Pension Credit Processing Delays

There comes a time in every Under Secretary of State’s life where they need to be held to their word. Is this it? Answer this very short survey to help us find out.

In late 2022, Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) and National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) conducted a survey into Pension Credit processing delays and made recommendations to the Pension Service, including asking them to provide a public admission of the processing failures that have been taking place.

Following our survey, on 23 January 2023 Labour MP Fleur Anderson asked the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Laura Trott to address the Pension Service’s processing failure and what steps it would take to bring the average time it takes to deal with claims for pension credit down to the target time of six weeks.

How’s it gone?

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/58JL9NZ

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK - 28 July 2022 10:11 AM

We’ve heard about a PC claim made online on 4 April who still hasn’t heard anything, who has had confirmation email to acknowledge claim was made, yet when they have spoken to Pension Service (after all the fun and games that entails anyway) was told the claim hadn’t been submitted.

It’s turning into quite a shambles and as Dan says, there are knock-on implications for being paid the Cost of Living Payments now. We’re trying to contact DWP colleagues again to see if we can gain any clarity.

I had the same issue with an on-line PC application ‘vanishing’ having been submitted 3.5 months previously.  During a conversation with a DWP Manager regarding a subsequent complaint made, they suggested that if applications were ‘inactive’ for over three months, they were removed from the system.  Clearly not good as the ‘inactivity’ has been caused by a huge backlog of claims not being processed. Maybe check to make sure the claims submitted are still even in the system waiting to be processed.

Dan Manville - 02 March 2023 04:43 PM

There comes a time in every Under Secretary of State’s life where they need to be held to their word. Is this it? Answer this very short survey to help us find out.

In late 2022, Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) and National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) conducted a survey into Pension Credit processing delays and made recommendations to the Pension Service, including asking them to provide a public admission of the processing failures that have been taking place.

Following our survey, on 23 January 2023 Labour MP Fleur Anderson asked the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Laura Trott to address the Pension Service’s processing failure and what steps it would take to bring the average time it takes to deal with claims for pension credit down to the target time of six weeks.

How’s it gone?

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/58JL9NZ

I did your survey Dan including the latest nonsense from the PS - a PC claim made in August for a client who turned pension age in November is “lost”. Make a new claim, say PS.

Not done the survey as I’ve no cases currently albeit one likely in the near future. Brief holding up of a finger in the air in our service suggests nothing has changed though.

Hi there,

I’m from MoneySavingExpert and cover pensions and benefits.

Please can anyone with experience of Pension Credit comment on the wait times at the moment. Has it returned “to normal” as promised.

Laura Trott said it would be back to normal by February.

The DWP have told me “six week” wait time but I am keen to confirm if this is in fact the case.

Amalia

Dan Manville - 02 March 2023 04:43 PM

There comes a time in every Under Secretary of State’s life where they need to be held to their word. Is this it? Answer this very short survey to help us find out.

In late 2022, Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) and National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) conducted a survey into Pension Credit processing delays and made recommendations to the Pension Service, including asking them to provide a public admission of the processing failures that have been taking place.

Following our survey, on 23 January 2023 Labour MP Fleur Anderson asked the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Laura Trott to address the Pension Service’s processing failure and what steps it would take to bring the average time it takes to deal with claims for pension credit down to the target time of six weeks.

How’s it gone?

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/58JL9NZ

Hi Dan,

I’m a reporter for MoneySavingExpert - I was wondering if I might speak to you regarding this survey - am keen to figure out if waiting times have actually improved?

Hi Amalia

I’ve sent you a message on here with my details.

Amalia Illgner - 25 April 2023 02:09 PM

Dan Manville - 02 March 2023 04:43 PM

There comes a time in every Under Secretary of State’s life where they need to be held to their word. Is this it? Answer this very short survey to help us find out.

In late 2022, Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) and National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) conducted a survey into Pension Credit processing delays and made recommendations to the Pension Service, including asking them to provide a public admission of the processing failures that have been taking place.

Following our survey, on 23 January 2023 Labour MP Fleur Anderson asked the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Laura Trott to address the Pension Service’s processing failure and what steps it would take to bring the average time it takes to deal with claims for pension credit down to the target time of six weeks.

How’s it gone?

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/58JL9NZ

Hi Dan,

I’m a reporter for MoneySavingExpert - I was wondering if I might speak to you regarding this survey - am keen to figure out if waiting times have actually improved?

 

Amalia, the following ICO stuff is related to a FOI application on Pension Service resources regarding decision making. Not yet published on the ICO website when I looked yesterday.

But see the attached decision and a DWP response refers to human and electronic i.e. AI decision making?

Just bumping the thread as I have a client who made a claim last year in August and is still waiting. I’ve progressed through a number of escalation routes without success. Sent a letter to their MP couple of weeks ago and waiting to see if that does anything.

I have another client who applied more recently in March, does not seem to have had any communication within this new promise of 6 weeks.

Exacerbating the issue is that Pension Credit Helpline advisers do not know what’s happening and have to request a callback to the client from the Pension Centre within 10 working days. This then does not materialise.

GfordMacCW - 11 May 2023 04:19 PM

Just bumping the thread as I have a client who made a claim last year in August and is still waiting. I’ve progressed through a number of escalation routes without success. Sent a letter to their MP couple of weeks ago and waiting to see if that does anything.

I have another client who applied more recently in March, does not seem to have had any communication within this new promise of 6 weeks.

Exacerbating the issue is that Pension Credit Helpline advisers do not know what’s happening and have to request a callback to the client from the Pension Centre within 10 working days. This then does not materialise.

I have just had decisions back on two PC claims, made in August last year. After numerous letters to PS enquiring the reasons for the delay/raising a complaint about the delay/requesting complaint is escalated, none of which elicited any response, we raised both cases with our local MP (Jeff Smith). As a result of Mr Smith’s involvement, both cases were decided within a fortnight of his query.

Whilst waiting for their claims to be decided, both clients were dependent on food-bank vouchers. And I always believed Pension Credit was intended to prevent poverty, not to cause it!

In the meantime, PS continue to run Pension Credit take-up campaigns, in the full knowledge that they cannot process the claims received as a result.

Any suggestion by the PS that they don’t have serious issues simply doesn’t hold water and is not borne out by experience.

Written answer from DWP Minister yesterday confirms that average processing times currently at almost seven weeks…

The Average Actual Clearance Time as at April 2023 for a new claim to Pension Credit is 34.1 days.

Source: Output from Customer Account Management System (CAM)

Doesn’t match my client’s experiences:
- Client 1:- Claim lodged August 2022. Received decision, May 2023 (after MP involvement)
- Client 2:- Claim lodged Sept 2022. Decision received, May 2023 (after MP involvement)

DWP were actively engaged in manufacturing further delays to client 1’s case, (after he rang them to complain) by insisting on a Right to Reside investigation, despite having been paying him benefits for 30 plus years. The MP put a rather peremptory stop to that, and Cl received £100 compensation for poor service.

Stuart - 24 May 2023 01:51 PM

Written answer from DWP Minister yesterday confirms that average processing times currently at almost seven weeks…

The Average Actual Clearance Time as at April 2023 for a new claim to Pension Credit is 34.1 days.

Source: Output from Customer Account Management System (CAM)

 

I queried waiting times with our DWP Partnership Manager and she quoted the same processing times. I gave her a specific case that had been waiting far longer than this and she has resolved it within two days. So it can be done!

LouiseG - 26 May 2023 02:08 PM

Stuart - 24 May 2023 01:51 PM

Written answer from DWP Minister yesterday confirms that average processing times currently at almost seven weeks…

The Average Actual Clearance Time as at April 2023 for a new claim to Pension Credit is 34.1 days.

Source: Output from Customer Account Management System (CAM)

 

I queried waiting times with our DWP Partnership Manager and she quoted the same processing times. I gave her a specific case that had been waiting far longer than this and she has resolved it within two days. So it can be done!

Escalation via the local MP was miraculous in its effect. All of a sudden the insurmountable problems, unavoidable delays, and almost total lack of communication (except the usual rude PS call handlers) were swept aside and awards made within days. No explanation for the delay however, or why they suddenly needed to do an urgent right-to-reside enquiry in response to a complaint about processing delays (when they have been paying the guy benefits for over 20 yrs!), or why that right to reside enquiry was hastily shelved when they got the MP enquiry!

Another written answer yesterday advises that -

As of 23 May 2023, the number of customers waiting more than 61 days for the outcome of their Pension Credit application was 7,213.

It adds by way of explanation -

This is due to the complexities of each case which can range from awaiting National Insurance Number allocation, requesting information from third parties such as Local Authorities, Solicitors and where we are awaiting documents from the customer which are needed to finalise their claim.