Scottish Widows Retirement Annuity Contract (PO-2704)

Subject

Mrs Bashford, as the legal personal representative of her late husband, has complained that she has not been properly compensated for the tax charges that arose on the death benefit payable in respect of her late husband’s personal pension. Furthermore the tax charges had only arisen as a result of the procedures that Scottish Widows had followed in settling the payment.

The Pensions Ombudsman’s determination and short reasons

The complaint should be partially upheld against Scottish Widows as they failed to adequately provide Mrs Bashford with information on the two year limit and the consequences of failing to return the documents within this two tear timeframe.