Hi everyone I’m looking for advice on ill health retirement. I been in the NHS as a nurse since 2012, I have stage 4 metastatic BC and I think I have reached the point where I can no longer work due to physical and mental health symptoms. I am so nervous about applying for this and know one seems to give you answers to my questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Approximately what would I receive a month?
How do they work out the perspective figure, I am 49 at the moment, so to 65???
Would I be eligible for Tier 1 or Tier 2? Or both ???
I quess I’m looking for an approximate monthly figure?
Would I be given my government pension or entitlement to any other benefits?
Sorry so many questions, I feeling very lost once again.
Thank you all xx wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy and healthy new year xxx
Hi, I am sorry you are facing this. I don’t know anything about the NHS pension but you should be able to get an ill health pension. This will be paid until your death. Only the NHS pension staff can give you figures of what will be due.
You can’t claim the government pension but there is a benefit called pip for people who are disabled. This is currently about £170 a week (that’s with the enhanced part).
Macmillan have financial benefits people who help with all this. They helped me with pip.
Good luck! Hugs xx
MacMillan number to arrange talk to one of their money / benefits advisors is
08088080000
Sorry to hear about your ongoing cancer Journey. Not sure if you are in Scotland or England but there is a good FB page for NHS pension questions which you might find helpful. I was an NHS nurse and retired in July this year at age 55 with no penalties as I had SCS and I am pretty sure ill health falls into the same category. Have you tried telephoning the pension people or asking occupational health?. Not sure if that is much help but good luck xx
All cancer patients can apply for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) obviously depending on what you say will depend on what you are entitled to. I did it on my own via government website.
Hi @Gemini111
Very sorry to hear about your situation . I don’t know what part of the NHS you work in - I’m in a Hospital and we are lucky enough to have a Pensions Officer who was very good . Have you tried the NHS Pension Helpline / Website at all. Also I’m not sure where you are with sickness / pay etc - a few years ago although I didn’t want to I was thinking I might have to retire on grounds of ill health due to problems with my vision . I had to have an assessment with an Occupational Health Doctor - in my case I did not qualify for early retirement on grounds of ill health and my condition / vision stabilised a few months later enough for me to be able to go back ( I was able to retire and return 16 hours a week at a lower Band) but you would qualify. Awful that you have to jump through these hoops when you’re in this situation .
I don’t really understand what Tier 1 and 2 mean so you probably already know more than me . In cases like yours they often top up the years you have worked a bit and hopefully you won’t get a financial penalty for having to finish early . Any unsocial hours payments counts towards your pension and they usually base it on the highest earning year from the last few ( again I can’t remember how many ).
You should also speak to MacMillan as previously advised.
Take care
Joanne x
I applied for PIP on my own but when talking to the breast care nurse at renewal she ask if I wanted her to contact them. I let her and my award was changed to the higher rate. When I went onto Universal Credit the local CAB Macmillan representative helped me often making phone calls on my behalf. Trying to sort all this and being let on hold can be very tiring so make use of the people in the know.
I forgot to ask if you are in a union . I know that Union support / help can vary greatly in quality and availability but my RCN rep was very supportive actually.
Xx
Hi Gemini111,
I’m new to this forum. I worked for the NHS 10yr ago and could no longer work because of a previous cancer. I got my ill health retirement pension from them, you need to ring pensions as there’s a form they’ll send you out as there’s parts for your Doctor to fill in too… I’m not sure about figures etc as I’d only worked at the NHS 4yr when I had to retire, I got a lump sum plus a monthly payment for the rest of my life… you also need to apply for PIP, McMillan welfare rights are your people to speak to, they’re fantastic. Sorry you’re going through this, hope this is of some help, I think if you Google NHS ill health retirement form you can download it and print it off, take care 
Thanks for that. I applied on my own and got the basic, since I applied things have changed while I was having chemo and didn’t have the energy to phone them up to tell them.
I had them call me while I was in hospital with a temperature and felt I needed to take the call, even though I felt awful.
I will speak to my breast care nurse on my next call. MacMillan advisors are all so far away, although I may try to see if they can help on the phone.