NOW Pensions: bad news? Stay away?

Kilgore · 9 December 2016 at 8:16PM

How did you get on?

It's taken me a year to even get a reply from them. Promises to call you back just wont happen in my experience.

Go to their website and start their IDRP process by downloading the Stage 1 form. They then have to respond within a certain time frame. If not you can refer it to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Nigeyp · 18 January 2017 at 12:40PM

I have been with Now Pensions for 2 years - they have NEVER ben able to tell me how much they have taken, how much its worth, in fact ANY information whatsoever. I have complained on numerous occasions and this doesn't produce any information either. I have tried to download their stage 1 IDRP form and they have deactivated the page to stop people complaining - THEY ARE A SHAM!!

wandersboy · 27 January 2017 at 5:19PM

took over a year to move my pot to a different scheme when I moved employer - absolute joke, shouldnt be allowed anywhere near peoples pensions.

I wouldnt opt out of the employer scheme due to them picking NOW, after all something is better than nothing. Try to get your employer to reconsider using NOW.

Take them to the pension ombudsman, if you have an issue

cfimei · 22 February 2017 at 3:34PM

My experience of NOW Pensions since being enrolled by my employer in August 2015 - simply awful.

Constantly "loosing" members pension contributions and refusing to deal with complaints - just hollow promises. After a year of this fiasco I took them to small claims court for compensation as I'd got to the end of my tether. I followed their complaints procedure to the letter and even took the matter to the Pension Ombudsman (what little good they did!). Finally got a call from one of their in-house lawyers to say they'd settle out of court - £250 plus costs if I'd shut up and desist from future legal action. "Sure" I said, "provided you can sort the problem out once and for all." They promised but six months down the road and we're back to square one again- they still can't account for my monthly contributions. What a farce and I'm taking it up with my employers - we need to get out of NOW Pensions and I recommend every does the same.

txsling · 3 April 2017 at 2:25PM

Update: my complaint was finally resolved in November 2016. NOW: Pensions agreed to make the transfer. They would not confirm the size of the transfer until after it happened, so I continued pursuing my complaint until the transfer was confirmed by the receiving pension fund. I was very close to sending in an IDRP stage 1 form (which you have to get them to send you). In the end I didn't send in the IDRP form, and they agreed to an additional ex gratia payment to finally settle my complaint.

hdw1967 · 16 April 2017 at 2:25PM

As a Contractor who worked through an Agency and was paid via an Umbrella Company, I too had to make contributions to Now Pensions - this being the Company they invested with.

After just over a year, I formed my own Limited Company and therefore contacted Now Pensions to request a refund of my contributions. That was in June 2016. As of 7 April 2017, I have finally got a Letter stating that "We are currently still reconciling the data we have processed with regards to the contributions you have made into the Plan. ...... we are unable to give you a definitive timescale as to when this will be completed .....

They've taken ELEVEN MONTHS to get to this stage!!

I've given them 14 days to refund me (30 April 2017) - failure to comply with result in legal action and being reported to the Pensions Ombudsman. Maybe this will motivate them but I doubt it.

They stall for time, make continuous and unbelievable excuses and obviously are totally incompetent. If they cannot organise a simple refund in ELEVEN MONTHS, I certainly would not let them take care of my Pension. I would not entrust them with something so valuable.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? How was it resolved? Was it resolved? Any advice would be much appreciated.

hdw1967 - Thank you.