If you are receiving workers compensation and approaching retirement age, you may be wondering whether your weekly payments will stop as soon as you become eligible for the Age Pension. The issue can be particularly important if a workplace injury has prevented you from working for several years or has brought your working life to an earlier end than you expected.
In NSW, reaching retirement age does affect how long weekly workers compensation payments can continue. However, payments do not necessarily stop on your birthday, and retirement age should not be confused with voluntarily deciding to retire from employment.
The rules also differ depending on whether you were injured before or after reaching retirement age.
What Does “Retiring Age” Mean for Workers Compensation?
For NSW workers compensation purposes, retiring age is linked to the age at which a person would be eligible to receive an Age Pension under Commonwealth legislation, subject to satisfying the other qualifying requirements.
Section 52 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) uses this definition when determining how long weekly payments can continue around retirement age.
SIRA similarly explains that retiring age is the age at which a person becomes eligible for the Age Pension.
Importantly, this is a statutory concept. It is not simply the age at which you personally planned to stop working.
Do Weekly Payments Stop As Soon As You Reach Retirement Age?
If you were injured before reaching retirement age and are still receiving weekly compensation when you reach it, you may remain entitled to weekly payments for a further 12 months.
SIRA states that workers receiving weekly payments when they reach retirement age may continue receiving those payments for another 12 months, subject to their continuing entitlement under the workers compensation scheme.
Section 52 of the Workers Compensation Act provides that, where the injury occurred before retiring age, weekly compensation is not payable for a resulting period of incapacity occurring after the first anniversary of the date the worker reaches retiring age.
In practical terms, reaching retiring age does not generally cause weekly compensation payments to stop immediately. Where the worker was injured before reaching retiring age and remains otherwise entitled to weekly compensation, the entitlement can continue until the first anniversary of reaching retiring age.
What If You Are Injured After Reaching Retirement Age?
Workers compensation may still apply. Being old enough to receive the Age Pension does not automatically exclude someone from workers compensation if they continue working and suffer a compensable workplace injury. The timing rule is different, however.
Where an injury occurs on or after retiring age, SIRA states that weekly payments may be available during the 12-month period beginning from the worker's first incapacity for work resulting from the injury.
For example, an older worker who remains employed after reaching retirement age and is subsequently injured may still have an entitlement to weekly compensation. The fact that they could have retired does not, by itself, mean they had stopped participating in the workforce.
Does Choosing to Keep Working Make a Difference?
Retirement age is increasingly relevant because not everyone stops working when they become eligible for the Age Pension.
Some people continue working full-time. Others reduce their hours, move into less physically demanding employment or continue working because they had always planned to retire later.
For workers compensation purposes, it is therefore important to distinguish between reaching the statutory retiring age and your actual employment intentions.
The legislation imposes specific limits on weekly payments based on retiring age, regardless of whether you personally intended to continue working for several more years.
However, evidence about your employment circumstances and future plans may still be relevant to other aspects of a compensation claim, particularly when entitled to a common law claim..
What Happens If You Were Already Receiving Weekly Payments?
Your insurer should not simply allow payments to disappear without warning. SIRA's Standards of Practice require insurers to provide workers affected by the retirement-age limit with written notification before weekly payments cease.
The notice should include:
- the date weekly payments will cease
- the date the final payment will be processed
- when entitlement to medical benefits is expected to cease
- information about who to contact for further assistance
SIRA's standard requires this notification to be provided at least 13 weeks before the cessation of weekly payments.
Receiving this notice gives you an opportunity to understand how the retirement provisions are being applied and seek advice if you believe the insurer has used the wrong date or otherwise incorrectly assessed your entitlement.
Does Retirement Age Override the Other Weekly Payment Rules?
Retirement age is only one of several factors that can affect weekly compensation. SIRA explains that ongoing weekly payments may also depend on matters including work capacity, return-to-work obligations, the 130-week entitlement period, the 260-week entitlement period and whether the worker meets particular permanent impairment requirements.
For example, some workers may lose entitlement to weekly payments under another provision before they ever reach retiring age. Conversely, certain workers with sufficiently high permanent impairment may otherwise qualify for payments extending towards retiring age. Current SIRA guidance provides that workers with particular levels of permanent impairment may receive weekly payments to retiring age, subject to the relevant statutory requirements.
The retirement provisions therefore need to be considered alongside the rest of the claim rather than in isolation.
What About Medical Treatment After Weekly Payments Stop?
The end of weekly income payments does not necessarily mean that every workers compensation entitlement ends on the same day.
Medical and related treatment expenses are governed by separate provisions and time limits. How long treatment remains payable can depend on the circumstances of the injury and claim.
SIRA's retirement notification standard specifically requires the insurer to tell an affected worker the date on which their entitlement to medical benefits will cease, separately from the date weekly payments end.
It is therefore important not to assume that reaching the end of weekly compensation automatically means approved medical treatment must also stop immediately.
What If You Disagree With the Insurer's Retirement-Age Decision?
An insurer may make a decision about when your weekly payments are due to cease, but that calculation should still be based on the legislation and the circumstances of your claim.
Potential issues could include disagreement about:
- when retiring age was reached
- when the relevant 12-month period began
- when incapacity first arose
- whether the injury occurred before or after retiring age
- other weekly payment entitlements applying to the claim
If you receive a notice stating that your payments will end, check the dates and reasoning carefully.
SIRA advises workers with unresolved concerns about weekly payment entitlements to contact the Independent Review Office (IRO). Depending on the nature of the dispute, other review or dispute-resolution options may also be available.
Why Planning Ahead Matters
For someone who has relied on weekly compensation because an injury prevents them from earning their previous income, the retirement-age limit can represent a substantial financial change.
The notice period provides an opportunity to understand when payments will end and what other entitlements or financial arrangements may apply afterwards.
It may also be worthwhile to review the broader workers compensation claim before weekly payments cease. Permanent impairment, outstanding treatment issues and other potential compensation rights do not necessarily turn on exactly the same rules as weekly payments.
Getting advice before the cessation date can therefore be more useful than waiting until the final payment has already been made.
How Can Law Advice Help?
Reaching retirement age does not necessarily end a workers compensation claim overnight, but it can change one of its most important components: ongoing weekly income support. The correct outcome depends on when you were injured, when incapacity arose, the type and circumstances of your claim and how the relevant NSW workers compensation provisions apply.
The workers compensation lawyers at Law Advice can review an insurer's retirement-age notice, check whether weekly payments have been calculated to the correct date and explain what other compensation entitlements may remain available after those payments cease. They can also assist where there is a dispute about the insurer's decision or another aspect of the claim.
If you are approaching retirement age while receiving workers compensation, getting advice from a lawyer like Law Advice before your payments are due to end can give you a clearer picture of what changes, what may continue and whether any outstanding rights need to be addressed.