UNISON hit BBC Midlands Today and Politics Midlands highlighting the delays staff are facing in receiving their pensions. See 20 mins in of Politics Midlands – 29/09/2024 – BBC iPlayer
West Midlands Pension Fund acknowledge the delays are unacceptable.
There has also been a response from the West Midlands Pension Fund to the Joint Sandwell MBC/Trade Union letter raising concerns. An extract of the letter sent 20 September 2024 is below and you can see it promises significant improvement in two months.
‘Dear Councillor Moore,
RE: West Midlands Pension Fund – Services to Pension Fund members
I write following your letter of 28 August 2024, sent on behalf of Sandwell Council and Trade
Unions (GMB, Unison, and Unite) as published and received in our offices on 3 September
2024.
Improvement of services to members
I acknowledge and apologise that Fund members across the region are still waiting longer
than they should to receive formal benefit quotations and subsequent payments from the
Fund. Waiting times have reduced and further resources have now been deployed to
increase the pace of our service recovery. Our progress has been hampered, in part, by
events outside of the control of the Fund but we fully acknowledge and take full
responsibility for the impact on member experience and are focused on improving outcomes
Delivery timescales have been provided to aid member planning and the actions we have
taken over the summer seek to accelerate the reduction in waiting times. Progress relative
to the improvement plan is being closely monitored and member communications will be
reviewed and refreshed monthly to reflect. We recognise it is critical that waiting times
further reduce to improve member experience and aid financial planning, and we anticipate
elevated levels of demand to persist in context of the financial challenges our employers are
facing. Our plan aims to deliver material improvement within the next 2 months.’