The candidate is trumpeting his party's policy on military pensions, arguing the Liberal's plan to index retirement incomes is more generous to retired soldiers, sailors and airmen than Labor's.

The votes of military retirees and serving personnel in Eden-Monaro are being actively courted by both sides in what is expected to be a tight contest.

Sitting MP, Labor's Mike Kelly, announced last week that his party would switch from using the consumer price index (CPI) to index the payments to a pensioners and beneficiaries index.

Labor's policy, announced just hours before Dr Kelly fronted a meeting of retirees in Queanbeyan, will boost the pensions of 26,000 military personnel from next July.

But Mr Hendy said the Coalition's plan would give more money to more retirees by linking their pensions to the average weekly male earnings.

''Our policy is more generous on defence superannuation indexation,'' Mr Hendy said. ''We have said this for a number of years and it's been a policy we took to the 2010 election that we would change the indexation formula in line with the age pension as of the age of 55.

''The government's is only 65 years and above and that means that theirs I think covers about 20,000 and ours covers 57,000 superannuants and their families.

''It's fully costed and we stand by our costings.''

Under the Coalition's pledge, those who belong to the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits and the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits superannuation schemes, who are aged over 55, would have their military superannuation pensions indexed in the same way as age and service pensions are indexed.

The opposition calculates its promise would help 57,000 military superannuants at a cost of $98 million.

The government says that its reforms will cost $290 million over four years.

Dr Kelly holds the ''bellwether'' seat, which has always been held by the government of the day for the past 40 years, by a margin of just less than 2 per cent.