One Wandsworth pension fund member waited 445 working days to get their money moved. The target is 15.
That figure, disclosed under a Freedom of Information request, covers the same six months in which the council’s Local Pension Board was told that its handling of pension transfers had reached “an excellent standard.”
A pension transfer is the process by which a member moves their pension pot into or out of the Wandsworth scheme, typically when changing jobs or retiring. Of 1,225 transfers handled between July and December 2025, 389 took longer than the 15-working-day target. Of those, 209 took more than 90 working days (roughly four and a half months); sixty-one ran beyond 181 working days.
In February, the pension board demanded an improvement plan but set no deadline and, as we reported at the time, never asked how long members had actually been waiting. The FOI response, received this month, now answers that question.
The council’s improvement plan, provided in full, reads: “New jobholders are addressing backlogs.”
The data behind the delays
The FOI asked the council for a breakdown of all transfers handled between July and December 2025. The figures show that most people were dealt with quickly. The typical wait was 8 working days for those paying money in and 9.5 working days for those moving money out. That matters, because it means most members were not badly affected.
What the figures also show, however, is that a smaller group of people were left waiting for months, pulling the averages sharply upward. On average, those paying money in waited 31.3 working days (more than twice the target). Those moving money out waited 45.5 working days on average (three times the target).
At the extreme end, one person paying money in waited 445 working days. One person moving money out waited 425.
| Time band | Paying in | Moving out |
|---|---|---|
| 0–30 days (within target) | 308 (71%) | 528 (67%) |
| 31–60 days | 72 (17%) | 60 (8%) |
| 61–90 days | 11 (3%) | 37 (5%) |
| 91–180 days | 26 (6%) | 122 (15%) |
| 181+ days | 16 (4%) | 45 (6%) |
| Total | 433 | 792 |
Source: WBC-FOI-12453, Wandsworth Council, 4 March 2026
What the council said
The FOI also asked why things had gone wrong and what was being done about it. The council gave its explanation in writing: “Vacancies then training new jobholders.” No extra staff or resources have been brought in since July 2025.
When asked whether an action plan had been drawn up to get back to the 98% target (including the plan’s title, target date, and key actions), the council’s complete answer was: “New jobholders are addressing backlogs.”
This is the context in which that answer sits. At the board meeting on 9 February, chair Richard Perry proposed a more realistic approach: lower, temporary targets showing gradual improvement over two to three years rather than holding to a 98% benchmark the service currently has no prospect of meeting. Officers said they would come back with plans. No date was set for when that would happen.
The difficulties involved are genuine. Putney.news reported in February that a legal ruling known as the McCloud remedy required the government to recalculate pension entitlements for a large number of public sector workers. The council’s software had not been updated to handle those calculations, so staff had to do much of the work by hand. That remains a significant factor in the delays.
No complaints
The FOI also asked how many formal complaints the Pensions Shared Service (the team that handles pension administration for Wandsworth and Richmond) received about transfer delays between July and December 2025. The answer was zero.
That figure covers a period when 209 people waited more than 90 working days. Whether it reflects satisfaction, resignation, or simply not knowing that a complaints process exists is not something the FOI can answer.
We reported in both previous stories that members experiencing delays can contact the pensions team directly and, if necessary, take their complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman. The FOI data suggests very few have done so.
The board asked for an improvement plan to be brought to a future meeting. Whether board members will ask harder questions than they did in February, about timelines, milestones, and what is being said to people currently waiting, remains to be seen.
The next Local Pension Board meeting has not yet been announced.
What you can do
If you are a Wandsworth pension fund member and your transfer has been delayed:
Contact the pensions team directly to ask for an update and request a timeline in writing: 020 8871 6594 or pensions@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk
Make a formal complaint to Wandsworth Council: www.wandsworth.gov.uk/make-a-complaint
Take your complaint further to the Pensions Ombudsman if it is not resolved: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint
Report governance concerns to the Pensions Regulator: www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/contact-us
Request your personal records held by the council: www.wandsworth.gov.uk/the-council/open-data-and-transparency/accessing-information/accessing-your-personal-information-subject-access-request/
Accountability statement
We contacted Cllr Angela Ireland (Cabinet Member for Finance) and Paul Guilliotti (Director of Financial Services) on 20 March 2026 and asked the five questions below. We received no response.
Questions asked:
- Does the council stand by the “excellent standard” characterisation in light of the FOI data?
- Can the council provide further detail on the improvement plan, including interim milestones and a target date for returning to full compliance?
- Why have no additional resources been allocated since July 2025?
- Are members being proactively informed when their transfer is significantly delayed?
- The Local Pension Board paper cited 479 cases affected by transfer delays between July and December 2025. The FOI response covering the same period shows 1,225 total transfers processed, of which 389 exceeded the target. Could the council help us understand the difference between those two figures?
Putney.news submitted FOI request WBC-FOI-12453 to Wandsworth Council on 5 February 2026. The council acknowledged receipt the same day and responded on 4 March 2026.
For background on this investigation, see: Wandsworth’s pension warning: risky bets, red flags, and no public access (June 2025)
