Daughter driven to tears by mum's pension delays

Annetta Stanley said she was worried she would not be able to pay her mother's medical bills

A retired accountant said she was left in tears after spending six months trying to get her elderly mother's private pension paid.

Mervis Stanley had previously been receiving a widow's pension from her husband George's time working at Gillette in Reading.

But the 87-year-old had not received any money since June 2024 and was not given a reason why by pension administrators Aon, her daughter Annetta Stanley claimed.

After being contacted by the BBC, Aon said it would start paying Mrs Stanley's pension again, plus the money she was owed.

"The experience has left me in tears," Annetta said.

"I'm fighting really hard on behalf of my mother but I'm really worried about the impact that not having the pension is having on her. "

Ms Stanley's father George came to the UK in the early 1960s as part of the Windrush generation that relocated to fill post-war labour shortages and rebuild Britain's economy.

His wife, Mervis, and daughter, Annetta, followed a year later and the family lived in Birmingham before moving to Reading, where George worked in the Gillette factory.

The couple retired to Jamaica in 1995 and George's work pension passed to his wife after his death in 2006.

Monthly payments of about £500 went to his widow for 19 years but, after Aon took over as administrators of the scheme in 2024, the money stopped, said Ms Stanley, from Herefordshire.

"My father worked really hard for that money so I feel very cross that someone can just stop it and not give me an explanation why," she said.

"My parents came to the UK to help rebuild the economy. It's appalling that we've been treated this way."

Mervis and George married in Jamaica before moving to the UK

Ms Stanley, who has power of attorney for her mother and deals with all her financial affairs, said she had contacted Aon dozens of times by phone, email and letter since February, to establish why her mum's pension was stopped.

"I'm currently paying her bills from her state pension but if I need to take her to the hospital, the money isn't there," she said.

"She's an elderly woman with health issues who relies on carers to assist her with her daily tasks.

"It's stopping her carers from doing what they can for her because they realise that money is short.

"She likes going out but she's stuck in her house. "

Mervis Stanley moved back to Jamaica after 40 years of working in the UK

A spokesperson for Aon said "some of the paperwork it had received was not legally acceptable in the UK" and the company was waiting for some more information to be able to resolve the situation.

They said they could not comment on individual cases but it was crucial to verify contact details to ensure that an individual had not died.

Their statement added that its priority was "to pay the correct pension, to the correct recipient, at the correct time and we apologise for any distress to a member (or their family) where we are unable to do so".

The company added that payments could be paused if items of post were returned unopened and that this was usual practice amongst UK pension schemes, designed to protect members and make sure that the correct people received benefits.

Months of frustration

Ms Stanley said her mum had not received any post from Aon.

"Her carers have regularly checked at the post office. She's received letters about her state pension but nothing from Aon," she said.

The 68-year-old said nobody from the company had apologised to her or her mother.

"They haven't spoken to me in six months so I'm not expecting them to ring and apologise," she said.

"It's so frustrating, I came to the BBC for help because there didn't seem to be anyone else who could help me. Things wouldn't have progressed if I hadn't.

"I worry that the same thing could be happening to other people. I've worked in finance for 40 years, so I knew what to do, but it's been a difficult fight."

A spokesperson for Aon said, after the BBC contacted them about Mrs Stanley's case, that, after receiving some more information, they have reinstated her pension and the company had arranged for her to be paid the money she was owed.