Access to State Pension for people diagnosed with a terminal illness

That this House notes that those with terminal illnesses cannot currently access their State Pension until retirement age; recognises that this is the case even for individuals who have made full National Insurance contributions; acknowledges that poverty rates are disproportionately high amongst the terminally ill; commends research by Loughborough University showing that granting State Pensions to this group would almost halve the rate of poverty within this cohort while costing only £144 million per year, just 0.1% of the annual State Pension bill; and calls on the Government to allow early access to State Pensions for people diagnosed with a terminal illness.