Hi. A bit complicated. But I hope you can at least tell me where to look for answers.
My husband was diagnosed a few months ago with advanced aggressive prostate cancer. He's doing well now, going through chemo and then radiotherapy is planned. But we don't know how much time it will give him. We don't dare to ask.
For now, he's working. Not much, but our employer (we work together) is very understanding and makes adjustments to his job, allows hospital visits (for both of us) and all this without cutting his pay. So we don't want or need any benefits.
Now - we're Polish. All our friends and family are there. So obviously, when the time comes I want him to be with people he loves. That can only happen if I'll be sure that his treatment will be continued without any problems. And for that, he will need health insurance in Poland. He's 62 so still 5 years to a pension age. In Poland pension age is 65 so a bit sooner, and he will be entitled to it. I just can't be sure if we will be given 3 years, and even if we will be that lucky, all the formalities last too long for him to be without access to treatment.
In Poland, there is something like a "disability pension" for people who can't work but have paid national insurance long enough. And I was told he could apply for it in the UK with all the documents sent to Poland.
I realise you might not have the knowledge about pension systems in other countries, but maybe you could tell me if there is a way to obtain a document confirming that he is disabled, without applying for benefits here (as we don't need them for now). Or maybe you have some other idea to ensure that he will be able to continue his treatment abroad. Would NHS pay for such treatment?
I will be grateful for any suggestions.