KATE Garraway made a candid confession about her personal finances following the crippling costs of her late husband Derek Draper’s medical bills.
The Good Morning Britain anchor, 56, appeared on the Bank Holiday episode of the weekday series during a debate about care in the NHS versus privately.
A study by the ITV programme today revealed how one in five Brits are getting into debt because they are forced to fork out for private care.
Previously, Kate has told The Sun about the huge medical fees of Derek’s complex requirements.
The former political lobbyist tragically died aged 56 in January, following four years of health struggles.
He was left fighting for his life in hospital after suffering a heart attack over the festive period but was already one of the UK’s longest-suffering Covid patients, after being diagnosed in March 2020.
I have had to withdraw the bit you can tax free from my pension to pay for belated bills for my husband, who has now passed away
Kate Garraway
Previously, mum of two Kate had admitted she looked into releasing funds from Derek’s pension while he was still alive in order to fund the family’s spiralling expenditure.
Now she has told how she had put her own finances under scrutiny.
During the segment on today’s episode Kate addressed the results of the survey and confessed: “I am doing something similar myself.
“I have had to withdraw the bit you can tax free from my pension to pay for belated bills for my husband, who has now passed away.
“People are having to do things – it wasn’t a huge pension in the first place – which aren’t what they saved for.”
Care costs
GMB fans have always appreciated Kate’s honesty and bravery when it comes to addressing her own experiences.
She paid a touching tribute to her late spouse at his funeral in February, which also featured a performance from Elton John as well as her GMB co-stars in the congregation.
Just days later, she made her “brave” GMB return after her devastating loss.
Yet coupled with her grief, she has had to deal with a harsh financial reality.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun, Kate previously told us: “Of course it’s been tough financially.
“As anyone with a loved one who is seriously ill knows, the costs go through the roof in so many ways.
“You have to make changes to your home and it affects your ability to work.
“I had to take long periods off when Derek was first sick, and of course if affects the overall income for the family as he can no longer work.
“We had to wind up the business we had together, and also I’ve had to take on assistants so that I can focus on Derek when not on air.
“Derek was always so incredibly supportive of my work, but I didn’t realise just how much he did do in that area until he couldn’t anymore.”
Her care costs for Derek were previously estimated at £800k.
She previously told she was in “survival mode” as the figures escalated.
- Visit our Good Morning Britain page for the latest updates
Pension release
During a recent episode of GMB, Kate again addressed the issue of releasing pension funds early.
At the time, she told show guests: “It’s only when a crisis hits you suddenly think hmm.
“I have experience of this, Derek fell very ill in March 2020.
“I was aware that he had some pensions, I had a small one that I knew.
Questions to ask before transferring your pension
IF you're thinking about transferring your pension, here are the key questions to ask, according to the Money Advice Service.
Questions to ask your current provider:
- Can I transfer? There can be restrictions on which pensions you can transfer.
- What is the ‘transfer value’ of my pension? If it’s the same as your pot value, it’s unlikely you’ll be charged a fee when you transfer.
- What fees will I have to pay?
- Will I lose the right to take out my money at a certain age? This is called a ‘protected pension age’.
- Will I lose any special features, e.g. a guaranteed annuity rate?
- Will I lose the right to take a tax-free lump sum of more than 25% of my pension? This is called a ‘protected tax-free sum’.
Questions to ask your new provider:
- Do I apply to transfer through you or my current provider?
- Are there any fees for transferring in, e.g. set-up fees?
- Do I have to make regular payments into the new pension?
- What investment funds and levels of risk do you offer? You may need help from a financial adviser with this.
- What options do you have for when I want to take my money out?
“I tried to find out if I could do that early release to try to pay for his bills.”
She added: “I’ve sent in things … and tried to contact HMRC and I’ve never heard. So it’s not an easy thing to track things down.”
The earliest someone can withdraw from a private and workplace pension without penalty is currently age 55, so Kate is just over the age limit at 56.
From 2028, the age someone can start withdrawing cash will rise to 57.
