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Will my pension continue to be paid?

Yes. To make sure we’re prepared to respond to the evolving situation we have robust measures in place. They include making sure that we have contingency plans to ensure the safety of the staff who look after the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme and to continue the payment of pensions.

At present there is no risk to the continued payment of your pension. We will continue to monitor developments and if the situation or advice changes, we will issue further communications.

What happens if I want to claim my pension at this time?

If you are thinking about claiming your pension, you should follow the usual process. You will have been contacted by the administration team if you are nearing your intended retirement age so you can complete and return the forms they have provided.

Should I delay claiming my pension?

This will be something you need to think about in light of your current financial situation. There is currently no risk to payment of pensions so your retirement can proceed as planned.

If you are worried about your income, you might want to take some financial advice on your options at this time. You can find a financial adviser at https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/finding-adviser

What is happening with my transfer/divorce/case?

Our administration team will deal with any cases as usual. We are currently working to our usual timescales; we will update here should this change.

My family member has died – what should I do?

We are sorry for your loss. As soon as you are ready, you should notify the admin team, this will allow us to get most of the information we need from you right away. This information includes:

full name of deceased
your name, relationship to the deceased and contact details
date of their death
information about the next of kin/ dependents or person dealing with their affairs

We will need you to send us the death certificate and potentially other certificates as well. After we have received the death certificate, we will need to identify the beneficiaries. We will advise you if we require any further documents to do this. Our aim is to process these claims as soon as possible, but some cases might be complex and could take longer.

Are the offices still open that deal with my pension?

Yes, we have taken steps to protect the staff working to administer your pension so they may be working from home, but we are still in operation. We have very detailed plans to continue to deal with the administration and payment of pensions as well as protecting our staff during this time.

Is my data secure when staff work at home?

Yes. We have very robust two-factor authorisation protocols on all our computers and laptops.

We are also paperless so staff at home will have no physical data. It is all stored on secure electronic equipment.

Are your call centres still open?

Yes, we have taken steps to protect the staff working to administer your pension so some of them may be working from home, but we are still in operation and answering calls during the usual opening hours. We have very detailed plans to continue to deal with the administration and payment of pensions as well as protecting our staff during this time.

Where do I go for more information?

You can find information about the coronavirus and your pension here; scheme information is available on the website or scheme guides, which you will find here: https://www.royalmailsps.co.uk/support/useful-documents. For information about your personal details you can log into the online portal at members.royalmailsps.co.uk/hopl.chi/wui/tilepgui.html or e-mail or call the admin team.

The Pensions Advisory Service has produced a note about Coronavirus and pensions which is available at https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/

Coronavirus update

17 April 2020