John is disabled, but he can’t access his pension. Why? Long Covid isn’t on the list

One of our members at the University and College Union (UCU), John*, used to enjoy Ironman contests, but now walking to his own bathroom is a feat of will. His resting heart rate was a remarkable 40 beats per minute (bpm), but now sitting up sees it hit 220bpm. He suffers from long Covid and his life has changed beyond measure. His partner is now his carer. He can’t work any more.

And for seriously ill people such as John the only option is to retire through ill health and hope someone, somewhere, some time finds a cure. For those who will never be well enough to return to work, pension schemes need to understand that people don’t have the luxury of waiting five or 10 years for a diagnosis to emerge. Long Covid causes John’s debilitating symptoms – his doctor has testified to that fact. However, there is no specific organ damage, nothing that allows a medic to promise an employer the patient has exhausted their treatment and they won’t get better.
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...s-union-work-workplace?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

Same is true for ME/CFS for most pension schemes, has been for a long time. A union friend of mine has been dealing with one such person this past week. They just had their income protection pulled after a (clearly wrong) doctor declared them fit to work and now they are trying to maybe medically retire and can't. They can't get out of bed and here is a doctor signing them fit to walk into the office for 40 hours a week, its insanity. These crimes against humanity have been happening in ME/CFS for decades upon decades at this point and now the same crimes are being committed on long haulers, even though in just a few short years the size of those suffering is enormous.