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26/07/2010

Pensions Ombudsman and Pension Protection Fund Annual Report & Accounts published

The 2009/10 Annual Report and Accounts of the Pensions Ombudsman (and Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman) was published on 26 July. 

Highlights are:

 

Subject Matter

  • As in previous years the single matter giving rise to more complaints than any other was ill-health pensions (11% of resolved complaints). 

Workload
  • There were increases over 2008/9 in the number of enquiries (3632, up 18%) and cases taken on for investigation (950, up 22% after adjustment for anomalies).  There was no obvious single reason.  The numbers, though significantly higher than the year before, are not without precedent from previous years.  It is too early to say whether this has just been a single unusual year or alternatively is the start of an upward trend.
  • The office resolved 11% more than the target of 800 cases.
  • There was continuing emphasis on proportionate and early resolution – with an 8% increase in the number of cases resolved without needing formal determination by an ombudsman. 

Financial

  • Expenditure was £2.86m, within budget.  Target cost to case closure ratios were comfortably met.

In his introduction, commenting on the subject matter the Pensions Ombudsman, Tony King, described it as "very much business as usual".

Referring to the workload he noted that the target number of resolved cases had been exceeded:

"But an increase in workload when future resources will be tight is bound to put us under pressure.  We wait to see, sou’westers at the ready, if this is just a temporary fluctuation in the weather or a warning of long term climate change."
2 February 2010

Pensions Ombudsman addresses Occupational Pensions Defence Union AGM

Tony King, the Pensions Ombudsman, addressed the Annual General Meeting of the Occupational Pensions Defence Union on 27 January 2010.  His speech is available here
22 October 2009

New Deputy Pensions Ombudsman

Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has appointed Jane Irvine to be Deputy Pensions Ombudsman (and Deputy Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman). Jane has a background in arbitration and dispute resolution and is Chair of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. From 2006 to 2008 she was the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman (which was abolished in favour of the commission she now chairs). She also sits on the disciplinary board of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries and from January 2010 she will be its Chair. Jane is expected to take up her new duties in mid-November. This part time appointment follows the splitting of the previous job into two roles: Deputy Pensions Ombudsman, dealing with determining complaints, and Casework Director, dealing with the management of investigations and staff.
25th September 2009

Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

The Information Commissioner has prepared and approved a model Freedom of Information Publication Scheme to be used by all public authorities. We have therefore updated our scheme to comply with this guidance
News Archive
20 July 2009

Pensions Ombudsman reports on a good year

The Pensions Ombudsman, Tony King today (20 July) published his Annual Report and Accounts, covering the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009.  In his introduction he said:

“Without doubt the year under report has been a good year.  We have effectively disposed of the office’s long-standing backlog and have substantially met our other targets for the year.”

The number of new cases needing investigation during the year was 742, very much in line with previous years.  The report notes that the economic downturn and its impact on pension funds is unlikely to have more than a delayed and indirect effect on complaint numbers.

1,196 cases were closed. Only 30% needed a formal determination by the Pensions Ombudsman or the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman (Charlie Gordon), down from 39% the previous year, indicating that renewed efforts to resolve cases early and proportionately may be bearing fruit.

The number of unresolved cases at the end of the year was 476.  Three years before there had been almost three times as many (1,413).  And the number of unresolved cases over a year old fell from 450 at the start of the year to 46 at the end.

Pension transfers and ill-health pensions were the most common causes for complaints.  As the report notes, applications for ill-health pensions involve “difficult medical judgements and, often, the exercise of a discretion; and the outcome for the scheme member may be fundamental to their financial security for many years to come.”

Commenting on the office’s roles, Tony King said:

“What matters to us is that we play our proper part in ensuring that redress is available where it is justified and providing finality where it is not. I am delighted that we have been able to do that so effectively this year.”

 Full report: http://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/Publications/docs/AnnualReport2008-09.pdf 

Contact:  Jane Carey 020 7630 2211: jane.carey@pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

11 May 2009

Corporate Plan 2009

We are pleased to present the Corporate Plan for 2009.  You will find it on the Publications Page.
5 February 2009

Overpayment of public sector pensions

You may have seen recent publicity about the overpayment of some public sector pensions. The Pensions Advisory Service has a section on their website dedicated to this which you might find useful if you think you may be affected by this.

View the Overpayment of Public Sector Pensions information here.
27 October 2008

Notice of Hearing

There will be a hearing on 26 (and possibly 27) November 2008 at 11 Belgrave Road London SW1V 1RB as part of the Pensions Ombudsman's investigation of complaints made by Mr R Adams and others against the trustees and the administrators of the ES Group Pension Scheme.

The hearing will be held in public. However, it would be helpful if any member of the public wishing to attend could contact the Pensions Ombudsman's office at least a week in advance so that the necessary security and other arrangements can be made. Attendance may not be possible otherwise.

Requests or enquiries in relation to this hearing should be made to 0207 630 2220 or to enquiries@pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
17 July 2008

Pensions Ombudsman publishes Annual Report & Accounts 17 July 2008

New Pensions Ombudsman reports solid progress

The new Pensions Ombudsman, Tony King today (17 July) published his first Annual Report and Accounts, covering the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. Tony King took up office in September 2007, so for the first five months of the year covered by the report his predecessor David Laverick was in post.

The Pensions Ombudsman’s office has made solid progress in reducing the age of cases in hand. Commenting in his introduction to the report, Tony King described the trend as “highly positive”. For the third consecutive year more cases were closed than were taken on.

The number of new cases during the year was (after adjustment for a distorting group of over 250 identical cases) marginally up on the previous year’s 702. But the report notes that there is nothing statistically significant in the change. If anything the underlying trend has been slightly downward in previous years.

1,039 cases were closed, many by informal resolution, although over 600 needed a binding determination by the Pensions Ombudsman or the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman (Charlie Gordon).

The most common single source of complaints against pension schemes was decisions not to award ill-health pensions. As the report records, this is unsurprising “because the scheme member’s income for the rest of their life is at issue at a time of stress, and there are difficult matters of judgment and assessment of medical evidence involved, rather than clear cut facts.”

The report also covers the presently very small amount of work done as the Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman.

Tony King says: “The report shows the work of the Pensions Ombudsman’s office as playing an effective and necessary part in protecting and promoting confidence in private pensions”

View the full report here
7 May 2008

Disability Equality Scheme

We are pleased to launch the Disability Equality Scheme for the Office. Our staff have a commitment to equal opportunities and diversity and the Disability Equality Scheme is part of this overall approach. You can find it on the Publications page.
6 May 2008

2008/09 Business Plan

We are pleased to present our 2008/09 Business Plan. You will find it in the publications page
24 January 2008

Welsh Language Scheme approved

We are pleased to announce that following the consultation period our Welsh Language Scheme was approved by the Welsh Board on December 18, 2007. You will find it listed in our Publications page.
25 October 2007

Pensions Ombudsman publishes draft Welsh language scheme

Ombudsmon Pensiynau yn cyhoeddi cynllun iaith Gymraeg drafft

Mae’r Ombwdsmon Pensiynau wedi cyhoeddi cynllun iaith Gymraeg drafft, o dan Deddf yr Iaith Gymraeg 1993, yn esbonio sut y bydd am gynnig gwasanaethu i’r cyhoedd drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Maent bellach yn ymgynghori’n gyhoeddus ar gynnwys y cynllun – a gellir ei weld yma:

cyswllt url

Gellir anfon sylwadau am y cynllun, erbyn 7/12/2007, at: Jane Carey, Rheolwr Busnes, Ombwdsmon Pensiynau, 11 Belgrave Road, Llundain SW1V 1RB

* * * *

Pensions Ombudsman publishes a draft Welsh language scheme
The Pensions Ombudsman has published a draft Welsh language scheme under the Welsh Language Act 1993, setting out how it will provide services to the public through the medium of Welsh. That scheme is now out for public consultation and may be viewed here:

url link

Comments on the draft scheme may be sent, by 7/12/2007, to: Jane Carey, Business Manager, Pensions Ombudsman, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB
16 July 2007

PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN SAYS ADMINISTRATION OF PENSION SCHEMES IS IMPROVING

Pensions Ombudsman David Laverick completes his six-year term on 31 August. In his final Annual Report he points to improvements which have been made to pensions’ administration particularly in handling applications for ill health retirement. These follow his insistence that pension schemes should give reasons for their decisions. In his report he notes that these kinds of decision can have a very significant impact on the lives of pension scheme members and their families, going on to say that by comparison with six years ago “procedures are fairer and more transparent with better quality decisions being made.”

Although there have also been improvements in the way Death Benefits are distributed, he remains concerned that such decisions are taken at the discretion of the Trustees or Managers of Schemes. He feels such benefits should be distributed in accordance with the expressed wish of the scheme members.

The Ombudsman also refers to his continued concern at the lack of effective regulation of Independent Trustees and the application to them of exoneration or exclusion clauses which mean that the Professional Trustee has no liability to provide redress if mistakes are made. He says it is wrong in principle for a person to be paid for professional services and yet not provide redress where members suffer as a result of maladministration in the way those services are delivered. He suggests that an arguable case can be made out that Independent Trustees who are found not to have sound administrative systems should not be regarded by the Regulator as being fit and proper persons to be retained on the Regulator’s List, particularly where such an Independent Trustee seeks to rely on an exoneration clause to leave without redress the individuals affected by their faulty procedures.

The Pensions Ombudsman repeats a call for the Government to review provision in some public sector benefit schemes of no – fault compensation for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Disputes about such arrangements have been an increasing proportion of his work over the last year.

Looking to the future, he expresses concern that the move away from final salary schemes and the level of contributions now being made will lead to many people being disappointed with the amount of the pension that they will be able to receive on retirement.

David Laverick’s successor will be Tony King, an Ombudsman currently working for the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Government having recently announced an intention to merge the two Offices. Commenting on this, David Laverick says

“There is much I admire in the Financial Ombudsman Service but the scale of its operations puts it outside my own concept of how an Ombudsman should look.”
31 August 2006

Pensions Ombudsman calls for changes to pensions schemes

Annual Report 2005-2006

Pensions Ombudsman, David Laverick, has called on Pension Schemes to change the way they deal with the payment of Death Benefits when a scheme member dies in service.

In presenting his latest Annual Report, the Pensions Ombudsman said that many members of pension schemes do not realise that such monies do not automatically go to their partner or indeed to anyone else who the member might specifically want to benefit, the Trustees of the Scheme usually have a discretion as to where to pay the benefits.

The Pensions Ombudsman says in his report that it is often difficult if not impossible for trustees to be aware of the needs and financial status of all possible recipients and that they can find themselves dealing with some very emotive issues. Speaking today he said:

"Estranged spouses and present lovers find it difficult to accept that there is no single right answer to which trustees can come. For trustees to reach their decision is hard enough. Explaining that decision to the parties is even harder."

The Ombudsman favours a system whereby trustees would be required to allocate the benefits in accordance with the wishes of the Scheme Member.

The Pensions Ombudsman accepts that a consequence of adopting his proposal may be to make such payments subject to Inheritance Tax, but says that for many members of occupational pension schemes this would be a theoretical possibility rather than a practical reality. It could in any event be avoided if the Government exempted such payments from Inheritance Tax.

The system which the Pensions Ombudsman favours is already used in the Pension Scheme for Teachers in Scotland but is not usually found in other public sector schemes in the United Kingdom. Commenting on that and other variations, David Laverick says:

"My experience suggests there would be merit in the Government undertaking a review of the detailed provisions of the various public sector schemes with the aim of having them all operate on a more uniform basis. There may be reasons why schemes for particular groups of workers need to have some special provision in place: but all too often it looks to me as if there is no objective reason to explain the lack of a common approach.

The lack of a common approach is a comment which could also be made about the myriad of pension schemes which are outside the public sector, each of which is likely to have its own definition of what constitutes pensionable pay and its own criteria as to when a pension can be granted on grounds of ill health. Perhaps efforts could be made to promote the production and then implementation of a limited number of Model Schemes. Were the Government to see itself as a single employer, it could lead a drive for simpler and more uniform schemes."

Recalling that when he took up his appointment the Government was undertaking a review aimed at simplifying the Regulation of Pensions, the Ombudsman said:

"Whatever else the Pensions Act 2004 may have achieved, I doubt whether it could be said to have simplified the law relating to pensions.

I noted with some despair the decision, after all, not to sweep away the complexities of the Regulations about internal dispute resolution processes, on the grounds that to do so would be too complicated. What complication would there be in sweeping away that raft of Regulation and replacing it with a single sentence which would not of itself involve any expense to schemes? I do not accept the argument that secondary legislation is needed to spell out in great detail the processes which schemes need to use to deal with complaints made about them."

The Pensions Ombudsman has also urged that professional trustees should not be allowed to benefit from clauses in Pension Schemes which allow trustees to escape personal liabilities arising from their work as a Trustee. Noting that the Law Commission had decided that no change in the law should be recommended, the Pensions Ombudsman said:

"In the specific context of pensions trusts, it seems to me to be quite wrong for a professional trustee who is being paid for his expertise, not to be required to provide redress for the consequences of any maladministration for which he is responsible."

The number of complaints made to the Pensions Ombudsman was nearly 30% less than in the previous year: 2790 in the year ending 31 March 2006 by comparison with 3930 in the previous year. About a third of these enquiries are accepted for investigation.

The lower incoming workload has enabled the Pensions Ombudsman to reduce the number of investigations in hand. 1226 investigations were closed during the year and the number in hand has fallen from 1702 at the start of the year to 1413 at the close. Working with current staffing levels this means that even if no further incoming work is revived it would still take about a year for the Office to deal with the work already in the pipeline.

In his Annual Report, the Pensions Ombudsman said:

"A year ago I expressed concern that the necessary changes to accommodation and IT, without which I could not employ sufficient staff, had not been put in place. At first sight, the same can be said of my position at the end of the year. But I am conscious that there has been considerable efforts made during the year so that there is now a more realistic prospect of my frustration coming to an end. The refurbishment of my accommodation is almost complete and a contract is about to be let for replacement of the IT systems, delivery of which should do much to improve the efficiency of the Office."

Less optimistically, he added:

"Only the new hardware and basic software will be in place by October 2006 when my staff and I will move back to refurbished premises. Further work will then need to continue to develop the new case and document management systems ready for use by the end of this calendar year. Despite having raised the need for this system with the then Minister at my first meeting with him after taking up office, I am not confident that it will be up and running before I retire next year."

David Laverick has also been appointed as the Ombudsman for the Pension Protection Fund which has been set up to provide pensions for members of defined benefit occupational pension schemes which are winding up without sufficient funds to meet their liabilities. He also reviews decisions made by the Financial Assistance Scheme which is run by the Department for Work and Pensions to provide limited assistance to members of schemes which have been subject to insolvency before the date from when the Pension Protection Fund can become involved. Systems have been set up to deal with this work but no matters had been raised with him before the end of the last financial year.

(ends)

Notes to Editors

1. The Pensions Ombudsman was established by Act of Parliament to determine disputes of fact or law relating to occupational and personal pension schemes. The Ombudsman is appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions but thereafter acts independently of Government.

2. The current Ombudsman is David Laverick. He was appointed on 1 September 2001 and retires in August 2007.

For Annual Report click here
23/11/2005

Avoid the Pensions Ombudsman – but gain an advantage if he does become involved

Pensions Ombudsman, David Laverick, has urged all involved in the sale administration and provision of pensions to react positively if members of Pension Schemes refer disputes to his office.

Speaking at the launch of a new publication, How to avoid the Pensions Ombudsman David Laverick stressed that Trustees of Pension Schemes should themselves act as the Scheme’s Ombudsman when complaints are made to the Scheme and thus avoid the need for him to be formally involved.

How to avoid the Pensions Ombudsman, is based on the experience of the office since its inception and highlights principles and practices which have at times failed to be properly applied and have thus led to criticism from the Pensions Ombudsman.

Stephen Timms, Minister for Pension Reform welcomed the publication and underlined the need for general lessons to be learned from the work of the Ombudsman’s office.

(ends)

Further Information can be obtained from the Pensions Ombudsman on 020 7630 2207 or on our website www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

Pensions Protection Fund

The Pensions Ombudsman is also the Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman >>