Private pension

Hi all. I was recently ill health retired from work. I am at the assessment stage of UC and ESA. I have a phone LCWRA assessment on Monday. Today I received paperwork from my last employer stating that i can access my full pension and lump sum as my doctor has said I will never work again. I’m 49. Should I let the assessor know about this. I am in 2 minds about accessing my pension early. I know if I do access my pension I will have to declare this to UC and ESA. My fear is that the decision maker may say I am fit for work and I have basically accessed my pension too early and will lose quite a bit of money, ie lump sum, when I do reach retirement age. Am I better not accessing my pension or better accessing it and declaring it to DWP as I want to show I am will to help myself financially? Thanks

Thanks for your reply Gordon. I understand that financial advice cannot be provide here. Would it help my claim though, if I provided this evidence from my work pension and also my doctor, that they think I will never work again? Thanks.

Am not a mod, nor anything close to an expert, but would say re accessing your pension early decision, you really need sound advice from a financial advisor on that.
DWP deals with specifics and not something you are as yet undecided about.
Finally the assessor is dealing with your health and problems it poses on your ability to work, they do not deal with your actual claim itself, so they would not be able to take information on future possible income, as that is solely to do with DWP, so would be them you told once you have decided what you want to do regarding the pension if you decide to take it.
For sure speaking from experience, get sound financial advice before you make a decision, as it's a major decision and not one to be done without thought.

Hi Music Man, there is quite a lot to weigh up in this decision. Is it a private pension or public sector? I only have experience of ill health retirement pension of public sector. It is not an easy process and is a very thorough one before the independant doctor declares that you are unfit for work, especially until normal retirement age. Once this process has been gone through I am of the understanding that you wouldn't have any choice of whether the pension was put into payment if it were a public sector one, but don't know what the position of a private sector one would be. With a public sector one if declared unfit to work again before normal retirement age, then your pension would have the extra years that you would have worked and paid into it added in, thus providing an enhanced pension (roughly 18 years in your case if a public sector one) Do you have access to a union? as they can be useful for advise. Have you been provided with any figures as to what the pension will be yet? With contribution ESA the first £85 a week of the pension isn't taken into account, after that you lose 50p for every £ of pension. I think it would help your case with DWP that an independent doctor has said you are unfit for work. I know it did for my ESA. You can also take 25% of your pension pot as a lump sum now when retiring through ill health, this is tax free and wouldn't affect contribution based ESA. It would affect means tested benefits though as would count as savings. As bank interest rates have improved recently the lump sum could be invested, giving you passive income, but again this would affect means tested benefits. You would need to work out the financial implications of your situation to see what best for you. Personally I prefer less reliance on DWP and their ever changing goalposts and have the security of some financial means from my pension, if DWP decide at any point to stop my ESA or PIP. Hope this helps with your decision making.