Thousands of people in Renfrewshire who are retired or nearing retirement may still be waiting to find out if they are owed more pension money, following delays at the Scottish Public Pensions Agency.
Audit Scotland has said the agency must be more transparent about its progress after missing a legal deadline to issue updated pension statements.
The problem dates back to a 2018 ruling that found age discrimination in UK public sector pension reforms. As a result, the Scottish Public Pensions Agency was required to recalculate pension options for members of the NHS, Police, Fire and Teachers’ schemes in Scotland and issue what are known as remedy statements.
The deadline for issuing these statements was 1st April 2025, but the agency failed to meet it. More than 50,000 retired scheme members across Scotland are still waiting to hear whether they are entitled to higher pension payments.
As of November 2025, only 55 per cent of eligible scheme members had received a statement. That is 108,506 out of 196,316 people. Among retired members, 51,802 out of 68,239 had not yet received a remedy pension statement.
Audit Scotland said revised targets set by the agency created an impression of progress that did not fully reflect the scale or complexity of the work involved.
The agency is now working to a new deadline of 31st July 2028. Auditors warned that progress remains slow and it is unclear whether this revised timescale will be met.
Concerns were also raised about wider issues around governance and transparency.
Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said he was worried about the agency’s ability to deliver the remaining statements.
“I’m concerned about the SPPA’s capacity to deliver outstanding remedy statements by the extended timescales,” he said.
“The impact of ongoing delays is of significant concern to many scheme members, particularly current pensioners and those close to retirement.
“The SPPA needs to provide greater transparency on its progress and take action to address other issues regarding governance and transparency raised by the auditor.”
Audit Scotland said delays have been caused by a lack of preparedness for the volume and complexity of cases, late guidance from UK bodies, and ongoing problems with data systems that require manual work.
The report was produced under Section 22 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, which allows the Auditor General to highlight matters of public interest to ministers, Parliament and the public.