West Midlands Pension Fund: Delays leave retirees in 'limbo' waiting months for payment

A year on from a new IT system being installed by West Midlands Pension Fund, delays with pension payouts are still ongoing for retirees who have described feeling like they are in "limbo".

The most recent figures from the Wolverhampton-based organisation, revealed in April, suggest 2,896 cases are still waiting to be finalised. 

Earlier this year West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF) said the delays were due to the computer upgrade last July, and they were “making progress in recovering service standards.”

But retirees continue to contact ITV Central to share their desperation at months of delays without their money.

"It's not right that people are having to wait all this time"

Hilary Cawley from Coventry is yet to see a penny from her WMPF pension since she retired earlier this year as a school technician.

She triggered her pension last November, organising her paperwork before Christmas, as she feared reports of how long it would take. 

She said she’s now been told she should receive her money in the next eight weeks, but said it has been months of stress.

"It's a bit like being in limbo, you want to look forward to something but you can't”, Hilary said. "I worked in a school for 29 years and I paid my pension for all of that time. It's not right that people are having to wait all this time.”

“I even offered to go to their offices and sit in their office with them and help them fill out the forms and maybe they could go a bit quicker."

She is not alone in her experience. Others, who wish to be anonymous, have told us of their struggles. 

One person said "I am relying on this money and am getting further and further into debt."

"They've been dismissive of the situation and its impact on us” said another.

Another said "My partner is now suffering stress. We call and get fobbed off with different excuses."

Andy Bright from Smethwick has sent over sixty emails and numerous calls to WMPF.

His paperwork was sent to their offices last August.

Andy took ill health retirement from his council job in 2022, after recovery from a double lung transplant made it difficult to go back to his job.

He has part-time work with a charity to help pay the bills, and said his health concerns have made the situation feel desperate. He said"

"I want to enjoy it whilst I'm still here because the average life expectancy of a lung transplant recipient is seven years. I'm six years in now, so I want to be able to enjoy what time I have left with my wife, my children and my seven grandchildren.”

Andy has been told he should have news in the next four weeks but he’s concerned for others still waiting.

He said "In this day and age with all the technology we have there should be clearer lines of communication, there should be faster response.

"I just hope that over the next 12 months that they continue to improve it and make it better for people who are trying to retire." 

In a statement West Midlands Pension Fund said:

“We have sought clarification of the cases cited and will investigate individual concerns.  We are committed to continuing to recover our service levels and enhance our member experience. 

"We continue to increase access and capacity to serve all our members. Customers receive general updates through our website and direct to their inbox, with further updates provided in response to individual requests. 

"Our customer servicing centre has now fully reopened and we are providing face-to-face support to members across the region. 

"Online services are enabling more members to plan for their retirement and we are reducing the time taken to make payments to members, with supplementary payrolls continuing to run twice weekly.”

The Pensions Regulator, the public body that protects workplace pensions in the UK, said;

“We are continuing to engage with the West Midlands Pension Fund regarding the issues it is facing but will not be commenting further.” 

West Midlands Pension Fund manages the pensions of 354,000 workers in 827 public sector organisations in the region.