Debate contribution: Pension Schemes Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on 18 November 2025.

MLA

Mrs Linda Dillon

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

18 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Pension Schemes Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5244385

Read the official Assembly record

Text

We support the legislative consent motion on the Pension Schemes Bill, in particular the provisions that relate to terminal illness. We raised that matter with the Minister previously, and I appreciate that the LCM has come forward now. We also welcome the provisions on pension protection and the wider reforms that will extend important protections to people in the North. Marie Curie's report 'Dying in Poverty 2024' laid bare the reality that, every year, thousands of people across the North spend their final months in poverty. One in four terminally ill people of working age dies below the poverty line. Those are not abstract statistics but, rather, mothers, fathers, partners and friends. They are human beings, many of whom have worked all their life and paid into the system. They have raised a family and contributed to society, yet they are told that they must wait until pensionable age to access the very support that they themselves funded. That is indefensible. Some months ago, I attended a meeting of the all-party group (APG) on cancer. I thank Marie Curie for its work and for using the opportunity at the APG meeting to raise the issue of early access to their pension for people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. It was on the back of Marie Curie's presentation that I tabled a motion that called for legislation to ensure that people with a terminal illness can get early access to their pension. There was unanimous support from all parties for the motion, which called on the British Government to allow those with a terminal diagnosis early access to the state pension and further called on the Minister for Communities to engage with the Department for Work and Pensions to make the necessary legislative and administrative changes a reality. The message from the Assembly then was unambiguous. It was that compassion must shape policy. Financial security in the final months of life is a matter of dignity, fairness and humanity. The LCM aligns with that principle and reflects progress. The Pension Schemes Bill will ensure that those who belong to the Pension Protection Fund and are in the financial assistance scheme who are diagnosed with a terminal illness and given one year to live can access an early payout. The increase from six months is a step forward that is long overdue. Again, I acknowledge the work of Marie Curie to lobby and campaign on the issue in the Assembly and in the other legislatures. For too long, people have received the worst possible news while also facing the cruel and unnecessary burden of navigating complex systems, financial insecurity and delays that robs them of peace of mind in their final months. The legislation will begin to correct that injustice. It is a step in the right direction and reflects what Sinn Féin has consistently argued for, which is that it is unfair and inhumane to expect people who are living with a terminal illness to wait for the support that they may never live to receive. Let me be equally clear, however, that our work here is not finished. We want the protections to be extended further. We want all those who are facing incurable illnesses to have the ability to access their pension early so that they and their families can, in the time remaining to them, live their life with dignity and without fear of hardship or being forced into painful financial choices during a period that is already filled with enough heartbreak. The LCM ensures that the positive changes that will be made at Westminster will apply here and that people in the North are not left behind. It reinforces the direction that the Assembly set earlier this year, which is that compassion must be embedded in how we legislate, particularly for those who need it most. I therefore support the motion and welcome the fact that this is the second time today that we have debated legislation that is compassionate. I hope that the motion will be supported. I am sure that it will. It is something to be able to say that, twice in one day, we were able to debate compassionate legislation that everybody in the House supported.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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