How we can help
If you've been told by a registered medical practitioner that you have less than 12 months to live, you may be eligible to take your full pension as a lump sum. This is known as a ‘serious ill-health lump sum’.
We’ll need written confirmation from a medical practitioner to confirm that you’re expected to have less than 12 months to live.
- If you have a Defined Contribution pension, then the payment must use all available funds, i.e. you can’t take a partial payment.
- If you have a Defined Benefit pension and it includes contracted-out rights, for example GMP or Section 9(2B) rights, any dependants or spouse benefits must be retained and can’t be claimed as a lump sum.
- If you’re under 75, the payment will be tax-free, as long as you have sufficient lump sum and death benefit allowance (LSDBA) remaining.
- If you’re over 75, the payment will be taxed as pension income. We’ll need to know how much of your LSDBA you have left before making the payment.
Next steps
To get things started and access your pension benefits as quickly as possible, please contact us.
We’ll then send you a pack that outlines
- your serious ill-health lump sum value
- any relevant tax information
- important things to consider
- information on where you can get more advice, and
- a breakdown of what to do next
The pack will also include a medical declaration form. We’ll need a registered medical practitioner to complete this before we can complete a serious ill-heath claim.
How we can help
If you have life cover or critical illness cover with us you may also have terminal illness cover which means that you may be eligible for a payout if you are nearing or have less than 12 months to live.
- If Terminal Illness is one of the benefits covered in your policy, our terms & conditions say that you’re not eligible to claim if your policy has less than 12 months before expiring or life expectancy is greater than 12 months.
- This is not always the case – we apply a degree of judgment and discretion when assessing Terminal Illness claims where a customer’s prognosis is nearing but not yet less than 12 months.
- We also apply a degree of judgment and discretion when assessing Terminal Illness claims where the policy has less than12 months left.
- Each claim is reviewed individually, based on your circumstances.
If you have other cover with us such as critical illness or benefits that pay out if you're unable to work due to illness or injury then you may also be able to claim on these in addition to or instead of a terminal illness claim.
Next steps
If you’ve been diagnosed with a Terminal Illness please contact us to let us know. To help you access benefits as quickly as possible, here’s what happens once you’ve let us know:
We’ll send you a claim form which you need to complete and return to us.
- Once we receive your completed claim form, we’ll contact your doctors to ask for medical information. Our underwriters need this to assess your claim, and it’s completely normal.
- We’ll confirm the outcome in writing, telling you what happens next and when.
- If we pay your terminal illness claim your policy will end and no further claims will be paid.
Power of Attorney
If you have appointed a Power of Attorney, we can work with them to process your claim. See our Power of Attorney page for more information.
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Further support
Marie Curie and support for carers
Provides clinical, practical and emotional support. Not just for those who are dying, but those caring for someone with a terminal illness too. You can call their Support Line on 0800 090 2309 or email them at support@mariecurie.org.uk
Macmillan Cancer Support
Offers support, information and an online community for those living with terminal cancer and their carers.
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