Pension fund delay described as "incredibly concerning" by West Midlands Mayor
The Mayor of the West Midlands has said that news of issues with pension payments for retired public servants is "incredibly concerning."
Andy Street has spoken out about the ongoing issues at the West Midlands Pension Fund, which has seen around 2,000 people have their pension payments delayed due to an IT issue.
He posted a message on social media saying he wanted to see the recovery plan and said the delay was unacceptable.
He said: "The West Midlands Pension Fund issues are incredibly concerning.
"In some cases, recently retired public servants have no funds to cover their living costs. It’s totally unacceptable.
"I’ve written to the fund asking to urgently see their recovery plan."
The Pension Fund has issued an apology on its website, with a spokesman saying that a new administration system had not been up to the level members were used to and the group was working to correct the issue.
The spokesman said: "We are extremely sorry that some new members have experienced delays in receiving pension benefit quotes or receiving new pension payments.
"West Midlands Pension Fund moved to a new Pensions Administration System in summer 2023 and recognise that our service standards have not been at the level our members are used to.
"We are working closely with our software provider to increase capacity and implement improvements to customer servicing."
Rachel Brothwood, executive director at the West Midlands Pension Fund, issued her own apology to anyone inconvenienced by the delays.
She said: “We are extremely sorry that some members have had to wait for information they have requested and others have experienced delays in receiving initial pension payments.
"While we have continued to pay pensions regularly and on time to over 116,000 members, we are sorry that some members including those recently retired are experiencing delays in accessing information about their pensions as we transition to our new Pensions Administration System."
Ms Brothwood also detailed what the Pension Fund was doing to correct the issue and help people to get their payments.
She said: "We have made cases in which people are awaiting payments our biggest priority, have been in regular contact with those affected with updates and to signpost support, and are reducing the time members are waiting for payments.
"We have re-distributed our resources and continue to increase allocation and capacity to focus on supporting all priority cases and reduce delays.
"Our software provider has increased their own resourcing to ensure the system meets our specifications and members’ needs.
"We have also setup additional payment runs, now twice a week, so that when members can confirm the information we need they can receive payments faster, rather than waiting till the end of each month.
“As a result, we are seeing a trend of continual improvement."
Ms Brothwood did acknowledge the issues had fallen short of normal standards and said the fund was working hard to ensure there were no further issues going forward.
She said: "Nonetheless, we recognise our customer service remains short of our normal standards and members are experiencing delays, for which we are truly sorry.
"The new system is designed to improve and enhance the support we give to members and customers.
"We are working hard to support all our members and return to our normal service standards as quickly as possible."
