Pension options when in poor health before retirement age

Alice_Holt

BooJewels wrote: »

I've just been looking again since I posted and ESA seems the only one with potential, but at the moment, we have just enough savings to prevent us claiming. Give us some time and that will soon disappear, as that's what we're living on. And at £70 for a round trip taxi fare to visit him will rapidly eat away at that - although I'm clearly not going every day at that price.

I'm not going to post on the Benefits board at the moment as there are questions they're likely to ask that I don't want to post in public. Some areas, by definition, end up being too personal. We have an allocated specialist nurse and she has already said she'll discuss this with us when my husband is anywhere close to coming home.

Re PIP - " but I can't see him getting enough of the right scores to get close to qualifying."

New Style ESA is not means tested.
It is based on NI contributions during the last 2 tax years.
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Employment-and-Support-Allowance/Who-can-get-Employment-and-Support-Allowance

If you are not going to post on the benefits board, go to your local Citizens Advice asap.

Many people delay claiming only to find they are out of time to claim New Style ESA.

PIP is based on care needs :
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

It is not means tested.

Please get advice from your local advice agency / charity.
I suspect you could be incorrect in your assumption that "but I can't see him getting enough of the right scores to get close to qualifying.".
Look through the Cit A guide, and then talk to someone knowledgeable about PIP.

Your husband has been working and paying tax for many decades, if his illness is such that he may not be able to work in the future, you really do need to explore what help could be available to you both.

BooJewels

Alice, many thanks for offering the assistance, it's appreciated.

I had gone through all of your points in turn in detail, but I'm just making myself angry about the situation and I don't have the energy to spare just now.

Malthusian

If you don't currently need the extra income from the pension fund - which seems to be the case from your posts so far - then it makes little sense to lose the life insurance.

You mentioned Guaranteed Annuity Rates - what age do they start from? If it "matures" at 65 it might not be until then, but it is worth checking.

If it has GARs from 65 that is likely to be a bigger incentive not to take the pension until they apply than the life cover.

Malthusian

Having started on that subject - if he is considering converting the pension into a monthly income at all he should see an IFA and get quotes for an enhanced annuity. If he is in poor health an enhanced annuity could beat the guaranteed annuity rate.

However if you don't need the money right now it makes little sense to buy an annuity of any kind. A single life annuity would die with him (subject to very limited death benefit options) and a joint life annuity would have almost no benefit from enhanced medically-underwritten rates on the element that would continue to you.

BooJewels

Alice, apologies for the testiness of my reply last night - I'd spent ages going through the benefits calculator and drawing a blank with all of them and was getting myself more and more frustrated by getting nowhere - and very tired - yesterday was a tricky day - I should just have walked away.

Alice_Holt wrote: »

New Style ESA is not means tested.
It is based on NI contributions during the last 2 tax years.

I rang the Macmillan helpline today as we've found them very patient and knowledgeable and a lovely chap has spent ages today helping me - on his guidance I rang the NI people and got confirmation that he had full credits for the pertinent years - got my own info too - so mine isn't as bad as I thought, so I can maybe pay some back to get a full pension.

He has advised that we apply for the new style contribution based ESA and thinks we should get that fine. He also recommended applying for PIP too - although that's less certain, but you definitely won't get if you don't apply. They've said they'll help with the forms. He said one thing that was really interesting - he said to look at it as if you were a new patient, just diagnosed - how would you cope today if it just landed at your door? My husband was very ill with sepsis in 2005 and this may have been the start of his troubles, but he's had !!!!!!ed kidneys for several years and has lived with his cancer for 2 years now (chemo and a stem cell transplant in 2018) - so over that time, we've gradually adapted and got used to the situation - changing how we do things in order to cope. So you forget how far from normal your lives have gradually become, because you just get used to it and adapt with the passage of time. So we need to re-appraise it with fresh eyes.

He's also recommended that I get a fit note too (I have chronic issues of my own) and apply for UC - the payments will be negligible initially as we have some savings, but that opens the door for other forms of help for him - like travel costs for treatment and council tax reductions. I'm not sure how I feel about that, so I'll give that some thought.

Your husband has been working and paying tax for many decades, if his illness is such that he may not be able to work in the future, you really do need to explore what help could be available to you both.

That's pretty much what the Macmillan chap said - we've never claimed anything before so it's alien to us and the guides on-line (and worst still, the calculators) really suggest that you're just not eligible for anything. But he listed things I should apply for and ask about and I have a long to do list for tomorrow.

BooJewels

Malthusian wrote: »

If you don't currently need the extra income from the pension fund - which seems to be the case from your posts so far - then it makes little sense to lose the life insurance.

We do and we don't. We need income of some sort as the savings we have won't last long. But the modest amount he'd get taking it early may not be enough to be worth losing other advantages over.

The Macmillan chap I've just mentioned has asked for a pensions and debt expert to ring me too, who can maybe answer some of my questions.

You mentioned Guaranteed Annuity Rates - what age do they start from? If it "matures" at 65 it might not be until then, but it is worth checking.

The wording suggests that if you do anything before your chosen retirement date (his 65th birthday), you wouldn't get the GARs.

if he is considering converting the pension into a monthly income at all he should see an IFA

We'd certainly do that anyway - I know an annuity was mentioned in a previous conversation with one locally. We have a few things to address in coming weeks and the pension is certainly one, but not at the top of the list. But we will look at it more closely when opportunity arises. You've given us lots of questions to ask. Thanks for the help.