Protect your pension
The British Medical Association is backing
Age Concern's campaign to
protect the pensions and benefits of elderly and
disabled patients who
have to stay in hospital for longer than a month
and is calling on the
Government to take urgent action.
At the BMA Council meeting, doctors passed a
motion calling on
the Government to "urgently review the 'hospital
downrating rules'
whereby older and disabled people have their
state retirement pension,
income maintenance benefits and other allowances
reduced if hospitalised
in excess of a period of 4-6 weeks."
Dr Andrew Dearden chairman of the BMA's Community
Care Committee,
commented: "The fact that older people have their
benefits reduced when
they are in an NHS bed, is tantamount to them
being charged for its use.
The suggestion that they need less money as the
NHS is providing food and
lodgings is nonsense and ignores the fact that
many are still paying
bills for their own homes. The Government need to
urgently review this
grossly unfair and iniquitous policy."
Retirement pensions and other benefits and
allowances are reduced or
stopped after a person spends a period of time in
hospital. These
'hospital downrating' rules predominantly affect
older and disabled
people. Broadly speaking there are three types of
adjustments:
- set levels of reduction to retirement pensions and other income maintenance benefits
- reassessment of means-tested benefits
- the stopping altogether of certain benefits.
Examples
For a single person, after 6 weeks in hospital
the basic pension is
reduced by 39% (£28.30 at April 2001). Reductions
are increased up to a
maximum of 80% after 52 weeks in hospital,
reducing the pension to £14.50
(at April 2001). Additional elements of total
retirement pension paid
may also be lost.
After 4 weeks in hospital the severe disability
premium (paid as part of
Income Support benefits) will normally be
stopped. After 6 weeks in
hospital the Income Support amount for a single
person is reduced to
£18.15 (as at April 2001).
Attendance Allowance and Disability Living
Allowance are normally no
longer payable after someone has been in hospital
for four weeks. If a
stay in hospital is within 28 days of a previous
stay, the periods will
be added together and benefits will be stopped or
reduced sooner. This
has greatest affect on 'revolving door' patients
such as those with
mental illness and the frail elderly - those
often least able to manage
their affairs.
In September 2000, 31,500 pensioners were subject
to a reduction in their
pension.