Hello, for those people who have given up work, how did you decide and did you retire or get signed off sick and take advantage of employer sickness insurance?
Neither.
I had my own little company and closed it down because I wasnāt safe on building sites any more.
No sick pay, no insurance, just lots of savings I planned to use for my retirement. I get PIP and ESA Support group benefits and am mortgage free so live frugally to slow the burn rate. Thanks to the benefits, I should have enough to last me without tapping into (modest) pension pot.
I did manage to do a couple of bouts of temporary work before eventually throwing in the towel, so perhaps like me, there may be types of work you could do for much longer than you could do your original career?
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I was working for the local Refuse Collection contractorsā¦
I knew I had to pay off my mortgage before anything went really wrong and wanted work that paid well, but didnāt have the levels of responsibility, paperwork, budgeting, and stress Iād experienced in the Suitā¦
Essentially the brief was to ride round the area in a big truck, empty the street bins, litter pick, de-weeding, but the core was clearing fly-tippingā¦
Side note - probably the most useful and enjoyable work Iāve ever done in my lifeā¦!
Now, on application/interview/induction I may have failed to mention the fact I had Multiple Sclerosisā¦
Or the fact I was super-loaded on Tramadol, and relied quite heavily on a Herbal Remedy to keep me movingā¦
I got the jobā¦
I kept my head down, I never refused work, I ate mountains of 
, but two years later the Iād cleared my mortgageā¦
I shouldāve called it quits then, but I decided to hang on and put a buffer in the bankā¦
At that point I knew the MS clock was ticking and my symptoms were starting to cause problems for meā¦
I went on holidayā¦
During my hols I get called into work to do a quick induction about motorway litter pickingā¦
Odd, but double pay is offered for inconvenienceā¦
I attend, and realise the gameās up as thereās drug testingā¦
Before the test I do what Iād always intended doing in this circumstanceā¦
I came cleanā¦
Told āem I had MS and all the things I did to combat itā¦
Long story shortā¦
Apparently I should never have been called in from holidayā¦
The Supervisor that rang me had been making sure his mates didnāt get tested and was picking the āSafe Betsāā¦
His Manager was implicated as she was responsible for drug testing and I shouldāve been tested before I was even offered a jobā¦
They bullied my mercilessly while I worked there and I had to suck it upā¦
I resigned immediatelyā¦! 
L8r I heard some ppl got sackedā¦
I lived off my fat for a year then was awarded PIPā¦
Am doing my best to live happily ever afterā¦
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A lot depends on individual circs here. My employment contract was terminated on the grounds of ill-health, which triggered the relevant provisions in our pension scheme rules. But it all depends on the individual, the employer and in particular the specific pension scheme/insurance rules. Generalisations are not very helpful here and neither are anecdotes like mine. You need to know exactly what might apply in your own very specific case. That will all form part of your contract of employment.
Good for you, CR.
itās a personal journey for everyone. Some retire, some might take sick leave if needed. It depends on individual circumstances and what works best for them.