JESSICA BEARD: End the pensions logjam
Checking your state pension forecast takes ‘a matter of minutes’, a rather optimistic public servant told me last week.
If that’s true, why then are we hearing of families waiting months to get hold of this vital information?
Thousands of people could boost their retirements — but when they call to find out more about the scheme, they’re stuck in a telephone logjam.
Our reporters tried the official Future Pension Centre phone line this week — with no success at all.
Every call we made was dropped after two minutes listening to an automated list of options. Which, annoyingly, warn you to take action before the impending July 31 deadline for using the current top-up scheme.
What the honchos at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) fail to realise is just how distressing this is for anyone coming up to retirement.
You only have until the end of July to fill in National Insurance record gaps dating back to 2006. After that, you will be limited to the previous six years. Yet, with so little help at hand, some are finding it impossible to act.
If you miss the deadline, you could be forfeiting tens of thousands of pounds in later life. No wonder many are panicking.
Source of data and images: dailymail
