End of the Giro cheque: Now elderly told to collect pension from local shops
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UPDATED:
08:12 GMT, 28 April 2012
Tens of thousands of elderly people who receive their state pension by cheque will soon be forced to collect it from a local shop instead.
Pensioners have this week received letters from the Government telling them Giro cheques will be scrapped.
The move, due in the summer, means the end of queuing to collect benefits from a post office.
Costcutter: Pensioners will be given a plastic card to present at a local PayPoint, typically found in shops such as Spar and Costcutter
Instead, pensioners will be given a plastic card which must be presented at a local PayPoint, typically found in shops such as Spar and Costcutter and garages. They will then be given their money.
Around 230,000 people currently receive their state pension or benefits by cheque. Consumer groups are worried the new system will leave older pensioners vulnerable to crime.
Andy Burrows, of lobbyists Consumer Focus, said: ‘The layout of some convenience stores doesn’t offer the same level of privacy and security as a post office.’
On the road: Consumer groups are worried the new system will leave older pensioners vulnerable to crime
The majority of pensioners have their benefit, worth 107.45 a week, paid directly into their bank account. But around 2 per cent receive their money by cheque.
Many are elderly or disabled and cannot operate a chip and pin terminal. They usually cash in their cheque every week at their local post office. When the Government decided to phase out paying benefits by cheque, it gave the 20million-a year contract for payment to Citibank, which runs the PayPoint system, instead of the Post Office.
Under the new system, known as Simple Payment, pensioners will be given a card that is presented and scanned at a PayPoint. The card will not have chip and pin.
Elwyn Jenkins, 90, fears he will have to get his money from the Co-op under the new system. He said: ‘The Pensions Office has been badgering me for ages to have my pension paid into my bank account.
‘But I don’t hand out my bank details to anyone. Getting my money at the Co-op would make me feel very uncomfortable.’
The Department for Work and Pensions said: ‘We want to pay people their pension and benefits in the most secure way possible. We have designed the Simple Payment system to work in the same way as cheques.’
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