NHS Pension complaint

drjohn67

I have been stuck in a ludicrous loop with NHS pensions since 2021. They recorded the dates of one of my pensions incorrectly. I challenged this at the time (8 years ago). I had a response from NHS Pensions at the time though when claiming my pension, it became apparent that they had failed to correct the dates on my record. This has led to £5000+ underpayment and if not corrected tens of thousands in my lifetime. 

NHS Pensions have an online form system for their communication which they have been slow to respond to. After repeated prompts, it took a year for them to send a rejection which did not refer at all to the evidence provided and simply reused the incorrect dates. 

I then had to follow the internal dispute process (40-day timescale for response). At the 39-day point, they send an interim "Sorry, we are busy". I then have to chase after a couple of months to get the same holding response after a few more months. The Ombudsmen rejected my requests to intervene as they claim that I need a final rejection from NHS Pensions (this is not consistent with the Ombudsmen documents which state that I can ask for help if unhappy with their response or if no response by 40 days). 

At 7 months I threatened legal action. I get a telephone call out of the blue 2 months later whilst on holiday. The Practitioners NHS Pension team member apologised, then read my file and immediately saw the error. They sent me a new calculation and pension amount via email and promised that the pension would be remedied the next week. The figure for the underpaid pension was the same that I had worked out for myself. 

One week later, another NHS Pensions team member in the (Awards office) sent a very brief rejection letter and again reused the incorrect dates as justification. A further contact was promised. Over 2 months later nothing has arrived.

Frustratingly, my online record of service was in fact corrected by NHS Pensions after the telephone call. This is now consistent with the evidence provided. However, NHS Pensions has still failed to correct the pension calculation or agree to pay me the underpaid pension.

I contacted the ombudsmen including the brief rejection letter, as it was the response that I had received following my IDR. The Ombudsmen has turned me away again stating a formal response is required. They seem to be claiming that the interim responses qualified as "a response" and the failure of NHS Pensions to provide a final response means that I cannot move to am Ombudsmen complaint.  

I have been trying to resolve this since autumn 2021, I am not keen to waste a further year going in another illogical loop due to them not reading the evidence, or even their own amended electronic record of my dates!

Is it possible to raise a Small Claims Court case against NHS Pensions to reclaim the £5000 that I am owed? This might spur them on to provide a formal response to the IDR or care enough to redo my pension calculation. I am mindful to seek a 16.8% interest payment as the value of the underpaid lump sum and NHS pension has decreased over the past 2-3 years. Is that realistic?   

tacpot12

If you have home insurnace, you might have legal expenses cover. If you do, you can call the legal helpline provided by your insurer - they will be able to tell you whether you can take the case to the County Court. If the insurers agree that the NHSBSA have behaved unreasonably, they might pay for a solicitor to represent you in court, as this unreasonable behaviour means that costs might be awarded. (Costs are normally limited to just the court fees in the Small Claims Court).

Once the amount owed goes about £10,000 the case might move to the "Fast Track" (the next 'court' up from Small Claims Court) where some costs can be awarded, so I this does drag on, it is more likely that you will profressional representation to get it sorted (assuming you have legal expenses cover). 

Sorry to hear you are having this problem. The NHSBSA are pretty awful; my partner has just claimed his  NHS pension and still doesn't know how much this will be, despite asking in August of last year! Luckily, they seem to have their service correct, but he mentioned only today that if you don't get to know how much your pension is until they pay it, you can't spot if an error has been made. Clearly you can't assume that errors will be corrected even if you spot about them!

I think I would also write to your MP, who have routes to get public bodies to see the errors of their ways.  

drjohn67

Thanks.

Not sure if our legal cover is functioning this year (whilst I was overseas last year my partner changed providers and forgot to specify LP. I don't think that she was able to add part-way through the year). 

It seems ludicrous as NHS Pensions corrected the dates on my record and promised to rectify the pension calculation. It is just incompetence. When the file is handed over between teams they don't communicate with each other effectively. Each time it arrived at the Awards team they seemingly took a cursory glance at the old record and missed the evidence, or even their own NHS Pensions Practitioners team correction of service history that was added to my record. 

Appreciate the difficulty getting a statement. My partner is still working and her HR department has been chasing a TRS login for years! The employer and NHS Pensions each claim to have lost her paperwork repeatedly. She is also of the cohort that could benefit from seeing her statement before deciding about the McCloud adjustment once it is eventually presented to her.

I might try contacting the MP alongside pushing the Ombudsman about the 8-week threshold for intervention, which was passed some time ago. 

Nurse2047

Are you part of a union? A representative may be able to advise and support you? 

drjohn67

Retired in 2022. Last years were in the military where no unions are allowed.

I have printed off the updated/corrected service record and will re-engage. It seems that it will be a matter of me hanging on long enough until they realise that I am not walking away. Over the next 25-30 years it will be £50000 so that is not an option.

Will avoid the legal situation for now as I don't want to give the Ombudsman a reason to turf the case. Am writing to the MP.  There is an abuse of process. they know that they are nowhere near the 40-day timescale and cynically send off meaningless delaying emails at 39 days to prevent the case from being escalated to the Ombudsman.      

xylophone

Am writing to the MP.  

Put your complaint as succinctly as possible. In essence, you have repeatedly pointed out an error in your pension record and repeatedly been assured that it would be corrected,

You might enclose copies of the letters evidencing this.

This error has meant that your pension has been underpaid since (date).

 No action has been taken to pay you the correct monthly pension amount and you are owed a considerable sum in arrears.

You appear to be meeting with deliberate obstruction in your efforts to engage the Pensions Ombudsman.

You might also try a letter to Steve Webb via Money Mail.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/columnist-1106441/Steve-Webb-This-Is-Money.html

drjohn67

Thanks for the useful advice - have sent a summary of events to the MP for my constituency. 

xylophone

advice 

Comment rather than advice (posters are not permitted to advise)!

Good luck with your efforts - mistakes happen but the time taken and the obstruction you have experienced seems to me to be inexcusable.

GrubbyGirl_2

Typical NHSBSA I'm afraid.  When my case eventually went to the Ombudsman they made NHSBSA pay me £3k compensation for their incompetence.  I ended up getting a solicitor to write to them, but that isn't cheap!

And don't forget you want the inflationary uplifts on the money they owe you

GrubbyGirl_2

Oh and another thing.........I made a subject access request and asked for everything they hold about me.  This including a few damning emails between themselves.  I think that is why the Ombudsman awarded to so much.  You'll be shocked how much paper you'll get back!

Malthusian

drjohn67 said:

I contacted the ombudsmen including the brief rejection letter, as it was the response that I had received following my IDR. The Ombudsmen has turned me away again stating a formal response is required. They seem to be claiming that the interim responses qualified as "a response" and the failure of NHS Pensions to provide a final response means that I cannot move to am Ombudsmen complaint. 

The NHS IDRP consists of two stages. The first stage consists of review by a Disputes Officer and they have two months to issue a response. The second stage, which is triggered if you are unhappy with the conclusion of the first stage, consists of a review by a Disputes Manager. They have another two months to issue a response.

If you are still in the first stage and have been waiting more than two months for the Disputes Officer to respond, you can go to the Ombudsman. 

If you have confirmed that you are unhappy with the outcome of stage 1, have moved to stage 2, and have waited another two months after the beginning of stage 2 for the Disputes Manager to respond, you can go to the Ombudsman.

Reading between the lines, it sounds as if the Ombudsman has taken the view that you are now in the second stage of the IDRP and need to give the Disputes Manager their two months. Which starts ticking when you complained about the response in the first stage.

If any of this is incorrect, reply to the Ombudsman and explain why they are incorrect and you have already had a stage 2 final response from the Disputes Manager (enclose it), or that the two month deadline for them to respond has expired (enclose your written complaint, or your written confirmation that you want to escalate to Stage 2, dated more than two months ago).