Pensioners, who have lost their final-salary schemes, have taken the Government to court in an attempt to win compensation. The Government is facing a high court judge after failing to submit evidence on time. The Government’s defence strategy is that Pensioners should have taken advice and not just rely on leaflets.
An expert who is backing the pensioners, says that leaflets and other such material have been labelled as flawed and unacceptable by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, but the Department for Work and Pensions is unaware of the standards that the financial industry have had to use for many years. A lawyer, working for the pensioners has commentated that the Government has broken court rules and ignored instructions given by the judge.
Our view
Whilst we have extreme sympathy for people who have lost pension rights, this is not a Government problem. Laws are in place to ensure that pension trustees adhere to their duties. In addition, the facts remain that people do not take advice, are not prepared to take advice and certainly do not wish to pay for advice. It amazing how many people approach us and want advice on their company pension for free!