The UK Government could stop terminally ill people of working age being driven into poverty by increasing its annual spend on the State Pension by just 0.1%[1].  

New research funded by the end of life charity, Marie Curie, shows that giving this group early access to their State Pension could almost halve their rate of poverty across the South West[2], lifting more than 750 dying people in the region out of poverty every year.  

"It does seem to have got worse recently. We're going in to some freezing cold houses, it's hard for us as carers but even harder for the patient and their family.

"People often tell me they struggle to navigate the benefits system or access the support they need. It's awful seeing people worry about money when they should be focused on making those final few weeks and months special."

Marie Curie says the change would be transformative for families affected by terminal illness and could be delivered at a minimal cost to the taxpayer.  

The cost of introducing this change has been calculated at £114.4 million per year[3], which is 0.1% of the annual State Pension bill and just £4 million more than the Department for Work and Pensions spent on overpaying the State Pension in error last year[4].  

Those who die in working age are twice as likely to spend their final year of life in poverty compared to people of pension age[5].  Marie Curie says this change would reduce the likelihood of a terminal diagnosis driving working age people into poverty.  

The charity also highlights that most people who die in working age have paid their national insurance contributions for 24 years[6].   

The charity's Dying in Poverty campaign has shown how terminal illness can force working age people into poverty, with one in four people who dies in working age spending their last year of life below the poverty line[7].  

Mark Jackson, Marie Curie Senior Policy & Research Manager, says: "If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness under the age of 65 you are more likely to be driven into poverty as a direct result of that illness. Why? Because the benefits that are available to working age adults are simply not fit for purpose.  

"The State Pension is the single most effective safeguard against poverty in our social security system. But no matter how long they have paid in, people living with terminal illness in working age are denied this security. Most people unlucky enough to die in working age have paid their national insurance contributions for 24 years. Having contributed for so many years, it is only right that the State Pension supports people when they need it.  

"Extending that safeguard would prevent thousands of people living with terminal illness falling into poverty at the end of their lives. It is the minimum of what a civilised society should expect to do for dying people.  

The campaign has substantial public support, with over 160,000 petition signatures[8] and polls show that 75% of UK adults support giving dying people early access to their State Pension[9].  

 Furthermore, 72% believe the government has a responsibility to protect terminally ill people from falling into poverty[10].  

In support of the campaign, Helen Barnard, Associate Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Research and Policy Director at Pro Bono Economics, says:   

Definition of poverty  

The researchers have used the Social Metrics Commission (SMC) definition of poverty for this work which considers the extent to which someone's resources, after housing costs, meet their needs. This measure considers so-called 'inescapable costs' such as childcare and disability, which some households face and that make them more likely to experience poverty. It also considers all available financial resources a household has, such as savings or investments, in addition to income from earnings and benefits. These adjustments produce a measure of 'Total Resources Available' for a household. The SMC decided to use the threshold of 54% of the three-year average of median Total Resources Available. In 2020 the Department for Work & Pensions evaluated the Social Metrics Commission's work and concluded that it could form the basis of a new measure of poverty for official statistics