AON Stakeholder Pension mis-mangement?

Gerrysmate

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dunstonh

Does anyone know who I could complain to or indeed receive some kind of compensation?

No. They are quite correct in their actions. Its a pain that you didnt get the correct answer to begin with but then they only have to make you aware of the options available to you.

You do actually appear to be confused over what pension you have. You say AON stakeholder pension but I dont believe AON operate a stakeholder pension. Also, I am not aware of any stakeholder pensions that will offer GMP. Typically you would be looking at a section32 buy out bond for that.

if it is a section 32 buy out bond then that can be transferred to a stakeholder or personal pension or SIPP (or immediate vesting personal pension) and give you what you want but AON themselves probably cant do it.

EdInvestor

Are you located overseas now?

dunstonh

I just thought that the Financial Services Ombudsman or similar might be able to intervene for the distress this had caused me not to mention the financial pickle it has got me into based on their final figures.

The FOS only come into play if you raise a complaint and you dont agree with the outcome. However, I think a lot of your problem is that you arent aware of the options within the contracts you have. Also, AON are not obliged or required to give you all the options. Only what they have available. What you want to do is possible. However, it may not be possible with AON. Its probable that its not a case of misinformation but misunderstanding.

dunstonh

I may just go through the complaints procedure and follow on up the chain I might be successful you never know.

Even if you do, you would only be looking at a goodwill gesture if successful. £25-£250 is the typical range. Assuming it is a section32 buy out bond then that contract cannot be opened up to do what you want unless you transfer it.

The Daily Mail might like the facts too or Martin Lewis himself

Highly unlikely. Its not a big issue and you can still do what you want to do. You just cant do it with Aon.

Also, you havent sought advice. So, you havent been given any bad advice. An option that is potentially available to you generically is not available as the GMP doesnt allow it within that plan. The administrator may not have known that you had that level of GMP and the fund value at the time she initially gave you that generic information.

It is not the role of a pensions administrator to give you advice or give you all the options available. They are neither qualified or authorised to do so.

EdInvestor

You need to employ an IFA to sort this out for you if you want it done quickly.

https://www.unbiased.co.uk

MrChips

Hi there,

From the sounds of it you have a deferred contracted-out final salary benefit. Pension relating to service between 1978 and 1997 will include some Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) which the scheme is obliged to provide in lieu of the SERPS pension you missed out on by being in the pension scheme. While the scheme can offer relatively flexible benefits within what is allowed by law (e.g. you have the option to take your benefits as low as age 50, you have the option to sacrifice some of your pension for tax free cash) the law allows no such flexibility with GMP. It is quite plausible that if you sacrifice some of your pension for cash, AND suffer a severe early retirement reduction (for retiring 10-15 years early) that there is simply not enough pension in excess of the GMP to fund it.

Aon have to take the amount of GMP as notified to them by the National Insurance Contributions Office and it is quite plausible that when they were writing to you with your initial options, NICO had yet to notify them of the correct amount of GMP you had accrued. GMP is notoriously complicated and anything you had accrued when you left in 2001 is probably increasing at a rate of 6.25% a year until you turn 60. At that rate, the administrators need to allow for it to almost double between age 50 and 60 when it becomes payable (for a female) which means that they won't be allowed to give you options which significantly eat into your pension (such as high cash lump sum and very early payment).

As has been mentioned, an alternative might be to take a transfer value to a personal pension which would allow much more flexibility - for this you will need independent financial advice.

Debt_Free_Chick

Gerrysmate wrote: »

Edit I have sought advice from an IFA, they have a current case very similar to mine and it has gone to the Ombudsman a case dated from 2007. Something has to change to help this not happening again to other people and it will, but I won't leave any stone unturned till it does.

It will happen again - and again, and again. Mistakes do happen.

Have a look at the Pensions Ombudsman's website - just leave the search criteria blank to see all the determinations.

The place to take your complaint first is the Pensions Advisory Service, but have a look first at what they have to say about mistakes