AIBU for wondering where my pension is?

[frogface69]

I couldn't find a thread to post this.
Please bear with me having a bad day already.
DH died in January and I applied to claim a portion of his pension. I am still waiting. I have phoned and phoned. Very nice to talk to but I am getting nowhere and I am running out of things to say without sounding deranged or like a mad grieving wife. Although I might be...
What more can I do ?
Please can someone advise me

I would send the pension company a letter with copy of death certificate and ask if you are entitled to anything.

What do they say?

is it a big company that is administering the pension?

www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/

Sorry for your loss That's really poor - there's no reason it should take this long unless there are exceptional circumstances, in which case they should be explaining the issue to you.

Is it an occupational pension scheme i.e. was it provided by your husband's employer? If so, I would ask for details of their Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure which is the formal complaint process for company pension schemes. Or is it a private pension your husband took out himself? If so, ask about their formal complaint procedure.

If you still get fobbed off, contact The Pensions Advisory Service. They are free to use and help to resolve pension issues and disputes.

It would be helpful, to know what they've told you. I had a real hassle getting my mum's survivor's pension out of one of the big five banks. It's shocking that they treat you like this at they I ended you're least able to deal with it.

Sorry for your loss, all companies need official paper work. Perhaps also send copy of some identification that relates to yourself too. Perhaps the pension is not available until you reach a certain age. Perhaps there is a payment due for death in service if he was still employed. Perhaps your DH allocated his pension to someone or other people, I know my pension has a box where you advise who you wish it allocated to.

The Pensions Ombudsman is a last resort; they will want you to go through the complaint process and/or go through The Pensions Advisory Service (who are now part of the Ombudsman's office) first.

My apologies for not being clear. I am just vague and at the end of Mt tether.
All the paperwork has been sent, all certs sent and got back. It's very simple. I am sole heir and executor, all in the will.they have a copy.
The last time I phoned I was told that fair enough it was overdue, but would be dealt with as urgent. I would get half of the pension. All this a month ago. Mercer Group are administering.

I am gearing up to phone again. It took 3 months to get all the certificates back. I was worried and phoned oh yes they are here on my desk I'll send them now. I had waited in every morning stressed for all that time waiting for registered post.
I feel fobbed off and I don't know what to say to them .

Frogface, this is appalling. I'd suggest that, as a previous poster has said, you raise a complaint under their internal dispute resolution procedure, and if you don't get a satisfactory resolution (which should include an offer of compensation for your distress and inconvenience), then open a dispute with the Pensions Ombudsman. TPAS will be able to help with all the paperwork.

I'd also suggest that you complain directly to the trustees of your DH's pension scheme; sometimes the trustees will receive a report from their administrators where things have gone wrong, as something clearly has here, but administrators don't always bring their failings to the trustees' attention if they aren't obliged to under their service contract. The trustees will be able to put pressure on Mercer where you can't, as they pay the fees.

You deserve better than this; I used to work in pensions admin (many years ago - I'm now a lawyer) and bereavements were treated as a priority. Even now, the standard service agreement would be no more than a five day turnround on all correspondence. There is simply no excuse for this.

As I mentioned above, say you want to make a formal complaint under the pension scheme's Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP). Assuming they've reached the point where they've accepted you're the eligible dependent, you're now a member of the scheme and entitled to use the IDRP. This means the Trustees get involved (which Mercer will want to avoid) and they have to respond within a fixed timescale. Hopefully the mention of the IDRP will shock Mercer into action.

Ministry Cross post - sounds like we have similar backgrounds.

If you're not already doing so, keep a record of the phone calls; I have an alphabetised ring binder just to keep notes on phone calls to whoever after my DH's death.

Do you have an email contact? even better.

I had to deal with two separate pensions groups, and they were all over it. Mind you, this was local government pensions, so they tend to be be well organised.

Good luck.

Have you applied for your Widow's benefit payout from the government?

Hi Frogface, as others have said this is appalling, you should be treated as a priority.

You should complain directly to the trustees and copy in Mercer - at this stage the IDRP is probably unnecessary, and may just delay things as you’ll need to get a copy of it first.

I’m a pensions lawyer - if you need any help with writing a complaint then please do message me.

There's a time limit on this:

www.gov.uk/bereavement-allowance

My friend is still waiting 2 years on. NHS.
Her DH died of cancer before he had even claimed any of his pension.
They are behaving atrociously.

Thankyou everyone. Have phoned pensions advice service. Very helpful.they told me to do what you have said ! Phone first and follow with a letter. He said Mercer have a good reputation and would be appalled to hear of poor administration. Good.

Yes I have my widows bereavement pension, and DHS local government pension. He had a part time job where I worked after he retired early.slippery. thankyou☺ my friend is still waiting as well from the nhs😠

I suspect that we do have a similar background Cornish, I've noticed you giving sound advice on other pensions threads. It's a small world, is pensions, we may well know each other in real life!

Glad you're getting somewhere OP. I was going to pm you with offers of practical help if you needed it, but happily SlipperyLizard has beaten me to it.

“Mercer have a good reputation and would be appalled to hear of poor administration”

Now that has made me laugh...

Glad you’re on the way to getting it sorted.

I am back. My Dsis is here.Turned up for a short visit and now she is staying for the night. I am going to write tomorrow. Will send registered post. I have some questions, but late now and will ask later. You lovely folks thankyou