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Medical Release, Yes, No

troyak

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Quick Biography. Many years as a helicopter Pilot. Back injury currently has me grounded, I don't think it is going to get any better with rest.

I am mid 50s and was planning on serving till I time expired at 60 to maximize my pension (I lost a good chunk to a divorce).

My question is

In order to keep serving till I can maximize my pension, should I suck it up and risk making my condition worse, or is there any benefit (aside from not making my condition worse), to accepting a medical release?

Talking to a friend who is in a similar position and is medically releasing very soon, said that with a medical release his pension will immediately by indexed. This is not a factor for me as I have already hit the magic number of 85.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Having to release for some other reason, vice finishing my time is scary!
 
Quick Biography. Many years as a helicopter Pilot. Back injury currently has me grounded, I don't think it is going to get any better with rest.

I am mid 50s and was planning on serving till I time expired at 60 to maximize my pension (I lost a good chunk to a divorce).

My question is

In order to keep serving till I can maximize my pension, should I suck it up and risk making my condition worse, or is there any benefit (aside from not making my condition worse), to accepting a medical release?

Talking to a friend who is in a similar position and is medically releasing very soon, said that with a medical release his pension will immediately by indexed. This is not a factor for me as I have already hit the magic number of 85.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Having to release for some other reason, vice finishing my time is scary!
Tough one, and sorry about your back. After a couple of thousand helo hours myself, I can relate!

You might want to reach out to a Financial advisor that you trust, who also understands CAF pensions. Your local SISIP office might be a good bet. I have found (personal experience only) that the financial advisors at the big banks don’t understand the intricacies of our pension, but if you get a variety of opinions, you should start to narrow down the best path for you.

Good Luck!
 
Firstly, a potential disability pension is a different beast than your service pension - I’d highly recommend talking with the Flt Surg to make sure you have suitable documentation of your condition as well as getting in contact with VAC to familiarize yourself at least with the disability pension structure and requirements to claim.

Secondly, one’s health, such as it is at the moment even if challenged, should be a goal to maintain in as good a condition as possible. The incremental ‘bit more’ money may seem enticing, but if it comes at the cost of deteriorating health, how useful is that incremental money.

I consider myself fortunate that over thousands of hours of fling-wing time (including hundreds of NVG hours) over a few decades, I got away with just a slight (non-painful) restriction in neck rotation in one direction. I’d suggest you focus on what will support any improvement of your current condition and avoidance of further degradation and go from there.

Good luck!

Regards
G2G
 
Thankyou for your replies, I will be talking to the flight surgeon next week.
 
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