Widow 'distressed' by firm's nine-month delay to husband's pension

Here is a story making headlines in the economy: Widow 'distressed' by firm's nine-month delay to husband's pension1 day ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleMartin GrahamBBC ScotlandBBCKay Donald lost her husband Barry last SeptemberKay Donald's husband Barry died suddenly almost nine months ago – but she says problems with his pension are stopping her from moving on. Her family is among thousands who have experienced delays after outsourcing firm Capita took over administration of the civil service pension scheme. Kay, who has not received any payments since Barry's death, says she has been left distressed and feels like those at the company "don't seem to care".

Capita apologised for the "worry and frustration" being caused by delays and said it was working to establish normal service levels. Barry Donald died last September, just a week before the couple's 34th wedding anniversary. Kay, 62, had been watching TV at the couple's home in Glasgow while Barry was doing some DIY in the hall.

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When she went to bed, she found her husband lying dead behind the front door. She tried to resuscitate him but it was too late. Barry, 63, had worked at Social Security Scotland – the government agency which manages devolved benefits - for the last five years.

Before that he spent 26 years working for Asda. Widows left in pension limbo after husbands' deathsRetired civil servants left in pension limbo Outsourcing firm Capita fined £14m after millions had data stolenKay said Barry's employers were very helpful after his death, sending flowers and condolences – as well as the forms she needed to begin the process of accessing his pension. She sent these off in October, along with all the documentation which had been asked for – but has still not received anything.

"I have phoned umpteen times, I've emailed, I have written letters of complaint," she said. "I've been constant with them, I've got my MSP onto them, I've got my solicitor onto them. It's just very frustrating.

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"Capita took over the Civil Service Pension Scheme - which has about 1. 7 million members - in December last year, after winning the contract in 2023. Scotland has previously highlighted how thousands of people have been unable to access their lump-sum payments or ongoing pension income due to problems with the company's systems.

Kay said Capita had asked her to send documents which were not required. And she said the ongoing problems were preventing her from moving on. "I have terrible days, but I have a lot of good days as well.

But my terrible days tend to be with the pressure of having to chase this up again," said Kay. "Or they've said they'll escalate it to a manager, again, and it never happens and I never hear back from them other than to say: 'Send me this, get me this'. KAY DONALDKay and Barry were married for 34 yearsKay felt she was being treated like she was making a fraudulent claim.

Financial markets are tracking the development closely as investors assess the likely impact.