Aegon Personal Pension Plan (PO-1472)

Subject

Mr Underwood complains that due to administrative failures he was unable to actively manage his investments in his pension plan for over six months. He subsequently moved his business to another provider. Mr Underwood would like the penalty waived and Aegon to compensate him for a proportion of the investment losses over the period his account information was unavailable.

The Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and short reasons

The complaint should be upheld against Aegon because Mr Underwood lost the opportunity to manage his investments and was caused significant distress and annoyance. Rather than waiver of the penalty, he should receive compensation totalling £1,425.