Pension protection fund

Pathpink

My dB pension went into administration several years ago and was taken up by PPF.  I was given an estimate of 5k+ per year from them.

I took a small non increasing pension of 1.4k per year from legal and general when the pension first went bust as l&g told me I would likely get nothing.

I have now received a letter from PPF saying that I have an increasing pension. I am getting nothing at my retirement age.

I have sent documents showing my pension does not increase in August,  but have not heard further.

How can I escalate this?

Marcon

Did you complain to FAS as suggested when you complained about them: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6297990/how-to-complain-to-financial-assistance-scheme#latest

If you now think your complaint is against the PPF itself, try https://www.ppf.co.uk/our-members/how-to-make-a-complaint

jamesd

Pathpink said:

I took a small non increasing pension of 1.4k per year from legal and general when the pension first went bust as l&g told me I would likely get nothing.

Legal and General had no basis for claiming that the PPF wouldn't pay, since pay is what it does, every time a DB scheme fails. But, it's possible that your DB pension transferred some of your work DB pension benefits to L&G to pay you an annuity and that you might also be entitled to top-up benefits from FAS. Since FAS is administered by the PPF it's possible that there could be confusion about FAS or PPF claims. The FAS member leaflet explains more about this.

It's not so clear what you expect and when. What is the relationship between your retirement age and the original DB pension's normal pension age - that is, the age at which an unreduced pension becomes available?

What did you expect at your "retirement age"? Maybe a lump sum and the start of ongoing pension payment? Did they say why you'd be getting nothing, which I take to mean neither a lump sum nor the start of any regular monthly income?

Did you get the annuity from L&G by formally giving up your right to benefits under the FAS/PPF? If so you have clearly been harmed by the L&G claim that you'd get nothing and should complain to L&G.

It appears that you might have received a letter from the PPF telling you that the PPF is going to pay you a pension that will increase with inflation in some way, and have responded to them by telling them that your L&G pension doesn't increase in August, is that right? If so, why did you think that the L&G's not increasing payment would affect what the PPF would pay? I'd expect the PPF to be puzzled if you sent them L&G payment documents, because LG isn't the PPF and doesn't say what the PPF will or won't do.

In your earlier post you mentioned getting a pension from the FAS, which came into being before the PPF was established. The FAS and PPF have different payment rules. Do you have both a FAS claim that was rejected by FAS and another PPF claim for a different pension?

Did you register the FAS claim at  www.fasmembers.org.uk ? If so, what does it say about what you will get from the FAS? If not registered, please try to register then tell us what it says.

At the moment there's enough which is unclear that I'm not able to know whether you do or don't have a basis for complaining.

I've had a brief chat with the FAS member helpline on 0330 678 0000 and they suggest that you give them a call, saying you're not clear about who's supposed to pay you what and asking them to check their records and explain it all to you. Some of the people there can handle only FAS claims, others can handle both FAS and PPF claims, so if you think you might have both it might be best to mention this so you can be transferred to someone who can check your situation at both places.