applying for ill health pension

zaksmum

My husband has applied for his enhanced company pension on the grounds of his ill health. He has supplied the required number of medical reports from various doctors, all of which support his claim and agree that he should be allowed his ill health pension.

The pension trustees don't meet for another month, at which time they will consider whether to accept the claim. Meanwhile my husband is signed off as unfit for work by his own GP.

His company now say they can dismiss my husband without compensation if they wish, as his application for the ill health pension indicates he is no longer fit for work and is unlikely to be again.

Is this true? Does anyone know?

seven-day-weekend

Yes, they can afaik, they don't have to allow him to take his pension unless he is of an age where he could take it because of his age.

However, I am no expert on this, so someone please correct me if I am wrong..

zaksmum

He is of an age where he can take it, we did check this of course.

What I meant was, can the company dismiss him saying he's no longer fit to do his job just because he has applied for the pension?

seven-day-weekend

As far as I know they can dismiss someone if they are unfit to do the job through ill-health, whether or not they have applied for their pension.

However, if your husband is of an age to take his pension, I don't see how they can stop him taking it (although he may not get the enhancements).

Again. someone correct me if I'm wrong.

cattie

SDW is correct, you can be dismissed if unable to do job through ill health, it happened to me after being in job for 10yrs. No compensation has to be paid for such dismisal.

Procedures do have to be followed, ie employers are entitled to ask you have a medical with dr of their choosing and also to ask of likely date when you might be able to return to work. If no future date known or not able to return to work, then you can be dismissed on grounds stated above.

As your husband has already submitted evidence that he is no longer fit for job, the employers are free to dismiss him.

MikeJones_2

Hi zaksmum,

Sorry to hear of your husband's predicament. I read your post with interest and I'd make the following observations for you to consider:

zaksmum wrote: »

My husband has applied for his enhanced company pension on the grounds of his ill health. He has supplied the required number of medical reports from various doctors, all of which support his claim and agree that he should be allowed his ill health pension.

If you don't mind me asking, how do you know whether each/all of the medical reports (a) support the claim and (b) to what extent (see below)?

zaksmum wrote: »

The pension trustees don't meet for another month, at which time they will consider whether to accept the claim.

Some pension schemes provide ill-health benefits for active members before Normal Retirement Age but the benefits can vary greatly. It depends upon the Scheme Rules and the current policy of the Scheme Trustees in dealing with this situation.

Alternatively, your husband's employer (rather than his pension scheme) may have taken out an insurance policy to cover employees that suffer ill health. The insurance company would pay benefits to the employer who could maintain his membership in the scheme and / or pay part of his earnings up to normal retirement age. However, from what you have posted, it seems that this is not what is available.

Unfit to work
Your husband needs to be aware that Scheme Rules can be complex and convoluted and never moreso than when it comes to ill health benefits (where these are available).

Ill health forms one of the single largest categories of complaints submitted to The Pensions Ombudman and it might be time well spent for your husband to read a handful of the determinations to get a 'handle' on some of the potential problems that crop up.

I mention this so that your husband can start to read up on his pension scheme's ill health criteria, just in case. He is entitled to a copy of the Scheme Rules.

In terms of 'unfit to work' for example, will this mean unfit for ANY job within the company or just the role that your husband performs in the normal course of his employment?

If he is a manual labourer for example, and his ill health precludes him from completing his normal activities at work, could the employer find him alternative work which may or may not include retraining? (e.g. could he sit at a desk and type in or dictate data into a computer?).

zaksmum wrote: »

His company now say they can dismiss my husband without compensation if they wish, as his application for the ill health pension indicates he is no longer fit for work and is unlikely to be again.

I'll play the devil's advocate here and ask the question: how does the employer already know what the medical reports reveal?

If your husband has put in an application for early payment of his pension on the grounds of ill health, I'd have expected the MRs to be sent to the Trustees rather than the employer even where the consent of the employer may be required (as is somethimes the case) before the Trustees pay ill health benefits.

Secondly, and as explained above, what measures has the employer taken to consider alternative positions for your husband in light of his ill health?

As I said at the beginning, I hope these pointers give you food for thought and at the very least give you insight into some of the ill health issues that regularly come to light in complaint cases.

Best of luck, and if you'd care to let us know how this pans out, I'd be interested to know of the eventual outcome.

Mike

I work in the field of Pension Education and Pension Guidance in the UK. I am a member of the Specialist Pensions Forum as well as being a Voluntary Adviser for The Pensions Advisory Service. I work with scheme members, employers, trustees, scheme administrators and advisers on most things to do with employer sponsored pension schemes. The views expressed by me in this thread are my personal opinions. You should seek professional advice from an appropriately experienced and qualified adviser. I am not an IFA.