DSS computers 'rubbish', says minister

National Insurance recording system 2 (NIRS2) - Inland Revenue

Paul Lewis reports on the desperate state of the National Insurance computer system COMPUTERS at the Department of Social Security have been condemned as "rubbish" by the pensions minister Jeff Rooker. He used the term after being forced to admit the problems caused by the three-year-old National Insurance computer, known as NIRS2.

Jeff Rooker: DSS computers are 'rubbish' The computer has been dogged by problems since it was turned on in February 1998. Ministers have frequently assured MPs and the public that they were being sorted out, but each year it fails to calculate correctly the pensions of more than 27,500 newly-retired people.

Mr Rooker told Parliament: "Each month about 50,000 plus people become pensioners. Currently the system is not dealing with payments to about 2,300 of those people, which is not satisfactory.

"Also, there is still a backlog of information from NIRS2 to the Benefits Agency. We are, however, working very quickly to rectify the situation. I do not think it is a secret that the Department of Social Security is not proud of our information technology [IT] systems, which are rubbish."

A spokesman told Telegraph Money that it would be wrong to conclude from Mr Rooker's words that 2,300 new pensioners each month got the wrong pension. Instead, the spokesman claimed: "The NIRS2 system identifies those cases where the calculation cannot be fully dealt with.

"It then applies a basic entitlement to pension and then flags the case up for the Benefits Agency. A section of the National Insurance Contributions Office then completes the calculation. Pensioners should be paid the right amount at the time it becomes payable."

Tony Gammage, a retired accountant from Epping, might be expected to know if his pension was wrong. He is concerned about the catalogue of mistakes made in his case. He said: "I was not sent the form before my 65th birthday. I had to wait six months to get anything and, even then, I was only paid the basic pension.

"There was then a long delay to get the additional Serps and the amount I get I believe is still wrong. The graduated pension is simply not on the sheet at all.

"So far as I can see, my pension is still £5.74 a week too little. I am not concerned with the amount; it's the principle. I have a letter of March 20 1995, saying what I should get when I retired, I have fulfilled the conditions, so that is what I think I should have."

Mr Rooker has admitted that the computer problems have led to 128,000 pensioners being underpaid by a total of £43.5 million, an average of £340 each. Adding in invalidity and jobseeker's allowance claims took the total to 140,000 underpaid by £58 million. The Government says they have all now been paid.

But Mr Rooker admitted that in addition by the middle of September there were still 97,000 retirement pension cases waiting to be checked. That number had fallen from 128,000 at the end of March.

If the Department continues to clear them at that rate - about 5,600 a month - it will take until February 2002 to finish the job. That could leave big problems with the new stakeholder pensions. National Insurance rebates paid into them rely on the same computer system and begin next April.

Mr Rooker also revealed that the average amount of compensation paid by the Department of Social Security was just £11.77 per pensioner, barely £2 million in total. Not much comfort to people like Alastair Cowan from Bath, who reached 65 in August last year.

He had obtained regular forecasts and was looking forward to a pension of around £140 a week. But he got barely half that.

He said: "In October I got a letter saying that the adjudication officer had looked again at my pension and it was £72.91; no Serps at all. The Bath office said not to worry, the computer was up the spout and it would all be sorted out eventually.

"Nothing happened. Then in June I was told I could have the pension paid according to the forecast as long as I signed an indemnity in case they paid me too much.

"So eventually I did that and got a backpayment. But it has still not been properly sorted out. If a private insurance company had done this they would have been onto them like a ton of bricks."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000252141601804&rtmo=aCh56aTJ&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/00/12/2/cmdss02.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 03, 2000