Long road … Breast cancer sufferer Inge McNeil was eventually granted access to her superannuation fund after applying directly to them to help pay for cancer treatment. Picture: News Corp Australia Source: News Corp Australia
WHEN terminally ill breast cancer patient Inge McNeil tried to access her superannuation to pay for life-extending treatment costing $5,000 every three weeks, the Department of Human Services said no.
Instead, they told her to use the money she had saved to replace her 30 year old car.
“It was not just that I was knocked back, there was no compassion in the man’s voice, it was like I was talking to an automaton, he was so cold blooded,” she said.
The 44-year-old Taree mother of two is one of thousands of terminally ill patients who’ve had their application to access their own retirement savings rejected.
Access denied … Breast cancer sufferer Inge McNeil is drawing attention to the difficulties cancer sufferers face in trying to access their superannuation fund early to pay for ‘lifesaving’ treatment. Picture: News Corp Australia Source: News Corp Australia
Others have struggled to find two doctors who will both sign a form stating the patient has less than 12 months to live.
Many who need money to pay for medical treatment can’t cope with the ten page application form that requires them to deliver proof of their financial hardship, medical tests and certificates and get a Justice of the Peace to certify they can’t work.
Secondary breast cancer is an incurable illness with an average life expectancy of two to three years but government rules specify to get access to superannuation you must have just a year to live.
Red tape … Terminally ill cancer patients like Inge McNeil must get two doctors to certify they are likely to die within a year before they can access their superannuation. Picture: Supplied Source: News Corp Australia
The Breast Cancer Network of Australia is fighting to change this. It says the government should change the rules to enable people with a life expectancy of up to 24 months to access their lump sum superannuation tax free.
BCNA chief executive Christine Nolan says the current system causes “anguish” as cancer patients are put in the trying position of asking two medical specialists to certify they are dying.
“This may also conflict with the medical specialists’ altruistic obligation to foster and maintain hope for a woman and her family despite the presence of incurable disease,” she says.
“In addition, doctors may be unsure of the legal interpretation of the wording “likely to die” and the onus of any legal repercussions if life extends beyond such a prognosis,” she says.
The network surveyed over 580 women living with secondary breast cancer in August last year and found the 60 per cent who reported their diagnosis had resulted in financial difficulty in the past week.
On average, they were spending $5300 a year on medicines, medical scans and radiotherapy not covered by Medicare or insurers with some facing charges of $20,000 for drugs not subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Out of the 170 women surveyed, 29 per cent said they had not been able to access their superannuation to help with these costs.
Moral dilemma … Doctors trying to help cancer patients live are conflicted when asked to sign a document certifying they will die within a year. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
Department of Human Services figures show 6447 people applied for early access to their super in 2013-14 to pay for medical treatment, and 1924 had their application rejected.
In the 2014-15 year to date. another 1360 people had their application to access superannuation for medical treatment rejected.
A spokesman for the Department of Human Services said he understood that customers who apply to access their superannuation funds early “are typically in testing circumstances, and our staff have been trained to treat these customers with the utmost respect and sensitivity”.
“I apologise that the customer believes we did not handle her case with the sensitivity her situation deserves,” he said.
Those who do get hold of their superannuation are distressed they face monthly phone calls from their fund to check if they are “still alive” and “still sick”.
“I got my super payout but now every four weeks, on the 14th of every month, I get a phone call from the superannuation people just making sure I’m still here,” says Queensland mum Donna Penny.
She must also get her doctor to fill out a two page document every three months to says she still has a terminal illness.
“It’s just their job but it’s a real invasion of my privacy and if I was on my death bed I’d be livid,” she says.
Ongoing stress … Terminally ill cancer patients who manage to get access to their superannuation are distressed by monthly phone calls from their fund to check if they are “still alive” and “still sick”. Picture: Supplied Source: Getty Images
The Cancer Council runs a pro bono program that provides access to over 900 experts in financial planning, lawyers, accountants and human resources experts to help people with cancer.
Sarah Penman, the national manager of the program, says since March 2010, the Cancer Council has helped 3,589 cancer patients get early access to their superannuation.
The grounds for early access are very specific and they are set down in Commonwealth law, she says.
There are two ways patients can access their superannuation. They can apply to the Department of Human Services and on compassionate grounds ask to access their superannuation to pay for medical treatment.
If they have a terminal illness, they can apply direct to their health fund to access their superannuation and need two doctors to sign a certificate stating they are likely to die in the next 12 months.
Ways to access super … The Cancer Council runs a pro bono program that helps people access their superannuation. Picture: Supplied Source: ThinkStock
Too many doctors don’t want to distress their patients and instead write that it is possible the patient may die, or that their prognosis is terminal but this is not good enough to allow access to superannuation, she says.
“It’s an awful situation. The doctor is trying to save the patient and are at the same time asked to sign a document that says the opposite,” she says.
Inge McNeil eventually got access to her superannuation by applying directly to her superannuation fund, and she’ll need every penny because the next stage of her cancer treatment will cost $12,000.
“The government acts like it’s their money, it’s not, it’s your money,” she says.
“I’m never going to reach old age which is what super is for,” she says.
“I don’t think you have to have just 12 months to live, you should be able to access it so the quality of the live you have left can be the best,” she says.
Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told News Corp he was prepared to consider changes to the system to help those with a terminal illness.
“I have great empathy for people suffering from terminal illness and can understand their frustration over the restrictions currently in place,” he told News Corp.
“The current legislation does provide for the early release of superannuation benefits in certain limited circumstances, but I am prepared to look at what improvements can be made in this area in consultation with groups such as BCNA to try and address the concerns of those suffering from terminal illness,” he said.
Originally published as The blow that is worse than cancer