DWP confirms no plans for early access to State Pension for people diagnosed with a terminal illness

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed it has no plans to allow people diagnosed with a terminal illness to access their State Pension prior to retirement age, even if they have accrued sufficient National Insurance Contributions.The official age of retirement is 66 for both men and women and at least 10 years’ worth of National Insurance Contributions are needed for any State Pensions payment.

To be eligible for the full, New State Pension, people must have 35 years of National Insurance Contributions. Payments for the full, New State Pension are currently worth up to £185.15 per week, however, from April 2023 this will rise to £203.85.

DWP Minister for Pensions, Laura Trott MP, gave the response after SNP MP, Dave Doogan, asked about the possible policy change last week.

In a written response, Ms Trott said: “We have no plans to allow early access to State Pension.” She explained that for people at the end of their life, the UK Government’s priority is to provide financial support “quickly and compassionately”.Ms Trott said: “The main way that the Department does this is through special benefit rules, sometimes referred to as ‘the Special Rules’.“These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.” The Special Rules have applied to people who have six months or less to live and now they are being changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live - you can find out more about this on GOV.UK here.However, Ms Trott highlighted that in Scotland, State Pension could potentially be paid out earlier.She said: