Tackling poverty at the end of life 

At Marie Curie, we believe that a good end-of-life experience is about more than just the care you receive. This Challenge Poverty Week in particular, we’re reflecting on the importance of spending your last months, weeks, and days with financial security.  

Unfortunately, for too many people across the United Kingdom the end of life is not spent focusing on what really matters – but managing on a low income, adding additional stress and worry to what should be a time to make memories. In 2023, an estimated 111,000 people died in poverty in the UK, while 128,000 died in fuel poverty.  

The reality of end-of-life poverty 

Such statistics can seem abstract, but poverty is certainly not. A recent report on the financial impact of a terminal diagnosis included stories of the real impact of poverty at the end of life, from someone confining himself to a single room in his rented flat because of the heating costs, to a young mother who stopped her treatment early due to the childcare and transport costs she had to incur to make her appointments.  

What needs to happen 

These are heartbreaking situations for anyone to be in, but all the more so because they are avoidable. Marie Curie’s Cost of Dying Crisis campaign is calling for practical steps to tackle this situation, including a guaranteed State Pension-equivalent income for working-age people diagnosed with a terminal condition, and a social tariff to cut energy costs.  

Available support 

Although it isn’t yet enough to end poverty at the end of life, there is support available. Marie Curie’s benefits calculator can help you understand what you’re entitled to, and the Special Rules for Terminal Illness provide a valuable fast-track, guaranteed route to disability benefits.  

Our support line can also help people living with a terminal illness, or those around them, with information and emotional support about all aspects of living with a terminal illness, including finances. As part of this we have two dedicated Energy Support Officers can offer guidance on supplier-specific support, available grants and benefits, ways to improve energy efficiency, and how to access services like the Priority Services Register. 

We’re also delighted that, after our campaigning, two councils (Manchester City Council and Bristol City Council) have introduced specific support to help households including someone with a terminal illness with their council tax. This means that such households will receive discretionary council tax relief, reducing their bill to zero, if they send in an SR1 form. Many more have passed supportive motions, and we are looking forward to announcing more positive steps in the coming months.