wmpfonline.com Arvostelua 

The West Midland Pension Fund is failing to serve its members - that is my experience, especially over the last few months.
1 - failed to issue an annual deferred pension statement for 2024

2 - failed to issue a pension quotation by my pension start date, and when phoning them seemed to be unaware that my pension was even due to be paid. Even now 2 months on, I have received nothing.

3 - failed to correct errors on their web site portal, that states that my normal retirement date is in 4 years time, when it should be in May 2024.

I have today made an official complaint using their complaints procedure + have written to RACHEL BROTHWOOD Executive Director of Pensions + have opened a case with the Pensions Ombudsman.

For those who have complaints that are more than a few months old, go thru the complaints procedure & then pursue your complaint with the ombudsman.

If the WMPF is failing to serve its members & there is enough evidence of this for the ombudsman, in serious cases an intervention can be forced.

Unbelievable, my husband passed away suddenly last August. I have contacted the West Midlands pension and have sent the necessary paperwork they asked for. On many occasions I have emailed them and have received no response from them. I am grieving my husband and trying to come to terms with my loss so the last thing I need is the stress of dealing with this atrocious company. I wish someone would just respond to me. How difficult is it to acknowledge a persons death and give comfort to the bereaved that they are dealing with case.

I've been waiting since 28th May for my pension papers to come through I've now contacted pension ombudsman to deal with it , they can't keep on dating we have no waiting time lead people want there money.Yours sincerely J.Bellingham

This is a summary of my timeline to access my pension with WMPF.

I was made redundant on 31/3/24 and elected to retire. My employer forwarded my retirement paperwork to WMPF on 29/2/24 and then, without advising me, my employer amended it with WMPF on 19/4. WMPF then advised that would have slowed the retirement process down as calculations had to be redone.

However, WMPF processed and submitted my retirement calculations to their authorisations department on 8/5/24.

On 22/5/24 I discovered in the portal my pension calculations, dated 20/5/24. I printed them out myself, to avoid any delay waiting for the copies in the post (which arrived 24/5), returned them back to WMPF who signed to receive them on 24/5. I was then told my pension would be actioned within 8 weeks from 24/5.

On 17/6/24 I discovered another document in the portal stating my lump sum and late payment interest would be paid on 24/6 (up to 4 days to process, it took 2 days) and any arrears would be settled on or by 25/7. They were settled and in my account on 28/6.

I’m sharing this timeline as it may be useful and provide reassurance to those who are anxiously waiting for pensions to be sorted out. I know that when I was waiting I scoured the internet looking for actual accounts of peoples individual journeys and this is mine.

Whilst the length of time to process a pension is not acceptable I have to comment favourably on the WMPF staff who I (regularly) spoke to who were all extremely polite and patient. They never over-promised anything and the timelines they stated were, by and large, accurate. I made the majority of my phone calls to them before 9am and they were answered promptly.

In terms of a review score, the staff are a 5 but the process (computer system) is a 1, hence my overall score of 2.

I retired on 3/4/24. I too have not received my pension. There excuse, I was told there is a backlog. I have also been told my proof of identity, ie passport picture was grainy and could I send it again. This has been addressed yet still I do not have my pension. I am relying on this money and am getting further and further into debt... This is utterly unacceptable and WMPF needs to be investigated.

How on earth is this organisation allowed to manage such an important aspect of our lives? Having read many of the previous complaints/responses, I am fearful that I will be waiting many weeks, possibly months for my pension process to even begin. Early days yet as my application was only received on the 14th May 2024.

Absolutely atrocious service and a shocking lack of empathy from WMPF about the delay and effect on peoples finances and lives.
I’ve been waiting since last August , and still no pension.
I was told it had escalated my claim twice in the last 4 months . It’s clearly just to fob you off . I’ve had an email today saying my calculation has been done and it’s with a supervisor to sign off , but they can’t give me a timeline of when I will be paid as they are dealing with a large backlog . Really??? Who’d have thought .
I’ve now emailed my MP who has informed me he’s written to them today.
Hopefully he gets a better response than I have so far .

1 star is the only option -10 would be more appropriate.
I did not want to retire, I had no choice. I was given ill health retirement due to 15 months of feeling absolutely awful. Scans, blood tests, dementia scans, severe depression and anxiety, countless high doses of medication the list goes on.
I’m currently relying on family handouts, church lunch open afternoons and food banks. I have a mortgage to pay, bills to pay and I’m reaching the end of my tether with WMPF.
No call backs, no replies to emails, no pension, no lump sum and feeling even worse now than I felt in the past 17 months. You are a JOKE!!! I’ve paid into the scheme since 1982 and I want ‘My MONEY.
I will go to parliament and the press of something isn’t done!! How can a company cause this much stress on so many people!! It will be a post office scandal all over again…

What can I say? It’s been a long and bumpy journey but I can tell you there’s light at the end of the tunnel! Read my other reviews to see.
To summarise:
Requested my pension figures quote 5 Dec ‘23. Phoned, emailed & put in cases.
137 days later had my quote.
Returned forms next day.
14 days later I’ve been paid my lump sum and monthly is all set up. Even had back pay and interest as promised.
A massive thank you to people behind the scenes who have kept in contact to help through this stressful situation (for all). My reviews show the changes made and credit where it’s due they have come good. A few improvements to be sure but reviewers seem to stop when there’s a happy outcome so hopefully I’ve put on my full journey for others to be guided by.

Will I ever get a pension statement? I'm not even sure my pension is being paid in to the system.
LGPS blame my employer and my employer blames them, which leave me with no help. LGPS say they are waiting for my employer to send them my leaving details...but I'm not leaving, and nothing has changed regarding my hours.
This is not the first time this has happened to me, so they can't blame their new software.
I can appreciate there are more serious and urgent problems in terms of people not receiving their pension, which is beyond unacceptable, but this is still important to me.
2 hours phone waiting time is simply not acceptable.

I was told that my request for a quote would take 8-10 weeks for me to receive in the post. 10 weeks later, nothing. I can’t afford to sit on the phone waiting to speak to someone for so long. Desperate for this company to actually do what they are supposed to and say they will do. This company is causing people to have breakdowns in a time that the cost of basic living is horrendous.
Update, they have sent me an email stating that they are now working on a 10 week MINIMUM time frame. Terrible.
Update. So I finally, after waiting many many weeks and resorting to sending an email to the CEO, got the forms to fill in. Great I thought, I filled them in, the figures were all there to see, how difficult can it be to send me the amount stated and signed for. But no, I then had a letter stating that they had received my claim and it would take up to 8 weeks for me to receive anything. I read another reviewer that said it took 2 weeks and his claim was paid (he had written to his MP but it still took many months) so don’t take his as a normal timeframe. 5 weeks within the 8 weeks timeframe I was eventually paid.

The WM Pension helpline team have an unhappy knack of making ME feel like I'm the bad guy and THEY are "doing their best to resolve my issue" I retired in September and have still not received my pension. I would say having no pension since September is not "an issue" it's a disgrace. What exactly do they do when they "escalate" ? Seems like we are all throwing the kitchen sink at them but still not getting what is rightfully ours. AND where are our employers in all of this? Stony silence from them.

My claim has now been escalated (been waiting since December 2023), but I don't hold out any hope of my pension being paid anytime soon as I've been told to wait a few weeks. I've contacted my MP as suggested, and also the Pensions Committee and Board at Wolverhampton Council who oversee the scheme.
They keep quoting problems with the new IT system as the reason for the delays, but surely a competent company would have sorted this out by now? Unacceptable service.

I have no words anymore for WMPF as so many have already said it all...

They (WMPF) are going to make someone commit SUICIDE!!!

It has been a truly painful, depressing experience for me on top of many other stresses and challenges!

I am broken 😔

UPDATE
Briefly, I got my lump sum, arrears & monthly amount paid at the end of July, hefty tax amount!! I had contacted the CEO of company who got her pa to reply until I complained about it, her reply was a smarmy reply, everything they send out is from a script! I believe everyone should be getting compensated for all of this delay and incompetence, a lot of people have really suffered.
Strange how when I appeared on tv being interviewed about the company, I was paid 2 days later. On one phone call to the company it was related to the post office scandal!
I even offered to go to the offices to help them do my paperwork and others as I reckon me and many others could do a better job!!

Update.....after phoning again on the 13th March (45min to answer) I was told my paperwork was completed on 11th March and it would be sent out after checking! Here we are 9th May and still no paperwork or pension! Been told (via email) my claim/complaint has been logged and upgraded. This shambles of a company is an absolute disgrace

Absolute nightmare, I handed my retirement notice in Nov 23 to retire 1st March 24 knowing there was a problem, I thought it was plenty of time! They then told they only started looking at my pension 23rd Jan 24 it may take 8-10 wks or more but they will pay arrears when its sorted!! They can't say when, absolute joke, who can manage with no pension, disgraceful. 29 yrs I've paid. How come the government can sort pensions in 2days, they deal with more people than Wmp

I am like so many people on here. Have been waiting for my pension qoute pack since August last year. It came through last week but only because I asked my Member of Parliament for help. I received an email from WMPF director yesterday acknowledging the intervention from my Member of Parliament. So my advice is get in touch with your local MP as this seems to help.
Good luck everyone and I hope this information helps.

My experience is similar to many others who have already submitted a review in relation to the WMPF.
My paperwork indicating my intention to retire was received by the scheme on 28/11/23. I received no acknowledgement from them and apart from the generic letter sent to every scheme member I have received no other information since I submitted my paperwork.
When I submitted my paperwork I was not aware of any problems the scheme was experiencing in processing members benefits, because if I had known of them I would have delayed my retirement.
Why aren’t people being told of theses issues sooner?
I have sent two E Mails to the scheme asking for a timescale for when the problems maybe resolved but on both occasions I have been told that they can’t give me a timescale, but give no reason why.
Someone must know what is going on and how they intend to resolve the issues which means they can surely give us some sort of idea of how long we have to wait to receive our benefits.
What are the trustees doing about it and why haven’t they commented?
Like others my complaint has been “escalated’ but I hold little hope of hearing anything soon.
The whole situation is an utter disgrace and those responsible, and those in charge, should hold their heads in shame.
I have E Mailed my MP (Wendy Morton) today asking her to look into the matter and in an attempt to get some answers.

It's sad to see that the Daily Telegraph journalist has given 3 stars, which is the highest score they've ever received.
Since appearing on TV, and still having to put yet another poor review in, I finally got my lump sum paid into my account, they didn't tell me they'd done it, but at least it's there.
My actual pension hasn't started to be paid yet, but I live in hope.
They've paid me some interest for the months I wasn't paid, problem is that that amount is subject to tax, if I'd got it on time and put in an ISA in July I'd have earned more, and would have avoided the tax.
From the newer comments here and elsewhere,it appears that nothing has radically changed in the past month.
It is worth considering writing a review, or contacting the journalists looking for details.
This isn't on the same level as the post office scandal, but it's still ruining peoples lives, breaking their dreams and spoiling their plans.
It's also an IT failure on a large scale.
Still no one higher up has come forward to apologise, explain what's happening to put this right.
Keep on fighting and complaining.

Like everyone else who has written about West Midlands Pensions Fund my experience with them has been horrendous. My Partner passed away on 30th August 2023. I have made 3 phone calls to try to get notification that his account has now been finalised.
I received 1 letter saying he was overpaid by £1 and so sent a cheque to advised address. Thought this was the end of the matter but 2 months later receive another letter saying he may he been overpaid. During my phone calls with a very helpful person called Andy who looked into his account and could see no overpayment. Evidently the 1st letter should not have got into the system. He agreed to try to help finalise with the help of his managers. Nothing. so on 7th December I wrote Official Complaint. I received confirmation that they had received this. According to their information they should have replied within 20days or notified me. AS WITH ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE WRITTEN REVIEWS NOTHING. Members passing away is a situation they deal with daily so should be simple. I just want to finalise my duties as Executor of his will. This is very distressing to me as it must be to everyone else. I do hope that someone will take this company either to the Press, Martin Lewis or similar.

WMPF are a disgrace! I would give them a ZERO if I could.
I joined the pension scheme in 1997 = 26 and a half years of contributions!
I retired as a School Business Manager 31.08.23 after 38 and a half years. (7 years after my retirement date) I have lost count of the calls and emails that I have made. It's nearly 7 months and I still have not received my pension! I live on my own and have used my savings to pay all my utility bills.I have emailed a complaint to the Pension Ombudsman. I have also emailed the details to my local MP. Yesterday's message on the WMPF Portal is a repeat of previous responses. BUT NOW ITS 20 DAYS waiting time. The TV and press need to investigate immediately before another Scam is out of control.