Old Age Pensions: Staff work overtime to clear backlog

The Government says it is speeding up the processing of old age pensions for men aged 60 to 64, after the pension age for men was lowered from 65 to 60 in July.

Five years’ worth of men became eligible at once, leading to a backlog of applications.

According to the Government, all applications received up to the 14th of July have now been processed.

Those men have either been paid or are undergoing final checks before payment. 

The Department of Social Security is now working through applications received from the 15th of July onwards, in the order they came in.

Number Six says each claim takes time because a man’s full contribution record has to be checked from the age of 20.

Each pension is being calculated twice - using both the old 45-year contribution formula and the new 40-year formula - with applicants receiving whichever gives them the higher entitlement.

The Government says applications from women asking for their pensions to be reassessed on the basis of their husbands’ contributions are also being processed.

Staff have been working overtime to clear the backlog, with former Social Security employees also helping at weekends.

Anyone who has reached the age of 60 and has not yet applied is encouraged to do so as soon as possible.

Speaking on Direct Democracy, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo acknowledged complaints about the delays.