I took early retirement from teaching at 55 and started taking my pension. In the spring Teachers’ Pensions wrote to me to say that I was due a lump sum called a transitional protection payment. I had to complete a form and it said that I was owed more than £11,000.

I was told this would be processed and I would get it “soon”. However, I haven’t had the money and, despite several requests, I am repeatedly told this is being processed and that “we are dealing with a large volume of requests and cannot give you any timescales”.

I asked whether interest would be added to the payment when it finally arrives and was told that this would be the case. But I’m still waiting.
KW, address supplied

Holly Thomas writes

After more than 30 years of teaching you retired in 2022 so that you could care for your elderly father. You took a tax-free lump sum, which you invested, and you get a monthly income from your pension.

The letter from Teachers’ Pensions, which manages the pension scheme on behalf of the Department for Education, about a lump sum owing was a complete surprise. You told me that it came at a good time because your daughter was hoping to buy her first home at the beginning of 2026 and you wanted to help her with the deposit.

A transitional protection payment is made to some members of the scheme who retired before 2023 when rule changes came in that affected the level of benefits owed for the period April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2022. This was to address age discrimination in public sector pension reforms that were made in 2015. Retired teachers can choose to have their pension entitlement calculated based on the “legacy” option — their final salary — or the newer “reformed” scheme, which pays a career-average amount.

It’s a complicated system and it seems that there is a significant backlog of claims. When you were presented with the choices, you selected the legacy option. Having been told such a large sum was on its way, I’m not surprised you felt frustrated that it hadn’t been paid after eight months.

Teachers’ Pensions didn’t ignore you, but was unable to give you a satisfactory answer about when you could expect the money. I stepped in to get some clarity and, happily, the money was paid into your bank account within a week. You received a total of £11,476.81 which exceeded the original figure you were given in April by £213.55, due to the extra interest added since the calculation was first done.

What’s more, the money arrived in time for you to contribute to your daughter’s house deposit.

The Department for Education said: “Teachers are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, and a guaranteed income in retirement is one of the rewards teachers deserve for their hard work. Recalculating benefits for retired members is a detailed process that involves tax adjustments, interest calculations, and system updates.”

Three won’t cancel my elderly father’s broadband

My dad, who is 89, lives in sheltered accommodation and has mobility issues. He had a two-year contract with Three to use a dongle to provide broadband for his laptop. About six months before his contract was due to end his laptop stopped working. Since the contract ran out we have been trying to cancel it but are getting nowhere.

It seems my dad cannot do what they ask to close the account, despite half a dozen visits to the store and several phone calls. He isn’t passing the security checks, and Three won’t let me cancel it for him.

One staff member suggested we would end up with a bad credit rating and he could have debt collectors round if he stopped paying, so he agreed to continue with the direct debit for a service that the company knows he is not using.

Despite Citizens Advice trying to help him deal with Three, he is still paying it and his monthly payments have recently doubled. It is extremely distressing for him.
MU, address supplied

Holly Thomas writes

Your dad used his dongle to connect to the internet vias USB on his laptop, to read the news, study, keep on top of social events and to communicate with friends.

When his laptop gave up the ghost, he relied more on phone calls for keeping in touch, and so sensibly set about closing the account. Seemingly at every turn Three failed to help your father do this, even with your help. You were in the process of arranging a power of attorney so that you can help with your father’s financial affairs, but not having that yet made it hard for you to act on his behalf.

• From pensions to botched deliveries: how I won £2.3m for Times readers this year

It sounds like trips to the store were fruitless, and when you explained his mobility problems, you said that Three suggested a webcam call. Your dad has an old Nokia mobile, so this wasn’t possible.

I called Three, which agreed to review your case and concluded that it would refund the £37.96 of payments made since the end of the contract in June 2025 and clear the balance owed of £26.46.

It said: “We are sorry that our customer has had issues regarding their broadband account, and we can confirm that the matter has now been resolved.”

This was not resolved to my mind. Three failed to acknowledge how you and your father were treated during the simple exercise of trying to close an account in-store and on the phone. There was clearly a need for staff to think of an alternative way to help your father, rather than dismissing him — and you. I went back to Three to explain this.

I’m pleased to say that it has now offered to pay you £500 for the distress this has caused you and your father. Three said: “We’re very sorry for the stress that this situation caused this family. As part of our usual process, cases like this are referred to our dedicated wellness team for additional support; unfortunately this did not happen and we recognise this caused further distress. We are reviewing this case, and our wider processes, to ensure customers are supported appropriately.”

Your father plans to donate half to Citizens Advice in acknowledgment of its advice and support. He has moved to new sheltered accommodation where there is wifi he can connect to, if he replaces his laptop.

The VodafoneThree company said it is investing to bring customer service to a “higher level”, with customer care centres planned for Belfast and Sheffield, bringing 400 jobs back to the UK. Let’s hope agents get proper training on how to help older generations to manage their accounts.

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