Which body for pension complaint

Pursuit

Looking to make a complaint about underpayment of pension contributions but not sure of the right body to complain to.

My company is owned by a University and as a result employees are enrolled in the Universities group pension plan. Employees are also directed to the Universities group pension plan website to manage their pension. In 2021 the University sent an email to inform members that new contribution rates had been agreed and that they would apply to all members of the scheme. This included a new top tier rate. The website was updated with the new information. I plan to retire soon (3 years) and as a result of this I pay considerably more into my pension than the top tier rate requires. However, despite absolutely all communication about the pension stating that it is the University that both pays and controls the contributions of the scheme I have just found out that I not been receiving the new University group pension plan top rate. My company states as it is a subsidiary that it can make its own decisions about the pension, despite all communication to the contrary. There has been zero communication on either the website, email or letter to say these new rates would not be applied to members of the scheme who work for the subsidiary. 

Is the right body the TPR or TPO or Financial Ombudsman for a complaint or is more than one appropriate?          

QrizB

I'm no expert but this sounds more like an employment law complaint than a pensions one. You believed your contact of employment said one thing, but now your employer is saying otherwise.

Your employer should have a grievance procedure. Have you followed it?

Are you a member of a professional body or trade union? They are often able to provide advice an legal assistance.

Albermarle

As above the pension itself is not the issue. You have a dispute with your employer, specifically about poor/no communication and maybe about your employment contract ( suggest you read this carefully) .

Linton

The correct body for pension complaints would be the Pensions Ombudsman. The usual requirement for a submission to the Ombudsman is that you should have made a formal complaint to the provider, I assume in this case it would be your employer.  Only if you haven't received a satisfactory response within a fixed time period (8 weeks normally for other Ombudsmen) can you complain to the Pensions Ombudsman.

However....

As I understand it a university group pension scheme is a DC pension and is nothing to do with the DB USS.  It will be governed by the rules of the scheme which you should have received when you joined and should be available to you on request.  Although your company pension may be administered by the university GPP it is not obvious to me that your company pension rules should be the same as the pension rules for university employees.  Your employer could in principle have any rules they want.

So your problem may be more of an employment issue rather than a pension issue.  In either case to make progress I suggest you formally ask for a meeting with the appropriate company senior manager to discuss the situation.

Pat38493

^^   Might be a red herring, but if the OP was transferred to the organization from the University through a TUPE process at some point in the past (which may not be the case as not mentioned), then the pension conditions probably should have been maintained as the same or better.

Pursuit

The issue is they have statements like this and communicate it regularly to the subsidiary through various trusted platforms.  

"Employees subject to government/HMRC limitations, are free to save more than 7%, but the University's contribution is limited to a maximum of 9.5%".  

Not that I remember receiving any but if I request it what phrasing would I be looking for in the scheme rules?

Pursuit

Linton said:

The correct body for pension complaints would be the Pensions Ombudsman. The usual requirement for a submission to the Ombudsman is that you should have made a formal complaint to the provider, I assume in this case it would be your employer.  Only if you haven't received a satisfactory response within a fixed time period (8 weeks normally for other Ombudsmen) can you complain to the Pensions Ombudsman.

However....

As I understand it a university group pension scheme is a DC pension and is nothing to do with the DB USS.  It will be governed by the rules of the scheme which you should have received when you joined and should be available to you on request.  Although your company pension may be administered by the university GPP it is not obvious to me that your company pension rules should be the same as the pension rules for university employees.  Your employer could in principle have any rules they want.

So your problem may be more of an employment issue rather than a pension issue.  In either case to make progress I suggest you formally ask for a meeting with the appropriate company senior manager to discuss the situation.

Just been on to legal and general and there are no specific company scheme rules. Just the generic workplace pension plan rules. What do I need to look for in the generic documents that states the University can apply different rates to different members of the group?

I am still conscious that as far as communication is concerned the University has been emphasized as the party that controls who joins the scheme and how much is paid. i.e. the rates. No one else has authority. Also they communicated that all members of the scheme would see these new rates applied to their pension starting Sept 2021      

Linton

Pursuit said:

The issue is they have statements like this and communicate it regularly to the subsidiary through various trusted platforms.  

"Employees subject to government/HMRC limitations, are free to save more than 7%, but the University's contribution is limited to a maximum of 9.5%".  

Not that I remember receiving any but if I request it what phrasing would I be looking for in the scheme rules?

I think you are getting into the area of employment law.  Whether you could claim that the email was a change to your terms of employment I have no idea but it seems a little far-fetched,  After all as stated it is correct.  However I am, like everyone else on this forum as far as I know, not a lawyer.  Perhaps you could raise the issue in a legal forum.

Really ISTM you are only going to get a resolution by talking to your employer perhaps using the email as evidence or a suggestion that they may wish to adopt.  There are only a limited number of outcomes:

 - You come to an agreement with your employer
 - You resign in protest
 - You sue your employer

are the ones that come to mind.

Which do you want?

Marcon

Pursuit said:

Looking to make a complaint about underpayment of pension contributions but not sure of the right body to complain to.

My company is owned by a University and as a result employees are enrolled in the Universities group pension plan. Employees are also directed to the Universities group pension plan website to manage their pension. In 2021 the University sent an email to inform members that new contribution rates had been agreed and that they would apply to all members of the scheme. This included a new top tier rate. The website was updated with the new information. I plan to retire soon (3 years) and as a result of this I pay considerably more into my pension than the top tier rate requires. However, despite absolutely all communication about the pension stating that it is the University that both pays and controls the contributions of the scheme I have just found out that I not been receiving the new University group pension plan top rate. My company states as it is a subsidiary that it can make its own decisions about the pension, despite all communication to the contrary. There has been zero communication on either the website, email or letter to say these new rates would not be applied to members of the scheme who work for the subsidiary. 

Is the right body the TPR or TPO or Financial Ombudsman for a complaint or is more than one appropriate?          

As just about everyone else has said, this is about an employment issue, not a pensions matter, and your starting point is to raise the matter informally with your employer. If that doesn't get you anywhere, or you've already done that, raise a formal grievance.

BUT...before you do either, read your contract of employment/staff handbook/pension booklet (if you have one). What exactly do these say about pensions?

Marcon

Pat38493 said:

^^   Might be a red herring, but if the OP was transferred to the organization from the University through a TUPE process at some point in the past (which may not be the case as not mentioned), then the pension conditions probably should have been maintained as the same or better.

Not necessarily. Workplace pensions are exempt from TUPE.

Pat38493

I tried to challenge my employer when they put the entire final salary scheme into deferment in 2008 on the basis that in my original 1992 employment contract, it said that I was entitled to be a member of a final salary pension scheme and even specified the % contributions that I needed to make and the final salary itself.

They told me that if refused to accept the changes, I was effectively choosing to leave the company (without severance).

I was thinking about hiring a solicitor to get some advice about it, but in the end I decided against it so I am not 100% sure if the company was correct or if they were just trying to scare me into not pursuing it.