AON long delay in getting pension paperwork

Bedrock66

Hi all,
10 weeks ago I asked for a long frozen pension to come into payment. Aon quotes 4 weeks for paperwork but it's been 10. They can give no estimated time that I will get the paperwork issued, so who knows when I will actually get the lump sum. They can't explain why it's taking so long except high demand, nor can they explain what they actually have to do that is taking the time. I have officially complained and got the stock "were busy" answer.

Anybody have any information on how long your paperwork took, or what they need to actually do to bring a long frozen (small) final salary pension into payment?

 

xylophone

You are joining a long, long list of posters complaining about delays in pension administration and this applies to current contributors, deferred pensioners, widows/widowers of scheme members and those shortly to retire and needing to bring their pensions into payment.

It does not seem to be problems with any particular administrator, just many of them.

This has variously been blamed on the after effects of the pandemic, on working from home, on loss of experienced staff and on job cuts so that there are far too few pension teams trying to cope with  as many applications as stars in the sky!

 Take your choice of excuse!

You can make a formal complaint but I suspect that your letter will join a tottering pile in somebody's in tray.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-problems/complaining-about-delays-to-your-pension#:~:text=Then it's best to talk,a result of the delay.

flaneurs_lobster

I'm currently dealing with Mercer, XPS, Standard Life and Capita.

Perhaps trying to get 4 pensions into payment simultaneously on my 66th wasn't the wisest of moves.

At least I haven't been overwhelmed by a deluge of rapid responses.

dunstonh

10 weeks ago I asked for a long frozen pension to come into payment. 

Frozen pensions always take longer.  Assuming you mean frozen pension to be what it really means not an incorrect use of the word (common misuse is to call a deferred pension "frozen" if you are no longer an active member).

Aon quotes 4 weeks for paperwork but it's been 10.

Thats not too bad.   Often with "professional" administrators, you talk in months rather than days.

 They can't explain why it's taking so long except high demand, nor can they explain what they actually have to do that is taking the time. I have officially complained and got the stock "were busy" answer.

Typically, professional administrators are understaffed to cater for the workload.  They have spent years hoovering up the administration of many schemes but not scaled the staff numbers to reflect the work needed.      The vast majority of the delay is waiting for the staff member to be allocated the work.

Albermarle

flaneurs_lobster said:

I'm currently dealing with Mercer, XPS, Standard Life and Capita.

Perhaps trying to get 4 pensions into payment simultaneously on my 66th wasn't the wisest of moves.

At least I haven't been overwhelmed by a deluge of rapid responses.

IIRC, you were politely warned that this might be a big ask !

flaneurs_lobster

Albermarle said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

I'm currently dealing with Mercer, XPS, Standard Life and Capita.

Perhaps trying to get 4 pensions into payment simultaneously on my 66th wasn't the wisest of moves.

At least I haven't been overwhelmed by a deluge of rapid responses.

IIRC, you were politely warned that this might be a big ask !

Indeed I was, but even so I thought starting 6 months before the desired payment date might have given me a fighting chance. Still six weeks to go.......

Somebody

My experience for turnaround is around 4 months.  I sent my paperwork in January ‘22 to both Aon and Mercer and asked for commencement of pension payments in the following tax year and achieve the desired outcome.  My pension administered by Mercer gets paid on the 1st of the month so first payment was 1 May from them.  

I was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t ask for any form of ID whatsoever prior to payment.

Marcon

Bedrock66 said:

Hi all,
10 weeks ago I asked for a long frozen pension to come into payment. Aon quotes 4 weeks for paperwork but it's been 10. They can give no estimated time that I will get the paperwork issued, so who knows when I will actually get the lump sum. They can't explain why it's taking so long except high demand, nor can they explain what they actually have to do that is taking the time. I have officially complained and got the stock "were busy" answer.

Anybody have any information on how long your paperwork took, or what they need to actually do to bring a long frozen (small) final salary pension into payment?

 

It's quite possible that if this is an elderly pension scheme (and maybe quite a small one), the administrators will have to carry out manual calculations rather than being able to rely on a fully coded benefit structure - and if you left active membership a long time ago, that could be quite a time consuming calculation.

xylophone

Speaking of delays (although in this case in different circumstances), I found this a rather disturbing story - and it took a communication from Steve Webb to end this widow's distress...

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-12493031/Aviva-withholding-husbands-pension-coroner-confirms-death.html

dunstonh

xylophone said:

Speaking of delays (although in this case in different circumstances), I found this a rather disturbing story - and it took a communication from Steve Webb to end this widow's distress...

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-12493031/Aviva-withholding-husbands-pension-coroner-confirms-death.html

It is normal for insurers to hold the payment until the outcome of an inquest.

xylophone

It is normal for insurers to hold the payment until the outcome of an inquest.


But clearly they have discretion?

This must be the case considering that the first pension was paid by the unnamed insurer on production of the interim death certificate.

And  I found the the nature of the communication sent by Aviva to the widow very disturbing.