A petition run by end-of-life charity Marie Curie is fighting for the right of terminally ill patients to get their state pension entitlement early. This is due to the fact many of those with life-threatening illnesses are unlikely to reach retirement age.
Earlier today, television presenter and football pundit Chris Kamara MBE handed in the petition to Downing Street this morning calling for improved financial support for people with a terminal illness.
The petiion currently has 166,000 signatures and Mr Kamara was joined by two terminally ill cmapigners who are dealing with financial hardships due to their diagnosis.
According to Marie Curie, accessing the state pension earlier in life would relief much of the financial burden placed on affected households.
Research from the University of Loughborough found extending the state pension to this group would cost £114.4million annually, which is just 0.1 percent of the annual state pension bill.
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Tammy Prescott, 43, from Halifax, is suffering from terminal stomach cancer and is urging the Government to consider giving her state pension early to help bolster her finances.
The mum of two said: “My diagnosis is having a devastating impact on our finances as a family.
“I had to give up a job that I loved, I’ve gone through nineteen rounds of chemotherapy, and now we don’t have the money or time to make special memories together.
“My husband has to work every hour God sends to be able to keep up with our mounting bills. It’s a nightmare.”
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Ms Prescott shared what money from the state pension she has also earned would mean to herself and her family at this moment intime.
She added: “I’ve worked hard my whole life but I won’t live until I’m 65. So why shouldn’t I be allowed to access my state pension?
“If I could draw my pension, we would have some money leftover at the end of the month to spend on something other than bills.
“That money would be life changing. We could go on a trip to the seaside. Just little things like that would mean so much to me and my kids.”
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Sarah Middlemiss, Marie Curie’s senior campaigns officer, criticised the state pension’s lack of accessibility for those who have a terminal illness.
She explained: “The state pension is the single biggest safeguard against poverty for people as they approach the end of their lives.
“But if you are unfortunate enough to die before retirement age, it isn’t accessible to you. The Government must extend access to the state pension to all dying people, regardless of age.
“Anyone can be given a terminal diagnosis at any time. We regularly hear from terminally ill people who have had to leave the workforce, and often their partners have needed to reduce their hours too.”
In the UK, people are entitled to claim their state pension once they turn 66 years old but this is expected to rise in the near future.
To get their full entitlement, Britons need to have 35 years of National Insurance contributions from being in the workforce under their belt.
Every year, state pension payments rise by either the rate of inflation, average earnings or 2.5 percent thanks to the triple lock.
Due to inflation reaching record highs, pensioners on the new state pension are set to see their annual payments exceed £10,000 later this year.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “A terminal diagnosis is an unimaginable challenge, and our priority is providing people with financial support quickly and compassionately.
“Those nearing the end of their lives can get fast-track access to a range of benefits without needing a face-to-face assessment or waiting period, with the majority receiving the highest rate of those benefits.
“In 2022 we extended that support so thousands more people nearing end of life would be able to access these benefits earlier through special benefit rules.
“This change has already been implemented for Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit and the Government has recently passed an Act which enables similar changes to Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance.”
