Employer failed to put pension contribution in a fund

thecpshah

Hello All

I was employed by a company from June 2015 to August 2016. During this time I was auto enrolled in workplace pension where I was making 3% contribution for my pension. I have the payslips to prove that. The company was supposed to make 5% contribution.  

Last year I found that the company was acquired by another firm and I wanted to know about my pension.

Long story short:

I was told that the old firm is liquidated and the liquidators told me that my money was never put in a pension fund. The liquidators have asked me to put a claim and they said that the liquidation isn’t completed yet.

I informed pension ombudsman about this and they said I need to wait for the process to complete.

I have also informed the pension regulator. The regulator has come back saying they may look into it but I won’t know about the outcome.

As far as I know, the liquidators haven’t informed the regulator. I have asked them to do that and they are saying their correspondence with the regulator is confidential and can’t be shared with me. But I have asked them to at least acknowledge that they have informed the regulator.

What are my options. 

Thanks for your help.

Thrugelmir

Submit a claim to the liquidators. If the firm was acquired by another firm then there should be no need for liquidators to be appointed. Sounds as if the business was insolvent and is in the process of being wound up. 

Marcon

thecpshah said:

What are my options. 

Probably none which will be helpful, I'm afraid, if your former employer is insolvent. The National Insurance Fund covers any employer/employee contributions not paid over in the 12 months leading up to the insolvency, but given how long ago you left, this wouldn't cover you. Submit a claim to the liquidators, but don't get your hopes up too much.

Thrugelmir

Marcon said:

thecpshah said:

What are my options. 

Probably none which will be helpful, I'm afraid, if your former employer is insolvent. The National Insurance Fund covers any employer/employee contributions not paid over in the 12 months leading up to the insolvency, but given how long ago you left, this wouldn't cover you. Submit a claim to the liquidators, but don't get your hopes up too much.

The Directors could be found to be personally liable for contributions not paid to the pension fund. In that they prioritised paying themselves.  The administrators are duty bound to report on such activity. 

thecpshah

Thanks for your response. How do I get the directors to pay this money? Any good law firms? 

thecpshah

Also, does the new company has the liability since the bought the original company? 

thecpshah

The pension was deducted from net salary. 

Is it worth reporting this to action fraud website?

Thrugelmir

thecpshah said:

Thanks for your response. How do I get the directors to pay this money? Any good law firms? 

Initially you need to submit a claim through the liquidators. 

thecpshah

Thrugelmir said:

thecpshah said:

Thanks for your response. How do I get the directors to pay this money? Any good law firms? 

Initially you need to submit a claim through the liquidators. 

I have done this but based on their response, there is about £250K left and there are 200 creditors. So after liquidator’s fees, there will be nothing left. Also, according to creditors hierarchy, I as an employee should have the first right to this money.

Is it possible to hold accountants and auditors liable too? As this is clearly fraudulent activity. 

Marcon

Thrugelmir said:

Marcon said:

thecpshah said:

What are my options. 

Probably none which will be helpful, I'm afraid, if your former employer is insolvent. The National Insurance Fund covers any employer/employee contributions not paid over in the 12 months leading up to the insolvency, but given how long ago you left, this wouldn't cover you. Submit a claim to the liquidators, but don't get your hopes up too much.

The Directors could be found to be personally liable for contributions not paid to the pension fund. In that they prioritised paying themselves.  The administrators are duty bound to report on such activity. 

They aren't administrators - they are liquidators. What they have said about their contact with the Pensions Regulator being confidential is, infuriatingly, correct; they don't even have to confirm whether or not they have reported the issue OP is claiming.

For the amounts involved, the legal costs (not all of which would be recoverable) are likely to far outweigh anything OP might recover, given that their period of membership was only 14 months. 

OP - you say you've been in contact with the Pensions Ombudsman's office and the Regulator. You might want to contact TPAS and have a chat with them: https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/ask-us as they are likely to be best placed to give you sensible, expert and free input. One of the things you need to establish is whether the new company which acquired the old company has any liability, and they will be able to explain what you need to ask/check to establish that. From what you've said, I don't think that is likely to be fruitful, but it is worth establishing.

thecpshah

The liquidators were the administrators when they were appointed.

I have spoken to Pension advisory service and they told me to contact the regulator and ombudsman. Also possible civil action against the directors. I will call them again to know how to find out about new company’s liability.

The citizens advice team told me that I can report the misconduct to the insolvency service which I am yet to do.