Financial difficulties
Hi everyone
I was diagnosed in August with ILC and have only been able to work a handful of days since my diagnosis. Since I started chemo I've been hospitalised with a blood clot (DVT) in my leg, pneumocystis (PJP) and most recently Clostridium Difficle (C. Diff). I'v had severe fatigue from the chemo and have been an emotional wreck from this entire experience.
I've been extremely lucky though that my employer has been so supportive and has placed no pressure on me returning to work and is open to me coming in on any day for however long I can just to keep in touch. They have also generously offered me one months pay ex gratia.
My issue is that I have now exhausted all of my sick leave and have only a couple of weeks left of my annual leave but am not in a position mentally or health wise to return to work yet. Foolishly, when I was younger I never opted for income protection on my superannuation so I don't have this to fall back on either.
I contacted my Super fund to ask how I could access some funds from my super to allow me a couple of more months before I had to return to work. They advised me that this was dealt with by the ATO with a request for compassionate release of super funds. I went through this process on line and even called the ATO but unfortunately I don't fit into any of their categories to be able to claim compassionate funds. You have to be unable to pay your medical bills (mine are all up to date), have a terminal illness (Stage 3 BC isn't classed as terminal) or be in mortgage foreclosure (which I'm not, but may end up there soon if I don't return to work). The ATO directed me back to my Super fund to ask for financial hardship payment.
My Super fund advised that to claim financial hardship, I had to be receiving Centrelink payments for a minimum of 26 weeks.
This whole process is so frustrating but is also adding to my stress levels and anxiety. I've worked hard for so many years to make sure I was in a good place with my financial situation but this has just been eroded over the last few months due to BC. I feel like the ATO and Super fund want me to be in complete financial distress before they'll assist but I'm trying to be proactive and avoid getting into that situation.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? Does anyone know of any other avenues that can be taken to access superannuation?
I was diagnosed in August with ILC and have only been able to work a handful of days since my diagnosis. Since I started chemo I've been hospitalised with a blood clot (DVT) in my leg, pneumocystis (PJP) and most recently Clostridium Difficle (C. Diff). I'v had severe fatigue from the chemo and have been an emotional wreck from this entire experience.
I've been extremely lucky though that my employer has been so supportive and has placed no pressure on me returning to work and is open to me coming in on any day for however long I can just to keep in touch. They have also generously offered me one months pay ex gratia.
My issue is that I have now exhausted all of my sick leave and have only a couple of weeks left of my annual leave but am not in a position mentally or health wise to return to work yet. Foolishly, when I was younger I never opted for income protection on my superannuation so I don't have this to fall back on either.
I contacted my Super fund to ask how I could access some funds from my super to allow me a couple of more months before I had to return to work. They advised me that this was dealt with by the ATO with a request for compassionate release of super funds. I went through this process on line and even called the ATO but unfortunately I don't fit into any of their categories to be able to claim compassionate funds. You have to be unable to pay your medical bills (mine are all up to date), have a terminal illness (Stage 3 BC isn't classed as terminal) or be in mortgage foreclosure (which I'm not, but may end up there soon if I don't return to work). The ATO directed me back to my Super fund to ask for financial hardship payment.
My Super fund advised that to claim financial hardship, I had to be receiving Centrelink payments for a minimum of 26 weeks.
This whole process is so frustrating but is also adding to my stress levels and anxiety. I've worked hard for so many years to make sure I was in a good place with my financial situation but this has just been eroded over the last few months due to BC. I feel like the ATO and Super fund want me to be in complete financial distress before they'll assist but I'm trying to be proactive and avoid getting into that situation.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? Does anyone know of any other avenues that can be taken to access superannuation?