Mark Blyth
- Claire Collier - Simon Borhan - Sarah Opie - Chris Biddle - Joe Chambers - Jessica Smith
Pensions - Dispute Resolution
Pensions Ombudsman Focus Autumn 2024 edition
Welcome to the Pensions Ombudsman Focus for the Autumn 2024 period. In this edition, we look at seven recent complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman and a blog post from the Ombudsman, including:
- a decision where a trustee was found to be personally liable for multiple breaches of trust and maladministration, resulting in significant financial loss to scheme members
- a decision where the Ombudsman considered a trustee’s refusal to pay a member’s pension into a spouse’s bank account;
- a decision confirming that a member was not entitled to an unreduced pension after a TUPE transfer;
- a decision which highlights the importance of adhering to updated scheme rules;
- a decision reiterating the importance of obtaining complete information and taking account of all relevant factors when exercising discretion as to the distribution of death benefits;
- a decision that shows the importance of trustees following the right process when seeking to recover overpayments, even where the member may not have a valid defence against recovery
- a decision exploring how limitation periods and defences may limit recovery of overpayments on a number of different legal grounds;
- a blog post providing an update on the Ombudsman’s review of its operating model.