This information provides a practical guide to people diagnosed with cancer, their families and friends. Financial issues can cause worry when someone becomes ill. Many people find that a diagnosis of cancer affects their finances and can cause money problems.

Many people can give you advice on your financial situation. Getting some advice early may save you a lot of time and energy.

The social worker at the hospital can often give you advice on sources of financial help. Your local Social Security office can give you information about benefits which you may be entitled to. Your local Citizens' Advice Bureau can give you financial and legal advice; its number will be in your local phone book. Some cancer support organisations, hospitals and self-help groups have benefits advisers who can advise you on whether you may be eligible for any benefits or grants.

It may be helpful to contact an independent financial adviser (IFA). IFAs can assess your individual situation and recommend the best course of action. You can find a local IFA by referral from family or friends, looking in your phone book, or by contacting the Personal Finance Society, IFA Promotions or Find a Professional website at www.findapro.co.uk

Many factors need to be taken into account when assessing your entitlement to benefits. The Department for Work and Pensions provides booklets which outline all the statutory benefits to which you may be entitled. You can get copies from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or Social Security office, which will also be able to advise you about the benefits you can claim. The addresses and telephone numbers are in the phone book. You can also get information from the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 882200 or the Department for Work and Pensions website at www.dwp.gov.uk.

Particular booklets that you may find helpful include:

• A guide to benefits (MG1)
• Sick or disabled? (SD1)
• Going into hospital (GL12).

Maximise your income

• If you are working, you can speak to your employer to see which company pay benefits are available and how to make a claim.
• If you are unlikely to return to work before retirement age (50–70), then you may be able to retire on medical grounds. You can ask your employer or human resources manager for details. Remember to check what effect this may have on your benefit entitlement.
• Contact your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or local Welfare Rights worker to see if you are entitled to particular benefits.
• If you have any health-related insurance policies such as income protection, critical illness cover or private medical insurance, contact the insurance companies to see if you can make a claim. If you have a financial adviser they can do this on your behalf.
• If you belong to a company or occupational pension scheme and are terminally ill, it may be possible to transfer the pension fund into a personal arrangement. This will allow you to access the pension fund straight away. An independent financial adviser can give you further information about this.

Reduce your outgoings

• Check to see if you have any insurance cover in the event of sickness and/or unemployment. For example, for your mortgage, or for any credit or store cards.
• List all your fixed outgoings (weekly, monthly and annually) and see if any can be reduced or stopped.
• If you have a mortgage, this is likely to be your biggest outgoing. It may be helpful to check whether you can re-mortgage to a lower interest rate. It is important to find out if you have insurance cover on your mortgage before doing this. It is not always possible to re-mortgage because your credit rating may be reduced if you are no longer working. However, it may be possible if you have any equity in your property. Try to keep your mortgage company aware of your situation.
• If you have any balances on credit or store cards, you may be able to swap these to companies with lower rates or negotiate lower repayments. Again, your credit rating may affect this.
• If you have received any money from sickness policies it may be possible to use this to reduce or clear debts.

• List all your assets such as deposit accounts, stock market investments, endowments and pension schemes
• List your debts in a similar way
• Arrange a will or update your existing will so that it matches your circumstances, and ensure that it reflects your wishes
• If your assets, including your house and life insurance, are over the Inheritance Tax threshold (£300,000 but raised to £600,000 for couples in 2007) your heirs may have to pay inheritance tax. This is a tax on death of 40% of your estate over the threshold and must be paid by them before any money is passed on. In certain circumstances, the amount paid can be reduced and you may want to contact your solicitor or financial adviser for advice. Nominating life insurance policies and pension plans to named people can stop them becoming part of your main estate, which means that they are then not included in the sum on which inheritance tax must be paid.

If you are employed and unable to work, your employer should pay you Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for a maximum of 28 weeks.You may be able to get working tax credit during this period.

If you are still unable to work after this period, you may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). This is a new benefit which replaces Incapacity Benefit. It is being introduced at the end of October 2008.

There are two parts to ESA. A contributory part which is dependant on how much National Insurance you have paid, and a means tested part which is dependant on your income and savings. You may get either or both parts.

ESA is paid at a basic rate for the first 13 weeks. During this time you will have to take part in a ‘work capability assessment’ and attend a work focused interview.

After the 13 week period you will be assessed and placed into one of two groups: the support group or the work related activity group.

If you are found to have limited capability for work you will be placed in the support group. An additional payment will be paid to anyone in the support group.

If you are found not to have limited capability for work you will placed in the work related activity group. A small additional payment will be paid to anyone in this group. You will have to attend five more work focused interviews. The interviews are to help you get back into work.

If you are self-employed you are entitled to claim ESA as long as you have paid the correct level of National Insurance contributions.

People who have not paid the relevant National Insurance contributions may qualify for ESA under the means tested route.

If you are ill and not able to claim, remember to ask your GP for a medical certificate for the period of your illness. If you are in hospital, ask your doctor or nurse for a certificate to cover the time that you are an inpatient. This is necessary if you need to claim a benefit.

If you have long-term (nine months minimum) or permanent disability and need help with looking after yourself or getting around, you may qualify for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) if you are under 65, or for Attendance Allowance (AA) if you are 65 or over. Ask your local Social Security office for claim forms.

You can claim Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance even if you are working, and even if no-one actually gives you the help you need. If you claim DLA or AA and someone is looking after you, they may be able to claim Carer's Allowance. If they claim carer's allowance, it may affect your means-tested benefits, so seek advice about this.

If you are claiming under 'special rules' (a fast-track claim for people who may not live longer than six months), your doctor needs to complete a form, in addition to the application form, for either benefit. It is always difficult to tell exactly how long someone may live and many people with advanced cancer may be entitled to this benefit, so it can be helpful to check with your doctor. Claiming it does not mean that you will live less than six months.

If you are awarded the Mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance you will have an automatic entitlement to a Blue Badge parking concession and, if you use a car or one is used for you, to exemption from road tax.

If your cancer was caused as a result of your employment you may qualify for Industrial Injuries Benefits. You can ask for details from the Department for Work and Pensions.

If you have a disability caused by your cancer or its treatment, you may be able to get further help such as special equipment put into your home (eg ramps or hand-rails), bus and train concessions and a special key to give you access to toilets for disabled people. You can get details of these schemes from your local Social Services office.

Under certain circumstances, people on very low incomes can claim Income Support or Pension Credit if they are 60 or over. Income Support and Pension Credit can allow you to claim various other benefits (such as full Housing Benefit, council tax benefit or free school meals) so it is important to check whether you are entitled to claim these.

People on low incomes can get some financial help from their Local Authority, such as educational grants for children over 16 in full-time education, free school meals, Council Tax Benefit, or Housing Benefit.

You may also be able to get tax credits from the HM Revenue & Customs such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. You can get information about these from a social worker, a Citizens' Advice Bureau, the Department for Work and Pensions or the Tax Credits Helpline (Great Britain: 0845 300 3900; or Northern Ireland: 0845 603 2000). 

If you are on a low income you may also be entitled to help with NHS costs, including travel for hospital treatment, dental treatment, prescriptions, wigs, glasses and sight tests. You can get information about these benefits from your local Social Security office, the Benefit Enquiry Line (0800 882200) or the Department for Work and Pensions website at www.dwp.gov.uk

You are automatically entitled to free prescriptions and do not have to pay other NHS costs if you:

• are over 60
• are under 16
• are aged 16–19 and still in full-time education
• claim Income Support or some other benefits
• are pregnant
• have had a baby in the last 12 months
• have a Welsh GP and get your prescriptions from a Welsh pharmacist
• are Welsh but have an English GP, as long as you have an entitlement card and get your prescriptions from a Welsh pharmacist
• have a war or MoD Disablement Pension and need prescriptions for a war injury
• have particular long-term medical conditions – details of these are given in leaflet HC11 which you can get from the Social Security office. Unfortunately, cancer itself does not entitle you to free prescriptions, but you may be eligible for other reasons.

If you are not automatically entitled to free prescriptions, but are on a low income you can apply on form HC1 for a certificate for free services or reduced charges.

If you need a lot of prescriptions but cannot get them for free, you can cut costs by buying a pre-payment certificate for four months or a year. You save money if you need more than five prescription items in four months, or more than 14 items in a year. You can get a claim form (FP95) from your GP, your health authority or main post offices. Ring 0845 850 0030 to buy a pre-payment certificate over the phone using your credit or debit card.

You may also be able to claim grants and benefits from other organisations or charities. Macmillan Cancer Support gives one-off grants to people with cancer and you can contact its information line on 0808 808 2020 for information on how to claim. Applications must be made through a Macmillan nurse, social worker or advice organisation.

People under 21 can also apply for grants from CLIC Sargent. Again, applications need to be made by a health or social care professional. You can get further information by phoning 020 8752 2825 or emailing grants@sargent.org

A variety of charities will provide grants and financial help for particular situations or people with particular types of cancer. Speak to one of our cancer support service nurses to find out more.

The Association of Charity Officers is an organisation that tries to help individuals to find specific charities that may be able to offer some financial assistance. Using information about you such as your occupation, where you live, your religion and your type of cancer it is usually able to find relevant charities. It can be contacted on 01707 651 777, or via the website www.aco.uk.net

A book that gives details of all the trusts and organisations that provide financial support to people in the UK is available from bookshops or local libraries:

• A Guide to Grants for Individuals in Need 2006/2007. A. French, G. Lynch and R. Ryland. Directory of Social Change. ISBN 978-1-903991-74-9. Priced: £34.95.

It is sometimes difficult for people to obtain life assurance, a pension or a mortgage after a diagnosis of cancer.

Some financial services companies offer life assurance policies, mortgages and/or other financial services to people with cancer. Each company will look at the person's situation (the type of cancer you have and the length of time since completing treatment) and may need to discuss your circumstances with your doctor before deciding whether to offer you a policy. The company can only advise on its own policies. You may be charged a higher premium than usual for a policy and most companies will not offer policies until two to three years after you have finished treatment.

As companies have different charges and conditions for their services, it may be helpful to contact an independent financial adviser (IFA). IFAs can contact several life assurance companies or mortgage lenders on your behalf. IFAs offer independent advice and can let you know which companies offer the best terms for your individual situation. IFAs may charge a fee for their initial search or take a commission when a policy or mortgage is arranged.

People who have been told that they are terminally ill and need to gain some money quickly may benefit from a viatical settlement. A viatical settlement is the name for a transaction in which an independent financial company buys an existing life insurance or endowment policy from a person who is terminally ill. All future benefits from the policy are assigned to the financial company, but the ill person can have access to a percentage of their policy value before his or her death. This is known as a living benefit.

When a finance company buys a life insurance policy from a person who is terminally ill, the original policyholder receives a percentage of its value (usually 50–80%) as an immediate cash lump sum.

The finance company then becomes responsible for all further payments of premiums, and receives all money paid by the insurance company when the policyholder dies. Finance companies offering this service will have differing qualifying requirements. They may need to discuss your medical condition in confidence with your doctor. You will be asked detailed questions about the policy you wish to sell, your medical details and your personal situation (eg if you have dependants under the age of 18, other provision must be made for them).

Viatical settlements are usually available only to people who are expected to live less than three years. However, these policies are always assessed on an individual basis. Sometimes money can be recovered from life insurance policies in other ways, such as surrendering the whole policy to the insurance company. It is always important to seek advice from a financial adviser before agreeing to a viatical settlement, as these transactions may have effects on other sources of income such as your entitlement to benefits or grants.

If you get into debt because of reduced income and higher outgoings due to cancer, seek help as soon as possible, and do not panic.

You can check with the hospital social worker or your local Social Security office that you are receiving all the income to which you are entitled. It may be possible for your income to be increased.

Try to deal first with debts relating to mortgage or rent arrears, or essential services to your home, such as fuel supplies.

If you are claiming Income Support or Pension Guarantee Credit, you can get payments deducted directly from your benefit for fuel, Council Tax, rent arrears and water charges. There is a limit to the amount that can be deducted, but this system can help if you are having problems with budgeting.

If you are in arrears with payments for hire purchase agreements (such as for a washing machine, car or furniture) the creditors may harass you and this can be distressing. Creditors cannot have you put in prison or seize your home, although they may sometimes threaten to do this.

If you are unable to pay your debts, it is essential to let your creditors know and to explain the reasons why. Most companies are prepared to accept reduced payments or even none at all for a time. Creditors sometimes decide that it is in their best interest to accept smaller, regular payments to get the debt paid off, rather than going to court.

The National Debt Line can offer free, confidential advice on dealing with debt. It can be contacted by calling 0808 808 4000, or through its website at www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

This section has been compiled using information from a number of reliable sources including:

• Department for Work and Pensions website www.dwp.gov.uk.

For further references, please see the general bibliography.