Pandemonium at the pensions’ service

The news pages have been full, recently, with tales about the administrative chaos at the Home Office. But it may not surprise you to learn that it isn’t the only government department that is having problems.

Over the past few weeks I have spent hours on the phone trying to help a desperate reader get a straight answer out of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

All the reader wants to know is how much pension she will be entitled to when she reaches her 60^th birthday in August. A simple enough request, one would have thought.

The saga began in February when she phoned the DWP to ask for a forecast and was told one was already in the post.

Nothing came, so she contacted them again.

As it turned out the original information was wrong. A forecast hadn’t been sent out after all.

In fact she was told it couldn’t be sent out because the department needed to see a copy of her marriage certificate. She duly sent a copy and then, showing the patience of a saint, waited.

In April a forecast finally arrived, but a quick glance revealed it as wrong. So it was back on the phone. More requests were made but nothing arrived.

In frustration she phoned me earlier this month and asked if I wouldn’t mind getting on the DWP’s case. Three weeks later - despite my best efforts I hasten to add - she is still waiting.

“What must I do to get a pension forecast?” said the reader whose 60^th birthday is fast approaching.  “The whole department seems to be in a mess.”

It may be that she is just an unlucky individual whose case has been badly handled. Or do you know better? If you’ve had problems with the DWP we want to hear from you.

Comments

[Peter]

I contacted the Pensions service recently to check on the government proposal to reduce the number of the NIC contribution years required to receive a full pension. My query was dealt with very professionally and the current rules and the potential changes explained in simple terms. I was advised to wait until the rules are clarified in a year's time and the cost implications were clear highlighted.

I can only say that if insurance companies provided the same level of service perhaps we would all have a better understanding of the mysteries of personal pensions!

[Hugh Williams]

Like Peter I have had nothing but quick. pleasant and efficient service from the DWP both in relation to my pension and that of my wife. No waiting in queues for the call to be answered--unlike most commercial organisations.
Our marriage certificate was returned to me within 4 days of my sending it to them.Sainsburys Bank took 3 weeks to answer a simple letter!!

[Mike]

It seesm that when things go wrong in any government department they really do - look at Margaret Beckett's Single Farm Payment fiasco !

I have however been impressed by the answers to my request for a Pension Quote ( a few years off yet).DWP were polite, efficient and effective and the information came within a week.

[Barry Faith]

I had a similar problem last year, when the Pension Service could not explain the differences betwen two forecasts sent to me. Because of the delays, my letters 'not received' by them etc I eventually wrote to the CEO. It then turned out one forecast they had sent to me (without my prompting) was an estimate based on incomplete information and the other was based on a request from me & therefore based on complete information. Why on earth are they sending out forecasts based on incomplete information? No wonder the public service is overstaffed & costing so much money - willing people producing useless information because of poor processes and useless management. I suggest your letter writer contact the Pension Service CEO and nail her for an answer. Also ask for the name of CEO's line manager. What gets to me is the public service has the gall to expect gold plated pensions at an earlier age than those of us who create the wealth in this country. The Inland Revenue is just as bad. Please excuse my 'Victor Mildrew' response - I'm thinking of writing a book called 'Dysfunctional Society' with all the case studies of my 'experiences'. What a bunch of dorks!

[The Civil Servant]

I worked for DWP for over 15 years. The reason I left was because of the inefficiency and target obsessed attitude of the management.The public are not receiving a quality service and are passed from pillar to post. Believe me when I say the majority of staff are only interested in doing their 37.5 hours per week with the least amount of effort. It is a well known fact amongst civil servants that if you ignore a request long enough, the requestee will give up. You must persevere until you become a burden to them!

[John Lloyd]

I requested a pension forecast and was told that I did not have enough NICs for the year 2004 - 2005. I sent in my p60 for that year and asked for the situation to be rectified. I received a telephone call last Saturday morning from the pensions forecast team telling me that until they had this information from the Inland Revenue they could do nothing - and - incidentally I mght as well chase up NIC records for 2005 - 2006 because these were pending too. I was given a telephone number to call,to date it has not been answered - I shall persevere.

[Mr P. L. Sandbrook]

I, too, am having problems with the DWP. Having obtained a pension forecast I found that my contribution record entitled me to an additional pension of £50 per week on top of the State Pension, but by some curious skulduggery this has been reduced to zero. I have queried this by letter in March 2006 and, despite 2 further letters, I have had no explanation as to why this reduction has been made. In addition, I was previously a member of now defunct State schemes, but do not seem to be likely to receive any benefit. Again, I am waiting for a response from DWP.

[Mrs D Sandbrook]

I, too, am having problems with obtaining a forecast of my pension from DWP. I obtained a forecast in March 2005 and asked for an up-to-date figure in March 2006. I was informed that I was £300+ in arrears as I had not made any NI contributions for 2004/05. I wrote and advised them that I had a P60 form showing my contributions made for this period, and was informed that Customs & Excise provide the details of NI contributions to DWP and there had been a delay in updating records and hence my perceived shortfall. I was assured the records would be updated shortly - when I enquired a month later I was again advised that my record was not yet up-to-date, so I am still awaiting a true forecast and am due to retire in less than a year. I don't think this poor lady is an unfortunate individual - the problem seems to be much more widespread than anyone appreciates.

[MARION CROSBY]

I had a fiasco with the DW&P when I was due to retire in 2004. When I requested a pension forecast, I was told initially that I had overpaid by one year's contributions and a year's contributions was reimbursed to me. Then I received my pension forecast which told me that I was only entitled to 98% pension as I had made insufficient contributions. I then had to repay a year's contributions to make me eligible for a full retirement pension.

[Richard Bates]

The problem with some government/local government organisations these days is that they are run by 'kids' with inadequate managment training/experience. In former times there existed what amounted to apprenticeships whereby younger officials were not given the run of the mill until senior men were satisfied that their integrity/experience/ability was satisfactory. Far too many senior men have now left their posts/been made redundant/whatever so that their are too few of them to watch over the 'kids' and we are beginning to see the results of this paucity of experience/ability in lots of places.

[Linda French]

I have requested several Pension forecasts over the years and they always said they would include my ex husbands contributions for the years I paid reduced stamp. When he was killed 4 years ago I rechecked and they said they would still use them.
I received a letter from the Pension service on 9th May informing me that my pension would be paid from September when I reach 60 and how much it would be but it stated that if I was divorced or widowed it did not include any entitlement from a late or ex spouse. If I thought I was entitled to extra I needed to fill in a claim form. When I telephoned them I asked why, when I had had several forecasts done, they had not included this element in their calculations? They informed me they had nothing to do with Pension Forecasts, had no means of checking their records and I had to claim this now. They sent me a form, I completed it and sent my Divorce Decree and Birth Certificate which were returned but a month later having heard no more and quite anxious about the amount of pension I am entitled too I telephoned. The person said that it was much too early to be asking as my 60th was months away, agreed they had received and returned my documents but strongly denied that I could possibly have received a letter from them telling me how much pension I would receive!! I could not find the letter at that point and hung up. Having found the letter I tried again and spoke to a more helpful lady who said that there was no more information on the system other than that my Birth and Divorce Certificates had been returned to me and my file must be in the department dealing. When I explained that the difference of £30.00 per week was very important to me and I wanted to know how much my pension would be she said she would send a note down to chase it up.
So, I am still waiting with only 11 weeks to go and worrying about how much money I shall have each week. It is amazing to me that a Forecast Dept. can have access to all the information but the Department that pays out cannot. The man I spoke too even tried to tell me they did not know I was divorced but of course they should, they had my papers at the time of decree, I had to change my contributions to full rate in 1991/2 and then I had to go with my Decree a few years later to the local office for National Insurance when they took yet another certified copy!
So I have to wait and hope!

[Ann Lennard]

My story is similar. I applied for a pension forecast at the end of March. A few days later my bith certificate was returned but not my decree absolute. I heard nothing more for 2 months so on May 23rd I sent an email to complain as my 60th birthday was only 2 weeks away. On my birthday I sent another email but had no reply, I finally received a letter a couple of days after my birthday stating how much I was due but more than 2 weeks later I have received no pension into my bank account.

[Ned Ludd]

The strange thing though is that many of us in our forties have received something purporting to be a 'forecast' and actually a DWP funded advertisement for private pensions (if you want to be cynical) - I won't retire for at least fifteen years and they sent me a useless letter showing what I would be entitled to IF I paid NICs on my current basis up to retirement age and IF the state pension continued to be RPI related.

[Tom Russell]

Asking for information on Pension Deferral reveals the appalling lack of knowledge of staff in DWP - even in their "Pension Deferral Team".
I tried over several days to obtain the specifics about what is and is not subject to the 10.4% increase and couldn't find anyone to give the correct answer - which, I later discovered, is published in their SPD1 document.
I asked is there was a "complaints" section and was told that customer services would call me back - no one has after 2 weeks. CEO is now on my radar.

[clifford sharp]

In Money Comment on Saturday August 12th Antonial Senior the Finance Editor rightly draws attention to concern over women's pensions. I suggest she has not fully realised how badly off the majority of women earning less than £25000 pa will be unless they understand that the State Means Tested Allowances for Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Counci Tax are likely to provide indexed Benefits which, for many, could amount to the equivalent of £10 000 pa. For them and for many men, Means Tested Allowances should prove a life-line. Clifford Sharp, FIA

[C Davis]

Recent news regarding confidential bank details being sent to the wrong person by DWP promps me to enquire if the problem is more widespread. My wife enquired last week why she had not received information concerning an application on her upcoming state pension & it transpired that the info had been sent to an address in Kent (we have never lived in Kent)& had been returned 'unknown'. The Kent address appears on her DWP file although she is paying Nat Ins contributions on an existing pension.