JSA am I entitled if I retire early

tanith

Its looking more likely that I may have to retire early on health grounds and I am just wondering what I could possibly claim to boost my very small occupational pension.. I would possibly be able to do a less physical job but at my age it is by no means certain anyone would employ me .

I am 57 so no state pension yet and my work pension is going to be only £65 per week , I will still have a OH working but his earning will not cover our mortgage etc alone... so can I claim JSA or anything else to tide me over till my state pension kicks in ?

Ted_Hutchinson

If when your present employment comes to an end and you feel able to continue working you may be entitled to contribution-based jobseeker's allowance however that only lasts a few months and if they consider you became unemployed willfully of your own choosing they may inflict a waiting period which will eat into the eligible period this may be followed by income-based jobseeker's allowance but if you partner is working full time you will probably not be eligible. It is more likely that you may qualify of incapacity benefit if you remain unfit for work.
This can continue until you retire assuming you meet the [PCA requirements

I cannot get onto the DWP website at the moment but when it's working look for the booklet ib214 which gives details of the medical assessment for Incapacity Benefit. I am sure you appreciate that Mr Blair has his heart set on reducing the number of IB claimants.
Your pension will reduce the amount of IB you can recieve by 50p for each £1 above £85 with some exceptions.

tanith

I was looking at IB to see if that would be available to me but I reckon I would be borderline and do not consider myself disabled although several of the criteria seem to apply to me and it seems extremely difficult to get and I am sure will be more so in months to come.. I just wonder what happens to people like me who have such a small pension and mortgage etc and an OH that earns relatively a low income , would I be eligable for any mortgage help? at least with the interest.. I am now not physically able to do the job I am employed for but I am hoping they can find me something that I can manage until 60 but this is by no means certain...

Ted_Hutchinson

Have you tried the calculator at Entitledto to see if that helps? I suspect you will be too rich to get help but not sufficiently rich to be able to manage.

CAB ADVICEGUIDE Help for people with low incomes

ohreally

tanith wrote:

I am now not physically able to do the job I am employed for

Be aware that DDA legislation may give you some scope towards encouraging your employer to look at your situation in a favorable light. This may mean making reasonable adjustments to your job or routine, perhaps changing your hours to enable a latter start for example, ensure your work is risk assessed for you personally rather than generic assessments, to redeploying you with appropriate training into another role.
I'm a union steward and this is something that has had an impact in my role over the last couple of years. Obviously, working for a very small employer may exclude many of the above.
As a point of interest does your occupational pension scheme offer you extra years of service if you are being pensioned off eg 11 years of pensionable service would be increased to 20 years, it may be worth looking into the finer details of the scheme.

tanith

I am this week seeing my occy health doc , I am an Ambulance Woman and no longer able to fulful full duties, I am already on so called 'light duties' and I am hoping to continue with that if possible otherwise it is a 'control' job that will probabely be offered to me which I want to avoid if possible as this will mean traveling into Central London everyday and taking on 12hr shifts.

So I assume that if they offer me something and I refuse it I will be making myself unemployed. I can take my pension early (its an NHS pension) not sure about the fine print I have 19yrs service so the pension will not be enough to keep the wolf from the door...... I keep meaning to get in touch with my Unison rep but they always seem pretty toothless and useless and agree with management more times than not.

ohreally

If you're managing on 'light duties' and are prepared to continue then this is something to build from.
Is your 19 years your total years of service or is it 19 years of pensionable service (when you started there would have been a two year qualifying period before joining the scheme)? If you are sitting on 17 years of pensionable service and you get a pension deal from your employer they will likely 'make you up' to 20 years service and base your entitlement on that, try and hang on to pass the 20 year mark as it may be to your advantage as you should be able to be made up to just over 26 years of service, iirc.
How did your condition arise, is it job related? Is the occ health consultant being supportive and helpful?
Your worst case scenario is for him to advise personnel that you are unlikely to become fully fit to resume normal duties in the foreseeable future, personnel to then terminate your contract on capability grounds and for http://www.nhspa.gov.uk to fail to agree that your condition may be permanent and end up in a limbo with no job or pension. Please make contact with your Unison rep sooner rather than later. You can contact your branch office if your unsure of the most appropriate rep to deal with your case. Unison also have a branch welfare officer that may be able to offer assistance, access him/her through your branch....http://www.unison.org.uk/welfare/index.asp

tanith

You are correct I have 17and half years pensionable service and it would be 20yrs and 91 days at 60yrs.

My condition is Osteo/Arthritis , had spinal surgery 6yrs ago , with good recovery. R Hip/replacement 2yrs ago again with an excellent recovery and now the left hip is deteriorating slowly and will need replacing within 1yr or so. also have O/A in my hands and wrists. As this is wear and tear condition I cannot blame the job although that is no doubt where the damage has occured..

I am obviously reluctant to do any heavy physical lifting and find that continuous driving for more than 1hr painful. I am currently employed in Patient Transport driving an auto car which I can manage most of the time on relatively short journeys..

I intend to tell the O/H doctor that I wish to continue working but I may need to move from my present position to something with shorter journeys. I saw O/H 18mths ago when I first had problems with the 2nd hip and he said that I could be excused any heavy duty work until the 2nd hip was replaced ,this is deteriorating slower than anticipated. I guess I will see someone completely different tomorrow . I will never be fully fit but for the last 3/4 yrs I had been allowed by my previous manager to just do driving (no lifting) duties.

I will take your advice and contact the Unison Rep

Thanks for the advice its been invaluable.. I have spent the last 4/5 weeks in a state of panic not knowing what to do for the best and my very new manager just wrote to me with the O/H app and the name and address of the new HR department which has taken over my department... so I guess he is expecting me to sort out this mess............ I don't think he knows what to do with me....

ohreally

tanith wrote:

I have spent the last 4/5 weeks in a state of panic not knowing what to do for the best and my very new manager just wrote to me with the O/H app and the name and address of the new HR department which has taken over my department... so I guess he is expecting me to sort out this mess............ I don't think he knows what to do with me....

The onus is on your manager, with support from OH and HR, to manage you, thats his job! I wouln't read too much into the communication you've just received regarding the oh appt, it's likely to be a routine. Were you given a review date by the oh consultant following you previous visit? It would be good practice for them to review your case and work load at least 1 a year.
Hope you reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Your OA may be well due to lifting etc in your job, and it would be well worth your while checking that out carefully as it may mean you could be 'medically' retired on a better pension than otherwise. Certainly all my OA, neck and hips, is due to the type and amount of sport I indulged in when I was younger. Hope this helps

ohreally

Any news on progress?