Maureengibson

I am going through ill health retirement in the Nhs, not sure if it is similar, but would imagine it is. I work as a nurse and due to having AS and a stroke am unfit to continue. In order to apply for ill health you have to be dismissed on health grounds by your employer. You can start the application whilst in employment but they don’t need to wait on outcome before dismissing you. You will get a severance pay which is equal to your notice period, but would receive no other money from employer as you will have been dismissed. In order to get tier 1, you have to submit lots of medical evidence as to why you are unable to continue in current role, and what other strategies were considered prior to application, such as part time hours, shorter working hours or redeployment.

I now have a 6 week wait to see if mine is approved, but I will be jobless by end of this month. I have found it quite a stressful process, but hopefully yours will be more straight forward. I was told by OH once they recommend IHR you are unable to return to your previous role, but could be put on redeployment register prior to being dismissed. This could buy you a little more time in the process. I am not familiar with your different pensions so cannot comment on that. Good luck

haroonsaab in reply to Maureengibson

thanks maureengibson so much .it is very useful what you wrote and i pray for you and all those who are in same situation.ameen

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helixhelix

You need to make sure you get advice before you sign anything, and understand what exactly they are offering.

As I understand it, tier 1 will only give you a pension based on the years you have worked and paid into that pension scheme - so 16 years. And it is unlikely the school will give anything else.

Here's the guidance note from TP. There will be similar for LGPS and you will probably get a pension from both of them.

teacherspensions.co.uk/~/me...

Maureengibson in reply to helixhelix

You are correct in the fact tier 1 will only provide from what is in your pension pot, but it does give you flexibility to return to employment part time in a different role. Tier 2 is topped up by 2/3 of the years remaining till you turn 60. It is very difficult to get this tier as it basically means you are unable to do any employment. I’ve been forewarned they will always find a job you “could” do. You should get pension from both providers. My pension is 1/80 for each years service so assuming you were full time over those 16 yrs you would get 16/80 of your salary. Hope that makes sense, part time hours would accumulate less years in service as it is pro rata, but they use your whole time equivalent salary when they do their sums.

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haroonsaab in reply to Maureengibson

thanks so much i will have to ask my union rep aswell but lets see they under stand what i am after lol

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Jewels94 in reply to Maureengibson

It is slightly different in lgps. There are 3 tiers with tier 1 being where they top your pension up to what you would have got if you had worked to full pension age.

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helixhelix in reply to Jewels94

Wow! So very important to work out what OH were recommending as huge difference between tier 1 in TP and LGPS!

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Jewels94 in reply to helixhelix

Yep, very important. But it should give some idea on the OH report. Mine stated that there was no reasonable prospect of my obtaining gainful employment before 65 so therefore recommended tier 1.

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haroonsaab in reply to Jewels94

Hi jewls 94

kindly help to explain few questions please as my union told me that they are no longer helping/guiding their members regarding pension queries and they told me to get information from unbiased.co.uk.

at the moment i am on sick note from my GP

My last visit to the OH(which was arranged by my school)suggests and fully supported me advising me that i fulfil ill health retirement and my condition will deteriorate in the future.

kindly tell me how my application will start for retiring on ill health basic

my pension which was from 1995 to 1999 was with TP

my pension with Birmingham city council was from 2004 to 2008

and at current it is with LGPS since 2008.

who will ask them to find out about my pensions?and will some get them together

or they will remain separate?

last one say my application starts from 25/6/18,how long will it take to complete and what will be my status untill it is decided .

i am sorry i have asked you many questions but i am stuck with no help at the moment.

thanks

hope i get valuable information's before we start the proceedings.

Regards

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Jewels94 in reply to haroonsaab

What should happen is the OH should right to the school telling them that they reccomend Ill health retirement. Depending on wether you have had previous visits with the OH doctor who recommended retirement you may need to be seen by another doctor to confirm that you will be unable to work again. A report should then be written out with a box ticked to say what tier of Ill health is recommended. The school needs to sign agreeing with it and then pass it on to HR. HR should then write to you, letting you know that your employment will be terminated due to ill health and giving you the opportunity to contest it. You will have to keep providing fit notes from the doctor whilst waiting for it all to go through. Once your SSP runs out you should be sent an SSP1 form which will allow you to claim ESA. It is possible to get ESA as well as half pay on sick, I did. Your employment should not actually be terminated until all your occupational sick pay runs out. To give you an idea of time scales, I went off sick in October 2016. I was referred to OH in March 2017, the recommendation for ill health retirement was signed off in May 2017. Coincidentally my SSP run out in May 2017 also so I applied for ESA then. My occupational sick pay run out in October 2017 and my employment was then terminated. I was paid 12 weeks pay in lieu of notice and my pension started from the day after my employment was terminated. It took about six weeks for my payments for the pension to come through. The pension department should send you a letter with your pension options once they receive notification from HR of your termination date. You will need to sign the options form and show them your birth certificate. You may also need to show your spouses birthday certificate and marriage licence if applicable.

As for the TP, I’m really not sure what happens with that, perhaps write to tgem and ask.

Is the Birmingham city council pension not LGPS. There was a major shake up in the pension scheme in 2008 and they show as two different pension schemes on the annual pension statement but get paid as one pension. If so you will it need to do anything about it as it will be included in your pension options.

I don’t like that the union have refused to help, as if you were to be offered a lower tier Ill health pension you would need union support to fight it. Did they realise you were asking about medical retirement and not early retirement. I hope I have answered al, your questions as best I can. I’ve attached a link to the lgps Ill health pension scheme as well.

lgpsmember.org/tol/thinking...

Good luck with it all, it can be quite daunting but worth it in the long run. Anything you need clarification on, let me know and I’ll try to help.

Julie xx

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haroonsaab in reply to Jewels94

Jewels 94 many thanks i am really thankful for such a nice clarification.

i will find out about TP and the thing which you mentioned about 2 different pensions.

i am on sick note from 15th may.i have been sent to CH at least 8 times since 2015.

my last visit was in may this year when OH suggested to me and school that my health is deteriorating and ill health retirement is recommended and school should consider it. on 6/6/2018 i received a letter from HR department asking me to consult my union rep regards to your options,as the school is waiting on your decision if i am going to apply for retirement

,if not then they will be moving to the next stage of the management absence procedure and i will be invited to attend a stage 3 hearing.

my question is i am still unwell and whats the best thing to tell them,

also i dint get when you said that i should keep getting fit note from my GP or will be a unfit to work note?please please explain in your reply.

to be very honest my union is not taking interest at all God knows why but i keep asking them and pushing them .

so far i am getting full salary .

i am worried about my Mortgage and other things but as told by the union rep in our last meeting,he said they are after you and will dismiss you on ill health.

i think now the only option left is to take ill health retirement because OH wrote to school and to me that i will not be able to work in future because of deteriorating health .i am thankful to you for your time .

Regards.

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haroonsaab in reply to Jewels94

also can i prolong this process by saying yes to school that i am going for ill health retirement but at the same time i keep sending them sick note because i am unable to walk at the moment or school might decide to come to see me at my home lol i dont know

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Jewels94 in reply to haroonsaab

Hi, yeah sorry, fit note is the name given to a sick certificate from the doctor saying that you are unfit to work. Tell the school that you would like to be considered for ill health retirement and they should then refer you to a doctor who can sign the medical retirement certificate. If your union rep is being unhelpful, take it higher up the chain, ie contact the branch as that is what you have been paying your union subs for. Under no circumstances go into any absence procedure meetings without union back up. It sounds as if they are waiting for you to decide if you want them to go down the medical retirement route.

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haroonsaab in reply to Jewels94

thanks so much.appriciated

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M45984371 in reply to Jewels94

Hi, just read this. An excellent description of the process, I hope others find it helpful too.

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haroonsaab in reply to helixhelix

thanks for your reply and sure i am gona find asmuch info that i need

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popsmith1874

Hi haroonsaab I retired 3years ago on ill health grounds and had been with the local authority for 23years and was 50when I retired, it was the best thing I did and manage fine and plan my day accordingly, I go to body conditioning 2 a week and try to keep moving and it's great not having the stress off trying to make work and struggling like I did for a year before I retired, and I'm no worse off, good luck xxx

Jewels94

In lgps tier 1 retirement means that your pension is topped up to what you would have got at full retirement age. I was retired on tier 1 in lgps in October. I had to wait until all my sick pay was used up before my employment was terminated and the pension activated. Whilst on sick leave, once my ssp run out I was able to claim esa and I have been out into support group for that. For me once oh recommended tier 1 and the school agreed to it it was just a matter of waiting for my sick pay to expire. I also got 12 weeks notice pay. I hope this explains it properly to you. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Jewels94 in reply to Jewels94

Here’s the link for lgps Ill health retirement lgpsmember.org/tol/thinking...

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haroonsaab in reply to Jewels94

thanks soooooooooooooo much jewels94.i am so grateful for your well explained and well answered my question.as you say i am hoping i will get best out of it and God willing school will cooperate .deffo i will keep you upto date.xxx

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medway-lady

I retired on ill health grounds and never looked back. I got full pension but had 36 years in. One thing to note the state pension calculation includes years during which family allowance is paid. I also did not take first offer and negotatioted my settlement but I was a senior officer and wanted out as the stress was awful. RA was a factor but not the only reason and I am so glad I retired.

haroonsaab in reply to medway-lady

thanks i am glad you did very well,i hope and pray things are supportive and hope i get best because i am in a position that due to ill health its a serious issue to deal in an educational institution.xxx

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medway-lady in reply to haroonsaab

Best advice I can think of don't be jumped into deciding anything without sleeping on it. And remember that they need to replace you so may want you out. In that case think every thing over and don't rush into signing anything. I was lucky and my local authority very good. I also had enough years in so full pension was very nice and I pay tax on it !!! Please just think about the long game ie your age and ask how many years do you have to get state pension on top by going to Direct Gov and putting in your details its worth it to look.

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dillydally1

hi,

I worked for the nhs and retired due to ill health when I was 52 years old (tier 1). I am now 61 years of age. I went from full time, and various part time hours but could not manage. I had great support from occupational health but found it a very stressful time, leaving a job I loved and also concerns financially.

my only concern now is due to the rise in pension age. when I retired the age was 60 years, now it is 66 years. this means I will get less old age pension. I looked into topping up my stamps up but could not afford it.

hope all goes ok for you.

once I left work my mental and physical health didn,t go but was certainly easier to manage.

take care and let us know how you go on x

patricia1193

Hi there.Not sure of all the technical details as I was a nurse in the health service.I t all boils down to whether you feel you will be able to work afterwards in different employment.Getting a job with serious health issues is difficult so just be sure to get good advice .I got tier 2 ill health and it was a nightmare from start to finish.They tried every trick to avoid giving it to me and could have offered me any job in the health service even though I was really ill.I was about to give up when my Consultant wrote a letter and said I would never be able to work and thankfully I got it.Good luck sorting it all out and hope all goes well.

patricia1193

Sorry forget to say that retirement is so much better than working when you are ill.I am less stressed and am not killing myself with work.Do not have to worry about ringing in sick and letting work down.Good luck.

Jewels94

Forgot to say, if you contact the pension administrator and tell them that you’ve been recommended for tier 1 medical retirement you can ask them to provide you with the figures. It helps in making an informed decision. Good luck xx