financial support
Financial aid for veterans comes in many forms from payments made because of injury in service to help with childcare costs and discounts on travel passes like railcards. Financial benefits may be categorised under one of the other sections, as monetary issues can affect other areas of life after leaving the military.
Health and wellbeing benefits
Armed forces veterans seeking payments because of injury, illness or disability resulting from service will take one of two routes. Those who left the military before April 6th, 2005 and who meet the criteria can apply for assistance through the War Pensions Scheme (WPS). The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) replaced the WPS from 2005, so service leavers after April 6th, 2005 can access this programme.
Both of these routes are also open to the widows, widowers, surviving civil partners or children in the event of your death as a result of service.
Housing and accommodation benefits
Leaving the armed forces usually means a change to your living arrangements, but there are a number of ex servicemen housing schemes to help with the transition to civilian life. These include the Veterans’ Nomination Scheme for social housing, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) referral scheme and the Haig Housing Trust.
Education and training benefits
The skills and training obtained in the armed forces can be very useful when applying for jobs once you’ve left service, especially if you’re going into a role that requires security clearance. There are often occasions, however, when veterans need to complete further education or retrain in order to secure their next position.
There’s a lot of support available for military leavers in terms of employment grants and bursaries that can facilitate moving into a civilian role.
Eligibility criteria
Every serviceperson has a different experience and finds themselves in their own unique circumstances. This means it takes multiple factors to be brought together so the right benefits can be applied. The criteria for veteran benefits are based on:
How to apply for benefits
Step 1: Work out what benefits you’re entitled to. This can be done with a benefits calculator or by getting in touch with Veterans UK or Veterans’ Gateway. These organisations are designed to offer support for service leavers and specialise in benefits and wellbeing.
Step 2: Veterans UK is contactable by email at veterans-uk@mod.gov.uk or by phone on 0808 1914218. Here you will receive guidance on how to make a veterans benefit claim and what you are likely to be entitled to.
Step 3: You’ll be required to fill out the relevant forms for the type of benefit you’re applying for and provide appropriate documentation, such as your Veteran ID card, service record and relevant financial statements. This can either be done online or in person if you’re not confident submitting information digitally.
It’s worth getting advice before submitting your claim to make sure you’ve included all the right information. This will not only speed up the process, but improve your chances of success.
Additional support and resources
There are a number of places where service leavers can get help with benefits. They include:
Key takeaways
Remember there is plenty of help available for veterans, with benefits on offer so service leavers in a variety of circumstances. Reaching out to one of the organisations above is a good place to start to ensure you’re getting the support you need whether it’s financial, medical, educational or related to your accommodation needs.
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