Debate contribution: State Pension Access: Terminally Ill People

Debate contribution by Mr Colin Crawford on 31 March 2025.

MLA: Mr Colin Crawford
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 31 March 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: State Pension Access: Terminally Ill People
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4872110

Text

I thank the Members opposite for tabling the motion and the Minister for coming to listen to and respond to the debate. When someone receives the devastating news that their life is going to be cut short because of illness, their focus should be on spending precious, quality time with their loved ones making memories, not on financial anxiety. As things stand, however, many terminally ill people in Northern Ireland face unnecessary hardship in their final months. They are forced to work through a complex benefits system while coping with the physical and emotional toll of their condition. We in the Ulster Unionist Party believe that a society is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable. By that measure, we must do better. That is why we support the motion, which seeks to provide terminally ill individuals with early access to their state pension. It is a simple, dignified solution to alleviate financial distress at the most difficult time imaginable. Those who have worked hard and paid into the state pension throughout their working life should not be denied the security of that support when they need it most. It is not a handout but an acceleration of an earned entitlement, allowing individuals to face their final days with one less burden. A terminal diagnosis brings with it immediate financial pressures, from medical costs to making memories with family, and early access to the state pension could provide a more stable and substantial form of financial support than discretionary payments alone. Members, politics often divides, but there are moments when we must rise above partisan lines and act in the interests of the common good. Today is one of those moments. No one in the Chamber would wish to see their loved ones, or indeed themselves, spend their final months worrying about bills instead of cherishing time with their family. We must therefore urge the UK Government to listen, act and make that change. We encourage the Minister for Communities to play a proactive role in advocating it. It is not about party politics but about doing what is right.

351 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Awaiting analysis

This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification