Terminally ill urge UK government to pay pensions early | state pensions

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The chronically ill are calling on the UK government to start paying their state pensions early so they can enjoy the rest of their lives and tackle the ‘cost of dying’ crisis.

People of working age who are unlikely to live long enough to claim their state pension say the change would cost little more than the amount lost each year to erroneous pension payments by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Marie Curie Charity, an end-of-life charity, calculated the cost at £114m a year – a tenth of 1% of the state’s annual pension bill. The study says that people of working age are twice as likely to spend their last year in poverty as people of retirement age.

“It makes sense [to pay out early]said Victor Calver, 56, a former freight manager with terminal cancer, who said he did not expect to reach retirement age. “Wouldn’t it be nice to walk out with a smile on your face?”

He is among the terminally ill people whose incomes have collapsed. Mark Whitaker, whose wife Cheryl has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, said getting a state pension early “would change everything…it gives us some dignity.” [and] Give us our independence.” They contend with rising energy and laundry bills as Cheryl’s health fails.

“The oncologist basically said just go enjoy the rest of your life together while you can, which was painful in itself,” he said. “Financially, things are just as worrisome as cancer; we live on credit cards at the moment.”

A petition supporting pension reform has attracted 164,000 signatures, and polls show 75% of adults in the UK support the idea.

Marie Curie estimates that most working-age people who die have paid over 23 years of National Insurance contributions.

“Extending these protections will prevent thousands of terminally ill people from falling into poverty at the end of their lives,” said Mark Jackson, senior director of policy and research at the charity. “It is the minimum that a civilized society should expect of dying people.”

Audrey Bockham, whose husband Edward died at the age of 64 last summer, said she was forced to declare bankruptcy because his earnings dried up and they faced additional costs caring for him. She said they couldn’t afford even weekends.

“I don’t think it’s right for terminally ill patients to worry about money at all,” she said. “It was great to be away for a short weekend. He loved the fresh air on his face and the smell of the sea and it was nice to do things like that and have happy memories.”

“It is simply wrong that so many people end their lives in agony,” said Helen Barnard, Co-Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Director of Research and Policy at Pro Bono Economics. Families are being forced to feel all the stress and guilt of not being able to make them comfortable, rather than being able to devote themselves The last few days, weeks or months with loved ones.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “A final diagnosis is an unimaginable challenge and our priority is to provide people with financial support quickly and compassionately. Those nearing the end of their lives can quickly access a range of benefits without the need for a face-to-face assessment or waiting period, with The majority get the highest rate of those benefits.

“In 2022, we are expanding this support so that thousands of people nearing the end of their lives can access these benefits earlier through special benefit rules. This change has already been implemented for Employment Allowance, Support and Universal Credit, and the government has issued recently passed a law enabling similar changes to payments for personal independence, disability living allowance and attendance allowance.”

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