When you seek retirement through ill-health, you will be expected to attend an Occupational Health appointment. Optima Health has been appointed by the Department for Education (DfE) to replace OH Assist in this task.
Optima Health will be responsible for providing medical advisory services to support ill-health retirement applications. They are a leading supplier of Occupational Health and Pension services in the UK and has past significant due diligence to ensure it has the experience and skill to deliver on this new contract.
As there had been a successful transition period, the transfer of the contract from OH Assist and Optima Health occurred on the 1st October 2019. The contract will run for a period of two years and six months.
What does this mean for members of the Teacher Pensions’ Scheme? The DfE are convinced that Optima Health will continue to work effectively with the scheme to offer a high-quality service to all members. If this is the case, then you should find your experience of ill-health retirement to be positive. Your application will run even more smoothly than it did before, and it is likely you will hardly notice the difference. You do now have the option to investigate the company who will be responsible for advising on your status.
Remember, to be judge suitable for ill-health retirement, you need to be considered currently and likely to be permanently unfit to teach. This assessment would need to be ratified by the medical professionals employed by Optima Health.
The content in this article was correct on 21st October 2019. You should not rely on this article to make important financial decisions. Teachers Financial Planning offers advice on pensions for teachers and non-teachers. Please use the contact form below to arrange an informal chat with an advisor and see how we can help you.
