Big Increase In Pension Enquiries As TPAS Celebrates 25th Anniversary
02 July 2008
Enquiries to The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) have reached record levels in the year in which the service is celebrating 25 years of giving pensions advice.
Details are given in TPAS's Annual Review "Advising on Pensions: A Review of Activities 07/08" published today (2 July 2008).
The report shows that in the year ending March 2008, over half a million visits were recorded on our website. A record number of people (almost 62,000) rang the helplines, in addition to which there were over 9,000 written enquiries. Dispute cases were also up but by a smaller margin to 7,000, an increase of just 3%. Overall, the total number of people using the service in various ways (excluding visits to our website) was 78,355, an increase of 15% over the previous year.
35% of all enquiries concerned state pension entitlement, reflecting perhaps the importance this has in many people's plans. In relation to private pensions, questions ranged across a wide spectrum of issues including saving for retirement options, pension tracing, transfers, scheme closures, buy-outs, funding arrangements, member protection and so on. Women's pensions continued to be a popular subject with the newly re-launched dedicated special helpline much in demand. Similarly, at the end of the year the new web-based annuity planner appears to have been very well received as an independent aid for individuals entering the complex world of annuities.
In dispute cases, a large proportion of complaints related once again to the poor administration of personal pensions. Disappointedly, there was also a 16% increase in the number of complaints about poor administration in relation to occupational schemes, reversing the apparent improving trend in the previous year's figures. In other areas there was a large rise in disputes concerning ill-health early retirements pointing to a stricter application of scheme rules by companies and trustees.
On the pro-active front, TPAS has continued its programme of talks on pension matters in the workplace. In the period covered by the report, there were 80 presentations delivered to over 2,000 employees.
Speaking at the launch of the TPAS report yesterday evening, the Minister for Pension Reform, Mike O'Brien, said "I am very conscious of the regard in which TPAS is held across the pension world. The service it provides is high quality, free, independent and represents excellent value for money."
Click here to download the report.
Note for Editors
1.TPAS is an independent body supported by the Government which exists to provide free information and guidance to the public on pension matters generally.
2.TPAS provides a national pensions helpline 0845 601 2923 which is open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday. There is also a dedicated pensions helpline for women contactable on 0845 600 0806.
3.TPAS acts as an impartial mediator in pension disputes involving occupational, personal and stakeholder pensions. It has no statutory powers and does not provide investment advice.
4.TPAS provides a range of leaflets on different aspects of pensions. Details can be found on our website www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk
5.The Occupational Pensions Advisory Service (as TPAS was then known) was launched on 28 April 1983 as a charitable organisation. In April 1991 it started to receive an annual grant-in-aid paid via the Occupational Pensions Board and its status changed from a charity to a voluntary organisation. Funding has continued since then first from the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority and more recently direct from the Department for Work and Pensions. The service is sustained by a nationwide network of volunteer advisers who are supported and augmented by technical and administrative staff based in the London office. TPAS is now classified as a Non-Departmental Public Body.
