ill health retirement

[Whatnowfgs]

Has anyone any experience of ill health retirement due to a long term health condition.

In the last three years I have had 3 long stretches of ill health absent for 4-5 months at a time due to joint pain (Rheumatoid Arthritis)

Despite having a consultant and many treatments it's just getting too hard to continue.

How do I start looking into this. What are the first steps?
It seems that one of the criteria is that all of the treatment options have been tried but they are high risk and I am already on biologics.

At what point do you decide it's just too hard. I am 52

Financially can you afford to retire? If so do it

I am an early retiree, I am 53 years of age. I have Bipolar, and anxiety, and also osteoarthritis among other problems... I didn't realise how much of an adverse effect working full time was having on my conditions until I lost my job when DVLA stopped me driving on medical grounds, and I could no longer reach my place if work. It was while leisurely looking for work I realised I felt I was managing my health so much better. So I kind of accidentally retired really. If you can afford it, give it a try. If it isn't for you, then you can easily return to work in some form - you don't have to work full-time or everyday, or even all day, or all year. It raises a brow sometimes when people ask what I do, but jealousy is their problem right! GL

I have a heart condition that is exacerbated by stress. I looked into claiming my work pension which I did, this gives me a small income. We sold our house in the South East and moved to the South West which freed up enough money for me to retire early.

For me personally its not been an unmitigated success, but that is mainly due to my own mental health and missing my home area far more than I thought I would, and the area we have come to not being as nice as I thought it was.

I could have gone for official ill health retirement and got a higher pension, but that would have meant jumping through a lot of hoops and my mental health was not up to it. In hindsight I should've just gone off with long term stress and played it out until they got fed up and offered me it, but I was having a breakdown at the time and made poor decisions all round.

I can afford it if I get employment support allowance and that the ability to claim this isn't affected by the upcoming budget.

I would get a small pension and be able to claim carers for my disabled son which I currently can't due to earning too much.

I suppose I am a little anxious about ending up with 15 years to go to I get State Pension and having a low income and a lot could happen in those years. I need to balance that with the fact that I am too ill to really work and have been struggling along for a while now.

I also feel that my health improves when I don't have the stress of work on top of being a carer and if I retire in a few months I might regret the loss of the "me time!" lol, income and independence that work gives.

It's a very difficult decision to make.

Would you qualify for employment and support allowance/uc with no requirement to work? If you can do a job, though not necessarily the job you currently do, you will not qualify for benefits until state retirement age.

I doubt that I would qualify for UC but I would have paid enough National Insurance credits for the type of Employment and Support allowance that is based on those. Whether or not I would be awarded it I have no idea. That's why it's all so hard to work out. I have quite severe arthritis in my hands and feel so I would like to think I would have a good chance but the benefits system doesn't always work that way.

You cannot claim esa and carers allowance at the same time. There is a carers element you could get with the esa but it seems to be at a lower rate than CA.

I got it at 57 . My job was destroying my mental health. ( teaching🙄)

I was retired on health grounds age 45 12 years ago from the Civil Service. My pension just about equals what I would have got in salary, I get ESA & PIP as well.

What job do you do OP?

I'm a primary school teacher and believe that unless my severe asthma significantly improves this is the route I will end up on.

I'm 55 in 3 weeks time. For me if I got IHR I'd be on the same pension if I retired at 60 which is my NPA from teaching.

I had breast cancer in 2021-22 and as a result now have a severe form of asthma. I'm currently being treated for it and occupational health have said until all medication has been explored and attempted I probably wouldn't qualify yet. I was also told you need to be off on long term sick for 6 months or so.

You definitely need to ask to be referred to OH.

I was given ill health retirement in my 30s. It will depend on your terms and conditions mine stated I must be dismissed on health grounds (having already exhausted any adjustments such as reducing hours etc), must be currently contributing to the pension, be assessed by a senior occupational health Dr who must agree that I could no longer work in any roll for my employer (or in any job outside the company). After all that was done it had to go to an independent OH Dr who made the final decision. Its a long process and you must not resign during it. Collect as much documentation as you can and get the support of your consultants.
I get Pip, esa (reduced due to pension), uc and pension. The only issue is I'll probably loose uc entitlement when dc get to 18 (I'll only be in my late 40s so along time till state pension on a tiny work pension and not sure how I'll manage university costs).
Are you in a union mine were invaluable in the process (I really didn't want to go down this route but had no choice as I was unable to return to work after complications after an operation). The union talked me through the whole process, were with me at all meetings and gave me a financial support payment to help.

Yes I am in the union and pay into the pension.

That's a good idea I will maybe contact the union.

I am a pharmacist so on my feet all day. Have already had reasonable adjustments right down to only doing two days per week and other things.

You can't get New style ESA and carers allowance at the same time. ESA would be higher. Also a private pension would reduce ESA if the pension is over £85 a week I believe. There is no carers premium on contributions based ESA which is the only ESA now available to claim. You could look at UC but that would take into account partners earnings and savings etc.

It's a very small pension so it wouldn't be over £85 a week.

I didn't know that about the carers though. I really don't know if I can afford to retire or not but I am not sure what other options I have.

If I just get dismissed on capability grounds I won't even have the very small pension.

New style ESA starts off at around £85 a week with the potential to rise after assessment if awarded LCWRA. But as pp said that would depend on you being assessed really as not being able to do any kind of work. But if you weren't awarded ESA you do have the carers allowance to fall back on. There are proposals for the whole ESA/ LCWRA system to change but may not happen .

Apologies, my reply wasn’t right.@Babyroobs is.

Can you downsize? Thats what I'm in the process of selling up and being mortgage free

That is a very small pension!

Are you sure that is correct?

Have you contacted your pension provider to ask?

Some medical retirement plans give you what you would have received if you had paid in at your full salary until retirement age.

They all have different rules. And can also have different tiers.

You need to know exactly what yours is not go on other people's.

Could you go into something like MI? My mum was a senior pharmacy tech but arthritis meant she could no longer do wards/dispensary so she moved to office based MI part time and loved it for last maybe 10y of her career

If you are a qualified pharmacist then there would be opportunities for desk based work /WFH in the pharmaceutical industry. Keep up your registration if you do retire in case you do wish to return to work later.

I think I am going to see what reasonable adjustments are available that might allow me to keep working.

It's difficult as a carer and with arthritis to change to industry or primary care pharmacy at this stage.

My pension is so small because I only do two days a week and I didn't join the pension scheme until my 40's due to kids etc

sorry to hijack an old thread but can I ask if the process was difficult? I'm in basically the same position as you were, have just posted in chat, but seems like you might have some of the answers I'm looking for! when did you know it was time to consider ill health retirement or was it suggested to you?

Have you tried HRT too? If you are disabled with it your employer has t make reasonable adjustments. Look at benefits you can have. Alter your home to allow for issues eg stairlift, accessible bathroom while you can afford it or even move if necessary.

It took 9 months from when I was dismissed to when I got my first payment. I had to go to stage 3 appeal, they need proof that you have over a 50% chance of not working before retirement age. I knew it was time when I had been off sick for over a year due to my mental health, having 4 operations in 9 months & my other health conditions.

thanks, I hope things have improved for you a bit now