Becoming a Volunteer Adviser - A blog by Anne Harris
I have been a Volunteer Adviser for over 20 years now, having been "encouraged" to help out when the service was offered by the now closed Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS). I was told it wouldn't take up too much of my time at all!
The reason I agreed to become an Adviser is because I believe members' pension entitlements are often one of the most, if not the most, financially valuable assets they have and sometimes people need help when things go wrong.
Pensions can be a complicated business, and unfortunately, for various reasons, things do go wrong. That's when I get to use the pensions knowledge and expertise I have gained throughout my career to help put matters right.
I think it's a hugely valuable service we provide, and I get a lot of satisfaction when I can help members resolve issues they have.
What I value about being a Volunteer Adviser is that you can take on as many or as few cases as you like, so it is easy to manage your workload so you can provide a great service to people.
Related news
- TPO sets out its position on trustees’ obligations when considering a member’s request to exercise a pre-2021 statutory transfer right from an occupational pension scheme.Date:The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has published a Determination concerning a pension scheme member (Mr D) who transferred from the British Steel Pension Scheme (the Scheme) to a small self-administered pension scheme in 2014. Mr D complained, some years later, that although this was in accordance with his wishes at the time, the transferring trustee (the Trustee) failed to carry out sufficient due diligence to check for scam warning signs, and then communicate the presence of those warning signs to him. As a result, Mr D claimed he had lost valuable retirement benefits.
- Deborah Evans, Chair, reflects on her first month at TPODate:In her first blog, Deborah Evans, TPO’s newly appointed Chair, sets out her thoughts on joining the organisation at such a pivotal time.