Ill health retirement benefits
Your pension scheme provides benefits if you become ill either whilst you are still employed or after you have left the scheme.

If you are ill the last thing you will need is the added stress of proving to your employer that you satisfy the rules to receive your benefits. However there is a procedure that has to be followed and often this will mean that cases will take at least a couple of months to be sorted out. Throughout the process you will be required to attend medical examinations either with the same or different doctors and reports will be requested from the medical specialists involved in your treatment. So please be patient whilst the assessment is ongoing, it will be dealt with as soon as possible. You should contact your employer for an explanation though if you feel that you are not receiving adequate communication about what is happening to your case along the way.

In parts the rules are different for members who become ill whilst still employed and those who became ill after they have left the scheme. Therefore click on the option appropriate to you circumstances from the list below.

The rules
Ill health retirement benefit rules 

Preserved benefit into payment on medical grounds rules

The procedure
Explanatory leaflet about the ill health retirement procedure

Explanatory leaflet for members who have become Ill after leaving the scheme
(leavers before 1st April 2008)

Explanatory leaflet for members who have become Ill after leaving the scheme
(leavers on or after 1st April 2008)

If you have any further questions about the ill health procedure please get in touch via our contact form.