Unpaid state pension: 'I'm disgusted by delays'

Christine Shawcroft qualified for her pension in the middle of July

Pensioners who have just turned 66 have spoken of their stress and anger after failing to be paid their state pension.

Backlogs in processing applications at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) mean thousands of people have not received their entitlement on time.

One told the BBC she "wanted to cry" and "felt like she didn't count" after her payments were not made.

The department has apologised, blaming the pandemic and staffing issues for the delays.

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Over the course of the summer, thousands of people reaching the state pension age of 66 have applied for their state pension, but have not received any money.

They include Christine Shawcroft, who turned 66 in the middle of July, and - like many others - has made numerous calls to the DWP, spending at least 45 minutes on hold before getting through.

"I'm pretty disgusted and, to be honest, I am beginning to lose patience," she said. "I have failed to get a reasonable answer as to why I am still waiting.

"I understand there is Covid, but I'm sure it is not responsible for everything."

Linda Higgins, pictured in happier times, says she is now stressed and scared

Recently retired probation service receptionist Linda Higgins echoes that view - saying there have been "a lot of Covid excuses".

She, too, has yet to be paid any of her state pension after turning 66 in July. She said her personal pension was not enough to live on.

"I've not received a penny. It makes me stressed and scared that I'm not going to get it," she said. "I paid my taxes for 45 years so it is just not fair,"

'We are good citizens'

Concerns have been raised that some of those affected face a significant gap between receiving any working income, or working-age benefits, which have already stopped, and their state pension.

Grandmother-of-three Maria Bellamy said she was enduring weeks of delays for her new state pension. As a cleaner, she had not been able to build up any significant savings and was relying on her husband's pension.

"They say I am a priority, but nothing happens. I feel very down about it as it makes me feel like it is my own fault," she said. "I have always worked and been independent with money.

"Now sometimes I want to cry. We are good citizens, made to feel that you don't count. We put people into government who are supposed to look after us."

State pension applications can be made online

Former pensions minister Ros Altmann, who sits in the House of Lords, said that many thousands of people reach state pension age every year, and that there was "clearly a major problem with administration" at the DWP.

She said it would not be a surprise if the department had been stretched by the increase in claims for universal credit caused by the pandemic, but that the whole system should be more automated.

Pensions Minister Guy Opperman told MPs that hundreds of department staff were being redeployed to deal with the backlog in state pension payments.

A DWP spokesman said: "We are sorry that some new state pension customers have faced delays receiving payment.

"All those affected have been identified and we have deployed extra resources to process these as a priority. Any claims made today should not be subject to delay."

Those without their money should be paid automatically, and Mr Opperman said that the system would be back to normal by the end of October.

The DWP is already facing criticism and a heavy workload after it emerged that an estimated 200,000 female pensioners are collectively owed up to £2.7bn after the under-payment of state pensions owing to historic errors at the department.