UK. Pensions department faces ‘serious questions’ over non-payments
By Kevin Peachey
A saga over unpaid state pensions means the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should face “serious questions” about its work, a leading MP has said.
Thousands of people reaching the state pension age of 66 have applied for their state pension, but have not received any money.
The backlog has been blamed on pandemic workload and staffing issues.
Stephen Timms, who chairs the Work and Pensions select committee, said the issue would be raised with ministers.
“There are clearly serious questions to ask about the way the DWP administers the state pension,” he said.
Over the course of the summer, thousands of people have not received their state pension entitlement despite applying for the money in good time.
Among them was Christine Shawcroft, who turned 66 in the middle of July, and – like many others – had made numerous calls to the DWP, spending at least 45 minutes on hold before getting through.
She said that she had been losing patience with the department, not least because she had failed to receive an adequate explanation about the missing payments.
They eventually started to be paid weeks late, but a matter of days after be case was featured in BBC coverage about the issue.
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