Despite all the medals and ceremonies, for the 65th anniversary of D-Day, many Forces veterans and their dependants are battling against financial hardship.

However, assistance is available to Britain’s Service families and their offspring, with 9.5 million people eligible for help from the Royal British Legion alone.

State benefits

People injured or disabled on service before April 6, 2005, are entitled to a war disablement pension. The payment is based on the injury suffered and may be paid as a lump sum or an income of up to £152.40 a week. Claimants who require daily care may also be eligible for the constant attendance allowance of up to £115 a week.

Those injured on or after April 6, 2005, are helped by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which pays a minimum lump sum of £1,155, and an income for life where serious loss of earnings is expected.

Pensions are also available for the widows, widowers and surviving partners of people who died on, or as a result of, service or received the war disablement pension at the 80 per cent rate or higher. Call the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency’s free helpline on 0800 1692277 for information on these and other benefits, or contact the Royal British Legion (see below).

Note that under a little-known “death on active service provision” inheritance tax is not payable by families where an injury sustained on active service can be shown to have hastened death.

Financial help

Significant assistance is available from organisations other than the State — notably the Royal British Legion and the benevolent funds of the Army, Navy and RAF. For information on these and other charities contact britishlegion.org.uk, or the Legionline on 08457 725725.

The legion itself helps anyone who has served for more than seven days, and their spouses, partners and dependent children. Sue Freeth, its director of welfare, says: “Unfortunately, only a fraction of the people we could help know the extent of what we do.”

Services include free advice on state benefits — including those not exclusively for veterans — and other financial matters, such as debt. The legion has helped many people to challenge unfair decisions on pensions and threats from creditors (see case study, opposite page).

It also offers a range of its own grants and interest-free loans for those suffering financial hardship — including loans of up to £5,000 for people starting small businesses.

Ms Freeth says that lesser-known facilities include the free Poppy Calls home maintenance service, which is now available in seven areas, including Yorkshire, Lancashire and South Wales. It is open to those eligible for help from the legion who claim at least one meanstested state benefit and enables users to request help with odd jobs, such as putting up a shelf.

Those in need of a break can stay without charge at the Poppy Break Centres at Bridlington, Southport, Weston-super-Mare and Portrush, or on a family activity or children’s adventure holiday. Breaks are all-inclusive and available under fixed circumstances — for example, where a person or family have not had time away from home in three years, or income is less than £25,000.

The charity Combat Stress (www.combatstress.org.uk) offers free, non-mean — assessed, treatment for veterans with mental health issues at short-stay centres in Shropshire, Surrey and Ayrshire.

Education

Royal British Legion advisers can direct former Services personnel and their dependants to funding for many vocational courses. Information is also available online from www.civvystreet.org, which advises on “resettlement, learning and work” for Forces leavers, or on the website’s helpline on 0800 1694073.

In addition, many private schools offer reduced fees for the children of Services personnel with discounts of 10 to 20 per cent worth thousands of pounds per year. The Government also contributes up to 90 per cent of boarding school fees where parents are stationed overseas. Information on the scheme is available from the Ministry of Defence’s Children’s Education Advisory Service on 01980 618244.

The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund offers education grants for the children of those killed or disabled on service. Details of these and the fund’s other services are at rafbf.org, or on 0800 1692942.

Care homes Many of today’s elderly served during the Second World War or on National Service, until 1960. They and their spouses are eligible for specialist care and nursing homes — many are subsidised and offer considerable added value over the competition.

For example, the Royal Star & Garter home in Richmond, southwest London, provides a packed programme of activities, including film screenings, choir practice and theatre trips, and gives “excellent care”, according to the latest report from Care Quality Commission, the regulator for England. The charity recently opened a second home in Solihull, Warwickshire, with more planned in coming years. Go to www.starandgarter.org.

The Royal British Legion runs seven of its own care homes and can advise on these and other care options — as well as sheltered housing for Service families and assistance towards fees.

One sheltered housing option for women who served as officers or warrant officers, or the wives, widows or unmarried daughters of officers or warrant officers, is the Royal Homes at Wimbledon. Residents pay £4,728 a year in rent, a maintenance charge, and utilities and get a self-contained flat in a well-located mansion block. For more information see theroyalhomeswimbledon.org.

Case study

Legion saved my home

David Sugden served for 26 years as a weapons engineer in the Royal Navy. The 45-year-old petty officer was medically discharged in 2006 after a heart condition was diagnosed. Unable to find work, he looked set to lose the Plymouth home he shares with his wife Samantha and four children.

He says: “I missed mortgage repayments, so I contacted the Royal British Legion. It and the Royal Naval Benevolent Fund paid half my arrears and got the lender to agree to me paying the rest back at £50 a month on top of the mortgage.”

The legion also intervened when Mr Sugden was turned down for disability living allowance. The decision was overturned, and it helped him to apply for and secure a war disability pension.