The Financial Assistance Scheme
The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) offers financial help to some people who have lost out on their occupational pension because:
- their scheme was under funded when it started to wind up, and
- their employer has been unable to make up the shortfall.
Payments to eligible scheme members can usually start at the member’s normal retirement age, with a lower age limit of age 60, but the FAS can consider early access payments on the basis of:
- terminal illness, or
- ill health.
Early access payments – terminally ill
What we mean by terminally ill
Regulation 2 of the Financial Assistance Scheme Regulations 2005 defines “terminally ill”. A person is terminally ill at any time if, at that time, they are suffering from a progressive disease and their death as a result of that disease can reasonably be expected within six months.
This is the same definition as is used for social security benefits, for example when applying for early access to Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance under the Special Rules.
Applying for early access – FAS annual payments on the grounds of terminal illness
When the FAS receives a request for early access payments, they will ask for evidence that the applicant is terminally ill.
Where a scheme member is entitled to Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance under the Special Rules no further evidence is needed. However, for some scheme members the Special Rules cannot be applied because, for example, they:
- are now living abroad
- are being looked after in residential care by a local authority, or are long-term hospital patients
- already qualify for the highest rate(s) of Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance under ‘normal rules’ before they were considered to be terminally ill. So they would not gain anything by making a claim for Special Rules in Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance
- do not wish to make a claim for Special Rules in Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance.
When this happens the FAS will issue form FAS1500 to the person who applied for early access on the grounds of terminal illness and ask them to arrange for the scheme member’s medical practitioner to complete it. The medical practitioner may, amongst others, include a GP, a doctor or consultant from the hospital, or a Specialist Nurse (including Macmillan Nurses).
If you are the medical practitioner
Some patients may not know the nature of their illness. So when you are asked to complete this form, please do not assume that your patient knows that they are terminally ill.
Your patient may be unaware that an application (request) for early access payments is being made.
The FAS needs the information requested on this form urgently, to support the application for early access payments.
You may use your knowledge and the patient’s records to get the information you need. Generally, you will not need to examine the patient.
What information to give on the form
The FAS needs you to give factual information. The FAS does not expect you to give a prognosis.
The FAS needs you to give sufficient information to enable another doctor to advise whether your patient is terminally ill. You should use language that you would normally use when communicating with other doctors.
The FAS is not asking you to decide whether your patient qualifies for early access to payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme.
If you are a GP then you may claim a fee for completing the form.
Early access payments – ill health
What are FAS ill health payments?
If a qualifying member is not entitled to early unreduced FAS payments because they are not terminally ill, they may wish to consider early, reduced payments from the FAS on ill health grounds. Qualifying members can be entitled to these early access payments up to five years before their normal retirement age. These payments are called “ill health payments”.
To receive early, reduced, ill health payments from the FAS, an eligible member of a qualifying pension scheme must be:
- within five years of their normal retirement age (normal retirement age has a lower age limit of 60 and an upper age limit of 65)
- unable to work due to ill health
- likely to be unable to work due to ill health until their normal retirement age, and
- not already entitled to an annual payment from the FAS.
It is possible to have entitlement to ill health payments from the FAS if a member is still working but has been advised that they should not work due to their ill health.
Applying for early access – ill health payments from the FAS
Application forms for FAS ill health payments are available from the FAS Operational Unit.
If you are the medical practitioner
Patients applying for early access to FAS payments on ill health grounds are required to provide certain evidence. This can include:
- evidence of entitlement to relevant benefits
- a letter from a former employer
- GP’s medical certificate, for example, supplied for other reasons such as a claim for benefits or Social Security credits
- a letter from a consultant or occupational therapist
- other details of medical treatment such a regular hospital appointments
- evidence of receiving an ill-health-related scheme pension, or
- any other evidence the applicant believes may support their application.
The FAS is not able to refund any costs incurred for obtaining evidence to support applications for ill health payments.
More information about FAS
There is more information about the FAS on this website.
This includes details of how to contact the FAS.