Mark Blyth
- Claire Collier - Simon Borhan - Sarah Opie - Joe Chambers - Jessica Smith
Pensions - Dispute Resolution
Pensions Ombudsman Focus Winter 2024 edition
Welcome to the Pensions Ombudsman Focus for the Winter 2024 period. In this edition, we look at five recent complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman, including:
- a decision in which the Ombudsman found that it was reasonable for the trustee to exercise its discretion to repay surplus assets to the scheme employer instead of augmenting members benefits;
- a decision considering the treatment of discretionary increases on a buy-out;
- the first decision by the Ombudsman considering the application of the Occupational and Personal Pension (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations;
- a decision clarifying that scheme booklets are not intended to detail all aspects of a pension plan’s rules, and members are responsible for querying points of uncertainty about their benefit entitlement; and
- a decision reiterating the importance of timely responses to transfer requests, including liaising promptly with the receiving scheme and other relevant parties.