Govt announces early pensions for ill workers
Fri 28 Mar 2008
28/03/2008
The government has announced that people who are too ill to work can qualify for early pensions. Pensions minister Mike O'Brian has published papers, which recommend that payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) be made up to five years early. "Everybody is agreed FAS members should receive their payments as quickly as possible - so we have been continuing to work with trustees and other stakeholders to look at ways in which this process can be speeded up," he said. The new initiative hopes also to speed up the claimant procedure by asking workers for their details three months before they retire. Mr O'Brian explained: "The changes made by these regulations will mean we have the basic information to enable payments to be made faster." The announcement came one day after the government's shakeup of the benefits system and followed the launch of its new Fit to Work scheme. |
related articles
