David Laverick, the Pensions Ombudsman has sent out a cry for help as the number of complaints he is receiving spirals. According to Mr Laverick, he has looked into 1050 complaints in the past year, compared to only 679 last year. This is an increase of 60 percent.
Mr Laverick is calling for the appointment of deputy Ombudsmen to enable complaints to be looked at and resolved quicker, in light of the huge increases. Mr Laverick has also criticised pension scheme administrators, naming them as the main cause for complaints.
Many complaints include how benefits have been calculated, making it difficult for transfers to proceed and not allowing members to retire on the grounds of ill health. A general call for greater sensitivity was made by the Ombudsman.
Our View
Whilst there are a number of exceptions, most pension scheme administrators we have had dealings with fall into the category of administrator mentioned by Mr Laverick. What administrators fail to realise is that pensions are complex and members will need to ask questions in order to understand. People have a real fear of having to deal with pensions and the way in which letters are sent and worded to members really does not help.
In a lighter hearted way and to make people feel better about pensions, we still have to ask questions when scheme paperwork is received, and we are specialist pension advisers!