A blood cancer diagnosis brings with it uncertainty. Uncertainty around your overall health, your work capacity and, in some cases, your life expectancy. In this blog, we explore superannuation and insurance benefits for people who have ceased work due to leukemia and other blood cancers.
If you are diagnosed with a blood cancer and your health is impacted to the point that you need to stop working, you may be entitled to claim income protection or total and permanent disability insurance benefits (TPD), which are held in your superannuation account.
Income protection claims due to blood cancer
Income protection benefits are monthly benefits and can be claimed whether the blood cancer:
- is likely to respond to treatment and is temporary; or
- is unable to be fully treated and is permanent.
Sometimes, income protection benefits are payable for two years; other times, they are payable for a longer period. It’s also important to be aware that income protection policies will usually have a waiting period before benefits can be accessed. You can learn more about this in our earlier blog, “Income protection waiting periods.”
Income protection payments can relieve some of the financial pressures by;
- helping to cover the cost of expensive treatments; and
- providing some income while you are unable to work and/or need to be away from work.
TPD claims due to blood cancer
As the name suggests, total and permanent disability or TPD benefits require that your illness is permanent to successfully claim.
This means that factors like your symptoms, the impact of your medical treatment, and the important duties of the work that you usually do will be considered as part of your application to be paid the relevant benefits.
For example, if you are a manual worker (like a construction worker) and one of the symptoms of your blood cancer is fatigue when you are doing physical duties in a dangerous environment, your claim is more likely to be accepted than a claim by an office worker.
Having said that, we have had a lot of success for office workers with blood cancer due to fatigue and the impact that fatigue has on cognition.
We understand that it can be hard to decide if you should go ahead with a TPD claim due to blood cancer, as treatment outcomes can be unpredictable.
Also, it’s sometimes difficult to know if the symptoms you are experiencing are due to your underlying illness or the treatment you have received and if those treatment-related symptoms are permanent.
However, successfully claiming a TPD benefit can significantly improve your financial circumstances and give you access to much-needed healthcare, which can aid recovery.
Your work capacity, now and in the future, should be central to any discussions you have with your doctor about the impact of your blood cancer on your employment. So too should be your ability to return to work in your old job or a similar job due to your specific symptoms.
If your doctors, including your haematologist or other specialist, support your TPD claim, you have good prospects of success regardless of whether it is the original blood cancer or the lasting effects of the treatment which cause your work incapacity.
We have had success with clients claiming TPD for blood cancers, even when the cancer has been successfully treated, but where there are permanent health issues caused by the treatment.
It’s also important to remember that, in most cases, you can still return to work that is outside your education, training and experience after being paid a TPD benefit.
Terminal illness and life insurance claims due to blood cancer
If your life expectancy is impacted by your blood cancer, and doctors consider that you have less than 24 (or, in some limited cases,12) months to live due to your illness, you may be able to claim an early payment of your life insurance benefit.
The claim will require the support of at least one specialist, and if your life insurance benefit is held in super, you will be able to access the life insurance benefit and your superannuation account balance tax-free.
Get help from a disability insurance lawyer
If you are struggling to work due to blood cancer, or the impact of the associated treatment, or if your doctors have given you a life-limiting prognosis, we think you should check your insurance entitlements and consider making a claim.
We are experts at TPD, income protection, and terminal illness claims. We have worked with many clients with blood cancer, delivering successful results in disability insurance claims. We provide free advice and can help you find out what disability insurance cover you have.
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