Hi Ian,
I had a smallish work pension from Scotland because I'd migrated from Australia and worked six years full time and then six years as a supply teacher in the UK. I had to stop teaching when I was dx as the initial chemo and transplant reduced my energies a lot and then some time later I had a shattered humerus with major surgery. Teaching adolescents is a very high powered job and requires lots of additional hours at home. So, no more career…..
What I recommend if you're a good phone person, is to find one person in the correct dept to liaise with. You should write, and then after about a week always do a follow-up call as people in organisations will often 'forget' to answer.
Some questions could be:
1. If you keep paying into it, what will your family get upon your death on a fortnightly basis? Will this happen regardless what age you die at, or is it linked to a special age like 55 or 60? Is there a sliding scale of benefits?
2. If you want to explore another route ( and that is often worth doing), you'll need a letter from your onc advising that your natural life span is likely to be cut short from a malignancy. You'll probably need two reports, one from the myeloma specialist and one from the general pracitioner. There is a another category called ' terminal benefits', but then you need you onc to be able to say that you are likely to die withing six months, and with myeloma, such assertions are often difficult to make. They may insist on a medical, but I claimed that this was ludicrous as my myeloma history was all based on blood tests and on the testimony of 'experts' as this is a rare cancer. There is also a time line of procedures that you can prepare -with comments on how each procedure affected you. You are trying to describe a profile of disability.
3. If your employers are prepared to pay out on your policy, they might be prepared to divide half of it into a lump sum, if you can make a case for the fact that this would really help you now. You could then ask to receive the other half as a fortnightly or monthly ongoing payment. This is just one option- it's the one I took.
I'm dealing with very small small sums of money here. I used my lump sum to support an adult son who was experiencing serious depression and couldn't work. The sum that comes in every month makes me feel I still have a bit of independence financially.
Remember, find out who the person you have to deal with. Get a list of what they want. Write the letters with the evidence attached. Don't be afraid to paint a picture of urgency( if that's the case). And then – always – phone, and keep phoning until the person answers. If you realise they are not the right one, then you might have to start from scratch with someone they recommend.
If you really can't get your head around this then work closely with someone you can trust. However because of confidentiality issues, then the letters must all be signed by you. If you don't want to talk on the phone you'll have to be in the same room and give permission verbally for the other person to speak on your behalf.
It's really worth sorting out.
Eva
