Early retirement

I also took max lump sum as there is a high chance of me not reaching my mid 60s never mind 70s.

Carpe Diem!

On the treatment at work situation my head teacher told me she thought i should be retiring!

I would have won a grievance case against her but according to my professional rep at SSTA it would take an intolerable toll on my well being to pursue it.

She telephoned HR who metaphorically kicked ass about inappropriate comments.

Thanks for the info Lyne/Ulsterman

i will speak to the RCN on Monday about temporary reduced hours and the impact of pay

👍

Yeah Dave,

thats important and I need to give it serious thought before embarking on any major decisions

Many thanks for the informative post about your situation as it relates closely to my situation. I have been teaching in London in the state system for some twenty years and was diagnosed like you with T3a disease at the age of 51. Like you, I have had RP, SRT and am receiving HT at the moment. Have chosen to opt for early retirement and am presently applying for my Teachers' Pension. My oncologist and GP are completing the forms and I have an appointment pending with the mental health doctor. Could you give some suggestions as to what to discuss with the mental health doctor aside from stress/anxiety in the classroom as it relates to our condition? Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Additionally, any examples of statements or key words/points that the mental health doctor wrote on your form would be a great help. Thanks again.

You haven’t got cancer (like me, for now), but there might be a financial advantage to you if you did. That is all wrong.

Hope it all pans out ok for all of you.

Best of luck!

Cheers, John.

Although I retired on medical grounds I was deemed fit enough to do jobs other than teaching! As a result I didn’t get any enhancement on my pension.

And that is the issue - even if I do have a recurrence, the fact that my cancer will then be incurable does not necessarily mean that I am incapable of doing any job in the organisation, if it has one available which meets my skill set.  I think it will only be once I become a burden to the organisation that the pension scheme really kicks in.  It isn't the fact that one has incurable cancer that is the criteria for early medical retirement - it is how that cancer impacts upon your ability to do the job.  And, of course, there are death in service benefits to consider too.  My death in service is three times my annual salary, so as a headteacher, that is a considerable sum.  I need to know how quickly I'm likely to die if I have a recurrence as I wouldn't want my kids to lose out on that.

It's funny how our protective systems almost make want to be ill so that we unlock big sums of money.

And no one should proceed without sound independent financial advice.

Ulsterman

Edited by member 10 Jun 2019 at 15:11  | Reason: Not specified

Hi Bri, the threshold was pretty high, but the reports focused on my ability to sustain 55-60 hour weeks, be on my feet a lot, and deal with fatigue plus toilet issues. Plus the stress of dealing with exam entries, staff issues, pupil discipline, 14 hour days when a patents consultation was happening after school etc.

You can’t just leave a class of teenagers when you need to go to the loo otherwise trouble erupts? Especially as I was teaching Physics so pupils would be doing experiments which adds another layer and of potential health and safety issues.

I was also suffering from anxiety and depression which was taken into account.

My body wasn’t coping and unlikely to recover to a point where it could cope.

I was also suffering visual migraines which intensified with stress and fatigue.

That was what decided it.

After surgery alone I wouldn’t have qualified. I’m sorry to read your employer is setting even higher thresholds.

All the best.

That’s a tough one Bri. Hope you didn’t mind my more detailed response.