Ill health retirement

[Pickzie]

Has anyone got experience of applying for ill health retirement from the civil service? I’m struggling to stay in work and occupational health has indicated I would qualify for ill health retirement under the civil service rules. I’m not convinced that will prove to be the case or what to expect once the application is submitted. Grateful for any insights if you’ve been through the processes. Thanks 😊

[Kevin53]

One of the issues, is the fact there is no retirement age anymore! If you are over 55 you can retire from employment and receive a pension. It may be reduced based on our your pension plan works. You can only take a pension before 55 on grounds of ill health. The HR department and your union should provide guidance and support. They will ask for you to see their designated doctor. Best wishes Kevin

[junemc]

Hi, I worked in local government not the Civil Service but I imagine they are pretty similar. In local government if Occupational Health confirmed that someone needed to be retired on the grounds of permanent ill health, their pension was based on their normal retiring age and not their age when they retired. If this is the case you may get a better pension than you expect (depending on your length of service). In local government, information about such matters was always readily available to staff so it was quite easy to obtain information discreetly. As Kevin has said your HR dept or Union will also help you. The fact that your ill health has to be deemed permanent is vital. If they think you are might improve at some point in the future you might be refused. In my experience both local government and the Civil Service are always very good at handling such matters. Best of luck.