The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) is appointed by the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions. His role is to investigate and decide
complaints and disputes about the way that pension schemes are run.
He is completely independent and acts as an impartial
adjudicator.
Powers
The powers granted to the PO by the Government are similar to
those of the Courts. His decision is final and binding on all the
parties and can be enforced, if necessary, in the Courts. A
decision made by the PO can only be changed by appealing to the
appropriate court on a point of law.
Jurisdiction
An individual, if eligible, can ask the PO to consider a
complaint or dispute against any of the following, so long as it
relates to membership of an occupational pension scheme
or personal pension
plan (including stakeholder pension
schemes):
- all or any of the scheme trustees, past or present;
- the scheme manager (which could refer to a body that runs a
public sector scheme or the provider of a personal pension plan or
stakeholder pension scheme);
- the employer (but only in relation to pension scheme membership
and not for general employment matters); and
- the administrator of an occupational pension scheme.
Those individuals who are eligible to ask the PO to consider a
complaint or a dispute are:
- members of occupational or personal pension schemes;
- spouses or dependants of members who have died;
- anyone claiming to be a member, or the spouse or dependant of a
member;
- people entitled to pension credits following the divorce of a
member; and
- the personal representatives of any of the above.
In this context, a complaint relates to a claim that the party
complained against has behaved in a way that constitutes
maladministration and, as a result, has caused an injustice. A
dispute, on the other hand, is a disagreement concerning fact or
law.
The PO cannot deal with complaints or disputes that:
- relate to the sales and marketing of pension scheme as these
are dealt with by the Financial Ombudsman Service
(FOS);
- relate to the State Pension and other State benefits as these
are dealt with by the Parliamentary Ombudsman (with the help of a
Member of Parliament);
- are subject to court proceedings;
- are subject to regulation by the
Pensions Regulator; and
- are being, or have been, investigated by another
ombudsman.
Time Limit
Complaints and disputes must be put to the PO within three years
of the act or omission. If an individual was not aware at the time
of the act or omission, the three years run from the time they knew
or ought to have known.
The PO may extend the time limit if the complaint or dispute is
made outside of the three-year period, but only as long as he
thinks that any further delay beyond three years is reasonable. In
particular he will usually treat time spent using an Internal Dispute
Resolution Procedure (IDRP) as a good reason for delaying
complaining to him.
Applications
Complaints and disputes to the PO must be presented on an
official complaint form. In the case of a complaint or dispute
against the trustees of an occupational pension scheme, the PO will
only accept the complaint form for investigation if the IDRP has
been exhausted.
Contact the PO
The Pensions Ombudsman
6th Floor
11 Belgrave
Road
London
SW1V 1RB
Telephone: 020 7630
2200
Email: enquiries@pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
Publications
Copies of the
following publications are available from the Pensions Ombudsman's
office.
- The Pensions Ombudsman: What he can do?
- The Pensions Ombudsman: Complaint Form
