Medical retirement

LucyDewsnap

Hello all, 

I'm writing on behalf of my consenting partner who faces a difficult turning point. She has been employed by the council for almost 10 years and due to deteriorating conditions she faces early medical retirement in her mid 20's. This is difficult but our main concern lies to financing this life change. We are aware that there is support available however, any advice around benefits, medical retirement or coping with the change would be very much appreciated. Many Thanks

calcotti

Depending on how her health condition affects her ability to carry out prescribed tasks Personal Independence Payment (not means tested).
If her ability to work is limited new style ESA (not means tested).

Universal Credit and Council Tax Reduction are means tested benefits and entitlement will depend on your joint finances.
.

Tori_Scope

Hi @LucyDewsnap Thank you for joining the community, it's great to have you with us!

I can imagine that'd be a stressful situation for the two of you, so I'm glad you felt as though you could reach out to us. 

Just to provide some further context to calcotti's helpful reply, here are a few links you might find useful:

• PIP descriptors (pipinfo.net) - have a look through and see whether any of the descriptors are relevant to her experience. It's good to try and think of a few real world examples for each descriptor that's relevant to her to demonstrate this
• information on New Style ESA (gov.uk)
• information on Universal Credit (understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk)
• benefits calculator (Turn2Us) - to see what you may be entitled to 

Perhaps you could give those links a read and let us know whether you have any further questions? 

calcotti

Thanks, Tori. I meant to include links to calculators in my earlier but got diverted.

LucyDewsnap

She has 13 conditions unfortunately both progressive and chronic, we have a service dog to support her and she has gone through just about every sickness, adaptation and pilot procedure for her to be able to carry out a job which is now done at home, with adaptations to the house. It has been suggested to her for the last three years as her condition has worsened. She is already receiving pip however we are aware this already needs re assessing due to new conditions. We are just at the stage of obtaining letters from gp’s and specialists- thank you all so much for your input! The links are so helpful 

Libby_Alumni

Hi @LucyDewsnap, 

I'm really glad our members could help and I hope you manage to find some time to look at the resources that @Tori_Scope mentioned

I can imagine psychologically, that it's going to be a big change for your partner and with any change comes some unpredictability. This resource from the British Heart Foundation might be useful - 20 tips for a happy retirement. I realise that your partner's situation is unique because she is so young, but I do think there will be some helpful tips within the article that your partner can use during the transition out of work  

I hope the above helps and if you have any further questions, then please let me know.

Libby

calcotti

LucyDewsnap said:..She is already receiving pip however we are aware this already needs re assessing due to new conditions. 

PIP is bot based on diagnosis/conditions. It is based on the impact these have on the ability to carry out the prescribed activities. There is nothing to report unless there has been deterioration in her ability to do the activities to the required standard and these changes would result in an increased post score which would in turn lead to a change in the level of award.

LucyDewsnap

@calcotti thank you for that! Unfortunately these new diagnosis’ are doing exactly that, hence the push to medical retirement as she is no longer able to perform her job, even with adaptations and support in place, the conditions are somewhat progressive sadly

LucyDewsnap

Username_removed said:

Medical retirement is a fairly difficult thing to get. Your partner is extraordinarily young for this. Is this an actual medical retirement or something else?

It’s medical retirement through a council post of which she’s attained for 9 years, disability doesn’t have an age l’m afraid. She’s gutted! 

JaneC_

Hi @LucyDewsnap, Welcome and thank you for your question.
I'm sorry to hear about your Partners problems which must be difficult for both of you.

Medical Retirement is quite difficult but still a real possibility. If Councils are considering early retirement they usually make a referral to Occupational Health (OH). Have they done that?

The Council should be able to give you a document (or link), which sets out the what is required to be eligible for early medical (or ill health as its often called) retirement under their pension scheme. This will also help you find out what evidence you need to provide and how to apply for medical retirement.  

Often you have to demonstrate that the employee is unable to work and will be unto the normal retirement date.

If your partner is in a union they would be able to help you.

If you need any help with the process or have any other questions, please ask.

I hope this helps
Jane

calcotti

LucyDewsnap said:

@calcotti thank you for that! Unfortunately these new diagnosis’ are doing exactly that, ..

I inferred that might be the case but flagged it just in case.

LucyDewsnap

@JaneC_

Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful! 

We're blown away with the support available on here. 

She has had countless referrals to OH and thankfully the team there are excellent at supporting her, We are looking into these documents and will be seeking support from her union rep, hopefully she will have a fighting chance at this. 

thanks again! 

JaneC_

@LucyDewsnap
I’m glad you are getting support and good luck.
If you need further help do ask
best wishes