{"id":228312,"date":"2025-10-27T14:43:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/228312\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T14:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:43:08","slug":"widow-demands-scotgov-pensions-chief-is-sacked-after-husbands-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/228312\/","title":{"rendered":"Widow demands ScotGov pensions chief is sacked after husband\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The crisis began with a UK High Court judgment in 2018 which found that 2015 public sector pension reforms, introduced to cut costs<\/a> as people lived longer, unfairly discriminated against younger workers.\n<\/p>\n

\n This triggered moves in Scotland to send statements to over 200,000 public sector staff from police and firefighters to teachers and nurses who had suffered the age discrimination which includes details of potential arrears dating back to 2015.\n<\/p>\n

\n Concerns have also been raised with First Minister<\/a> John Swinney<\/a>, with calls for action and “heads to roll” over Scottish Public Pensions Agency\u2019s failures to make amends over lost retirement cash to thousands of public sector workers<\/a> including police, nurses, firefighters and local government staff which has seen some die before they got their remedy statements.\n<\/p>\n

\n Bob Frew, a retired Detective Chief Inspector, waited years for his pension paperwork to arrive \u2014 but it came on April 1, two days after he died of cancer. He would have turned 60 this Sunday.\n<\/p>\n

\n Read More:\n<\/p>\n

\n Revealed: Scotland’s \u00a31.7bn public pensions bill scandal locks out 1000s<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n Watchdog probe as Scots threaten ‘heads must roll’ legal action over pensions scandal<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n Why has Scotland been struck by a \u00a31.7bn public pensions bombshell?<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n His widow, Gillian, 52, also a retired police officer, said she only received her pension compensation after her husband\u2019s death, following an appeal to the Scottish Government<\/a> through her MSP. She said the Scottish Public Pensions Agency\u2019s (SPPA) handling of the issue was \u201cdeplorable\u201d and added: \u201cThey have got to be held accountable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Gillian Frew and late husband Bob (Image: Gilian Frew)\n<\/p>\n

\n She added that the chief executive of the SPPA “should go, as they had plenty of time to plan and they have failed miserably”.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: “They are still continuing to cause severe distress for other officers who are still waiting.\n<\/p>\n

\n “There needs to be an inquiry as to why this has taken so long and at what cost as every day an officer does not receive the remedy, they receive interest which is a substantial amount.”\n<\/p>\n

\n After 30 years of service, Mr Frew\u2019s pension remedy statement finally arrived two days after his death. His widow, who had also been waiting years for her own remedy statement, eventually received \u00a360,000 in pension money \u2014 which she said came through \u201ctragic circumstances.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Mrs Frew, from Bishopbriggs, only received her full pension after appealing through her MP and MSP.\n<\/p>\n

\n In his final days at a Marie Curie hospice in Glasgow, Mr Frew repeatedly asked his wife if their pension issues had been resolved. \u201cHe wanted me to be financially settled,\u201d said Mrs Frew. \u201cWe had daily chats. He kept saying, \u2018have you heard anything from the pensions?\u2019\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe was trying to make sure I was being looked after, and still while he was lying there I was telling him that I just didn’t know what was happening.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n She said she had to involve her MP and MSP to chase up her pension after waiting seven years. \u201cI had to use my husband\u2019s death to get my seven years\u2019 pension that I was justly due,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"Gilliannull (Image: Gillian Frew)\n<\/p>\n

\n “And it was only due to my husband passing away, I think, that I got mine sooner than most people have done.”\n<\/p>\n

\n She added: “It has all been handled deplorably. I feel sorry for firefighters and everyone else that has been affected by this.\n<\/p>\n

\n “I hope the SPPA are held accountable for what has happened.\n<\/p>\n

\n “I’d like to think the SPPA will do the right thing now and learn from their mistakes. They’ve been deplorable with communication, and their actions. These delays affect you financially. Waiting two or three years you are dealing with people’s lives. It has been hard, just not knowing what was happening.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Mrs Frew, who now helps run the 19-year-old Fat Buddha men’s clothing shop in Glasgow’s Queen Street, said she contacted the SPPA after her late husband’s remedy statement came through to ask what she was to do.\n<\/p>\n

\n And she added: “If it wasn’t for my husband dying, who knows when I would have got my pension.\n<\/p>\n

\n “There are lots of people waiting still and it is just wrong.\n<\/p>\n

\n “The head of the SPPA really should hang his head in shame. And I really do hope they get it right for everyone else that this affects.”\n<\/p>\n

\n SPPA deputy chief executive \u00a0Kate Thomson-McDermott said: \u201cOn behalf of the SPPA, I would like to share our deepest sympathies with Mrs Frew on the loss of her husband.\n<\/p>\n

\n “While it is not appropriate for us to comment on individual cases, we would like to assure members that delivery of remedy remains a key priority for the SPPA.\n<\/p>\n

\n “We are continuing to make progress in carrying out the complex processes necessary to provide statements to all of the over 200,000 members affected by remedy.”\n<\/p>\n

\n She said they are in regular contact with members, employers, the pension boards, and the Pensions Regulator, “recognising the challenges we face in delivering remedy are shared by all public service pension schemes across the UK”.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The crisis began with a UK High Court judgment in 2018 which found that 2015 public sector pension…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[84,4176,4174,4175,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-228312","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-personal-finance","11":"tag-personalfinance","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}