Hi, I was turned down when I first applied for Ill Health Retirement around 3 years ago due to my Consultant saying they would change my meds. Now, as the Government have stopped my ESA I have no income (my husband does work) I am about to apply for the 2nd time ( you only get 2 shots) and want to get the letter right. My GP and Consultant are in agreement that I should do it and have said they will support me . I just dont know what to write - I know that once I have the ‘work’ thing out of my head it will reduce my stress levels and hopefuly one less thing to excaserbate the MS (which I am 100% sure it will).
Does anyone know the correct way / points that should be added/ what not to write/ etc, etc ?
The reason I have put it off for so long is I am scared it will be rejected again especialy as you only get 2 goes at it.
Do you have a occupational health department where you work, will they not support you, I was retired on ill health grounds but it was 16 years ago, I didntt have to do anything as occupational health did it all , I worked for the NHS. I’m sorry I can’t help with what to write as I didn’t have to forward a letter, it was all done for me via occupational health. Hopefully someone can advise you of the,points to put down, what area do you work in?
Presumably you’re a member of your employer’s pension plan and you’re looking to draw a pension from that. Do you have a copy of the plan rules and/or member booklet? They’ll tell you what the criteria are for ill health retirement, which will give a few clues as to how to word your application.
If it’s a “typical” occupational pension scheme, you’ll need to show that you cannot work in ANY job and that your prognosis is such that you won’t be able to work in any job before you reach normal pension age.
But Cath’s suggestion’s excellent, because the occupational health people will know exactly what’s needed.
Yes; Deanne’s right it should be your GP writing to their O/H or doctor saying he/she feels that you should be eligible for Ill Health Retirement; not you apply.
Don’t take my word for this but contact http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/ that is a Government service for these types of problems. FYI you can also ask them for a quote of your State Pension when you retire.
It is a very complicated calculation depending on how many; and at what rate you paid National Insurance.
My situation was the same as Deanne’s - Occupational Health did the main liaison with my manager, but both he and they knew from discussions with me that IHR was what I wanted. With us, it was not a matter of applying for it, IHR was something that the employer ‘did’ to you, so technically it was an offer one couldn’t refuse! I hope that someone who is familiar with the arrangements in your sector/line of work will have more specific help to offer.
The following general points may or may not be relevant to your situation - if not, I apologise:
Getting Occupational Health (or equivalent) on side is very important. In most places, the advice the line manager or HR person receives from Occupational Health will tend to be compelling. It is a rare manager or HR person who will argue with the Company Doctor (or external medical advisor) when he/she says it is time to pension someone off. Presumably you have had contact with them? Getting them on side is likely to be extremely important - probably more important than anything you can say in a letter from you.
Are you in a trade union? If so, you want to get help and advice from them, double quick, if you have not already done so. Your local rep (if you have one) is probably not the right person, although he/she will be a good place to start. Get him/her to refer you to somene at their head office who is a pension/IHR specialist.
For what it’s worth, if you have to plead your own case, you could usefully have a look at your Pension Scheme member paperwork that you will have been issued with when you joined, or (much better) at the full version of your Pension Scheme rules (you might well have access to this via company intranet or internet, as a Scheme member). That way you can look at the rules relating to the grounds on which someone can be retired on ill-health grounds. That gives you info about what criteria you need to meet to be granted IHR under your Scheme rules, so you can present your case with those in mind.
One final point - stupid-sounding, but important - do make sure that whatever you write to them is clearly a letter asking for IHR, and not one that could possibly be construed as a letter of resignation!
Just to be clear - the medical advice your employer will pay attention to is the advice from their own official medical advisor, internal or external. Your employer probably won’t be too interested in what your consultant or GP has to say (although the employer’s medical advisor will be). They key thing will be whether you meet your employer’s IHR criteria or not, and that is what their medical advisor is paid to advise them about.
But please do bear in mind, Cath, that your employers can say what they like but an occupational pension plan will be run by:
either trustees who have to protect the pension plan as well as you, and will want to tick all the right boxes and be satisfied of your genuine ill health
or an insurance company which will be keen to protect its assets - ditto -
I was dismissed from my job 3 years ago via the ‘incapable of doing my job’ route (cant remember the correct term used) . Before I was dismissed i was sent to the occupational health doctor who agreed, then he reffered me to a private doctor who agreed but had to speek to my consultant who said he would just change my meds !!! So , that is why it was refused! My consultant has agreed that there will be no changing DMD’s as MS is very sensitive.
My consultant has now told me he WILL support me now as will my GP. I remember speaking to the pension folk when the first was refused , they said i had to write a letter to be re-considered and that folk are only given 2 shots before pension age to do it.
I think perhaps I will just say that I want to be re-considered and that my consultant agrees this time and that i am now on high high mobility and high care allowances and that MS has gotten worse (lots more symptoms).
Thanks again guys, let me know if you can think of anything else that may help.
I am another one who has just this week officialy been retired on ill health,and had the money finalised.
My employer was saying they couldnt make anymore adjustments to my role and sent me to occy health,from then on I didnt do anything except turn up for medicals. Occy health wrote to my employer saying I was unfit, they also wrote to my neuro and I have no idea what he said as I had only met him once and 12 mnths down the line I am retired.
I do hope you get it sorted as even my story where I didnt have to do anything was a very stressful 12 mnths.
Hi, yeh, when it happened to me back in 2000, i`d been on the sick for 8 months. I worked for the LA. They sent me to see a doc of their choosing, to assess me for the job I did.
He said I was unfit for that job only. Then HR came to see me at home and told me they had no suitable vacancies and we agreed I should retire on ill health grounds.
As far as I am aware, ill health retirement isn`t something you apply for,
This is so annoying. I’ve been off sick for a couple of months now and have just been sent to occupational health. Over 3 years I’ve had so many adjustments, including a support worker from AtW. I’ve tried so hard to keep working but I physically cannot work anymore so I asked for ill health retirement. NOBODY can say I haven’t tried. They moved me from a hospital based job and put me in to community initially because I kept having falls in there. The atmosphere just makes me weak and light headed, fighting for breath. Same as in a supermarket really. Occy healths plan - send me back to the unit! In the letter they copied me in to to my manager it doesn’t even address most of the issues I have. I’m so frustrated. My GP, MS Nurse and consultant all agree with ill health retirement, as do my line managers! I don’t know what to do, but can feel myself sinking in to depression…
I feel anybodys pain if you are having a nightmare with this…