Updates
From time to time, the rules surrounding your benefits and entitlements may change. The MOD may also add new benefits or remove them. You can keep up to date with the latest changes and developments here.
May 2026
- May 14, 2026
Long-term relationships: Closing the gap on allowances
If you're in a long-term relationship, a range of allowances and support are now available to you - the same as your married or civil partnership colleagues.
Service Personnel in a Long-Term Relationship (Established) - known as LTR(E) - can now claim allowances and provisions that were previously unavailable to them, just like their married colleagues. This change came into effect from 1 May 2026.
Ten allowances are affected: Disturbance Expense (DE), Duty Travel, Get You Home (Travel), Home to Duty Travel, HM Forces Railcards, Local Overseas Allowance (LOA), Longer Separation Allowance (LSA), MOD Passport provisions, Movement and Storage of Personal Effects (MSPE), and Subsistence.
An LTR(E) is a committed partnership between two people who plan to stay together - just without the legal status of marriage or civil partnership. Defence formally recognises this type of relationship.
To claim allowances now available, Service Personnel must register their LTR(E) status on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system and provide the right evidence. Those who have already registered don't need to do anything else. Full details on how to register - including the application form - are available in the Recognition of an Established Long-Term Relationship: Defence Instruction Notice on defnet.
- May 12, 2026
Blue light card
Find out about the online and in-store discounts that are available to you with the Blue Light card.
