Universities Superannuation Scheme (PO-13912)

Ombudsman’s Determination

Complaint Summary

The Estate has complained because the late Mr H was not awarded full commutation of his Scheme benefits on grounds of serious ill-health. The complaint is brought by Mrs H, sister-in-law of the deceased and an executor of the Estate.

Summary of the Ombudsman’s Determination and reasons

The Trustee

In summary, the complaint should not be upheld against the Trustee because:-

• It did not receive the full application until after Mr H died, by which time it had no power under the Scheme rules to fully commute his benefits;
• It has discretion under the Scheme rules to fully commute the benefits but could have reasonably decided not to; and
• Its application process was neither unclear nor onerous.

The Employer

In summary, the complaint should not be upheld against the Employer because:-

• There was sufficient information available to the Estate, Mr H and his representatives, before his death, about how to apply for full commutation. Therefore, they could have followed this guidance or contacted the Trustees for further information;
• The Employer did not have, and did not assume, a duty of care to assist Mr H with an application for full commutation prior to 9 January 2015. Although it provided incomplete information regarding the format and requirements of the commutation application, it made reasonable efforts in discharging its limited role of assisting with this process; and
• Even if the full application had reached the Employer and Trustee some days earlier than it did, it would in any event have come too late for the discretionary process required by the Scheme rules to be completed because the Trustee’s medical panel was not due to meet until 16 January 2015, which was after Mr H’s death.