Early retirement on health grounds

Hi, sorry to hear about your health problems, anything to do with the spine is generally never great….i know!

With regards your question, the first thing to realise is that IHR (I’ll health retirement) is not an easy process to go through, is a very lengthy process and there is no guarantee of a successful outcome or pension award.

Generally speaking to be considered for IHR you would already have a fairly lengthy timeline (years usually) of ill health, sick periods, Occupational health referrals and will have tried and exhausted all reasonable adjustments at work first.

The first thing I would advise is that you get a copy of your specific pension policy which will tell you about retirement through ill health and the criteria you would need to meet…..these criteria are not optional, you will have to meet all of them

Any other benefits you get will not be taken into account for an IHR application and they do not ask about them. It is a standalone application process which will require you to provide extensive medical evidence in your favour against a number of pension descriptors

it is maybe worth checking with your employer to see if they meant IHR or capability retirement….they are different.

IHR application can also be related to how long you have worked for the employer etc….again a pension policy will tell you

If I can be anymore help please ask and I will try and help you figure things out if I can.

Hi again aicha,

I just wanted to reiterate the importance of finding out what it is your employer is actually suggesting to you. This is very important to helping you make the best choices or decisions

As an employee you have employee rights and should never be steered towards a particular solution without fully knowing the pros and cons of what’s on offer.

Please let us know how you get on and feel free to ask questions if unsure about anything.

S