hi, I am a teacher by profession but had to retire from teaching 3 years ago due to my fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and hyper mobility symptoms. There are 2 levels of ill health retirement you can apply for as a teacher. One is that you can no longer teach and two is that you can no longer work at all. I was suffering from depression, anxiety, and extreme fatigue along with being on tramadol, gabapentin, duloxetine and naproxen for my chronic pain. I also had a badly broken wrist at the time. I was refused any level of ill health retirement as they said my condition could improve with treatment (ha!) They had obviously focused on my wrist, or not understood fibro at all. I had to take voluntary retirement and find something else I could do to earn money too. Thankfully I found some employment that was stress free and understood that I often needed to stay seated and sometimes just had to go home due to my fatigue. It was also fairly short hours. The only problem was that it was almost minimum wage.
My fibro has worsened and I keep getting torn or pulled muscles due to muscle weakness. I find it difficult to walk for very long due to bursitis on one hip and a torn meniscus on the other knee. I do not work now but that wasn’t due to illness, however I was finding it increasingly difficult.
I don’t know if I can apply again for the ill health retirement or if they would give me it this time. Has anyone else been in a similar position and if so, what do you think I should do next? Thanks
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Oscarbelle
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Firstly I totally empathise with you and uderstand the frustration that Ive no doubt yiu are feeling. I am in the exact same situation as you are, I also was refused I'll health retirement 3 years ago and had the exact same response, "you'll improve with treatment. I ended up receiving a months pay and shown the door after 29 years service. I havent had the mental strength to try again as yet, however, that is my plan of action. I say go for it and fight for it, you deserve it. Take care and gentle hugs.
I've never been able to work, every part of me malfunctions from a young age, so I don't understand the working world, but 29 years? And they did that? I find that really shocking. You would think they would have some sort of duty to you, can you write to the CEO or something? Shame them on twitter, I don't have twitter but it seems quite an effective tool in these sort of situations.....
I have accepted what they have done and they have actually did me favour as I can now just deal with the health conditions I have and not have the constant stress of working . I do however totally agree with all you have said, it's absolutely vile how the have treated me. At the time I just didn't have the mental capacity to fight anything. Thank you for responding. Take care and gentle hugs.
I hope you get some good advice here on the forum , it seems so unfair you’ve worked hard and having too fight too get the right help , I really hope everything gets sorted and being home you can live more quietly without the work stress , take care .
Hi, I used to work in a school as a TA and due to my declining health I couldn’t work anymore (aged 46). I too asked for ill health retirement and was turned down but offered a deferred pension, which basically means that I get my pension until I die, although I think it’s a bit less than I would have got had I have been a pension age. If that makes sense. Maybe this is something you could look into! 😊
Since I "retired" from full time face to face teaching I have done tutoring online. No real stress, work at times I want (mostly), keeps the brain active, also feel useful even at 75 (I have been tutoring 20 years now and no-one notices I am old and virtually chair bound)
I think you should reapply. I had to retire due to I'll health with virtually the same symptoms. I firstly went through the process with HR and was declined so got my union involved and was awarded I'll health retirement. I know receive a small pension not alot but it helps. Good luck x
My union suggested I write to all my consultants and ask them to support my ill health retirement application my asthma specialist wrote me a supporting letter in which he included all my diagnoses and how each one affected my daily living activities so my advice would be to write to any medical professional who knows you well good luck 🤗
thanks for that good advice, I am going to give that a go. It doesn’t help that there isn’t one person who knows about all of your symptoms and diagnoses does it 😊
Hi, I worked full time for a charity and kept on struggling on, determined to keep my job but it was doing me no favours staying tbh. I was sent to occupational health who stated i was clearly not fit to do the job for which i was employed to do. Big meeting called with bosses etc who clearly stated that i no longer fulfilled the person criteria for the job and therefore i could not possibly stay in post and i had to leave. I got no money, and had to claim benefits. Nightmare experience and i fully empathise with you and your situation.
I wish i maybe had attempted to appeal it. If you have the strength, go for it absolutely. I find it an absolute disgrace the way these companys are alowed to treat us after working hard day in day out, for me 35 years. Good luck with it all, hugs x
absolutely disgraceful, I’m so sorry for all of you who find themselves in this terrible situation. There hasn’t been any loyalty or appreciation from companies for years now 😡take your skills and hard work and throw you to the wolves to fend for yourselves! I sadly do not rely on any loyalty from anyone nowadays, which is very sad. I hope that if you all decide to go for the fight that you get what you deserve after giving your services for all those years 💕💙❤️🙏👏🤞🤗x
that’s disgraceful but many companies are the same now. They still don’t see fibro as a disability and reckon we should still be able to do everything 😏
You should re-apply and make sure your Union are involved too. You'll need as much medical information and disability information as possible to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. Get a copy of the pension fund rules - you are entitled to them, and read the requirements carefully. Then tailor your application to the rules. If you have claimed ESA or the Universal Credit equivalent, even if it is only to get National Insurance credits, ask for a copy of the assessor's report (this is not the DWP letter about the report). If you have not claimed PIP, do so and get a copy of the disability assessor's report. Again, don't rely on the DWP letter about the report. There's lots of useful information in them, that can help support your ill-health pension application like ability to stand up, mobility, brain fog etc. If you are not getting PIP, that could undermine your application for a pension, so get an application in for it. If you have a blue badge, or a disabled bus pass that's more evidence. You can also get hold of a copy of a your GP medical records and you can ask any Consultant who has seen you, for copies of his/her letters to your GP.
To get my medical retirement pension, after being turned down, I ended up going privately to a Consultant who had never treated me, and he wrote an independent report on my medical history after examining me, and expressed his opinion that I would never work again in any capacity. That clinched the pension.
The Teachers Pension Scheme Rules say:
Ill-health applications
Incapacity definitions
107. In this Chapter, a person (P)—
(a)is incapacitated if, as a result of illness or injury, P is unfit to be in eligible employment despite appropriate medical treatment;
(b)meets the incapacity condition if—
(i)P is incapacitated; and
(ii)P is likely to be incapacitated permanently; and
(c)meets the total incapacity condition if—
(i)P is incapacitated; and
(ii)P’s ability to carry out any work is impaired by more than 90% and is likely to be impaired by more than 90% permanently.
108.—(1) An ill-health application made by a person (P)—
(a)must be accompanied by all the medical evidence necessary for the scheme manager to determine whether P is entitled to the payment of an ill-health pension and, if applicable, a total incapacity pension; and
(b)must be signed by P’s employer unless—
(i)P left all eligible employment for a reason other than because P was incapacitated; or
(ii)P made the ill-health application more than 2 years after the last day of pensionable service.
(2) The medical evidence must include a medical report containing evidence that P meets—
(a)the incapacity condition; and
(b)if applicable, the total incapacity condition.
To get the enhanced pension, you need to prove you are 90% impaired.
Thank you. That's great information. I do get PIP but only mentioned in my supporting statement. I have also just been assessed for a disability bus pass but this was after my application was submitted.
Thank you for this invaluable information as I too am a teacher who had applied for ill health retirement and has been turned down. I will use this information to appeal. Thank you
This is really shocking to read, considering you’re suffering with multiple conditions and worked in the public sector (as do I). Do you mind me asking if you have been given a clear diagnosis regarding your hypermobility? I ask because I too have multiple pain conditions including fibromyalgia but I found once I was diagnosed with hEDS, the level of flexibility and support I received at work increased (and consultants started to interrupt less and listen more). I just wondered if you’d pursued the hypermobility as an issue in itself fully? Sadly even though fibromyalgia and mental health conditions are often the most challenging conditions to live with, employers (and doctors) seem to regard conditions they can ‘see’ and confirm objectively as more deserving…. All that aside I really hope you go again and have the fair outcome that you are owed.
yes, I have been given a formal diagnosis of hypermobility syndrome. Apparently I am borderline Erler Danlos( may have spelt that wrong). Still no extra help!
That’s as disabling as fibromyalgia in terms of pain and living with both is a serious burden. I know because I’m in the same situation! I would’ve thought the HSD/hEDS diagnosis would strengthen your case.
Hi, I don't know if it helps, but it isn't the employer who makes the ill health decision. The doctor that's used is doing it for the pension provider - in this case the teachers' pension.
As an employer I have recommended a number of staff seek an ill-health retirement for a range of illnesses. They are often turned down, at least on the first application - I include terminal cancer in one case that was turned down the first time (we got that sorted out).
In many cases this seems to be because the information that the doctor gets doesn't seem to be sufficient to meet the criteria - despite the pension company asking for (and paying for) medical reports. It tends to be the consultant reports that explain why the person can't work that hit the mark (although I don't get to see them, so can't help with what they need to show). For something like your condition I suspect it'll be bringing them together that will be the hard bit.
In my experience, definitely worth appealing/applying again. And worth contacting your consultants to explain what you need, so that the reports have the right information. Good luck.
Hi, I'm in a similar position and have applied for ill health retirement due to Fibromyalgia, Long Covid, Chronic Migraines, Carpel tunnel, Chronic Fatigue, and cognitive issues . I am unable to walk and also suffer from bursitis on my left hip. I am very low at the moment and know full well that I can never teach again. I haven't heard anything back from them yet but I don't feel very optimistic. How am I suppose to support my family as I am?
How long did it take for them to process your claim? I think I will definitely appeal, if I get refused.
I find it so hard as medical professionals, in particular consultants, seem to be quite dismissive of Fibromyalgia and suggest that 'at some point in the future you may be well enough to work' but there is no way I would be well enough to teach English with all of the pressures that teachers have. I would be happy just to get tier 1 and not be able to teach again.
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