Pensions ombudsman

BrianW44

I started a claim oafter going through the internal disputes procedure with my former employer in 2020. My former employer stalled for 18 months before making a decision to reject my claim. Then I went 

 to the ombudsman who were not best pleased with my employer’s delayimg tactics!! 

The ombudsman decided I had a justified claim after 3 years of waiting and I now have  an adjudicator.
But, they will make a judgement in 12- 22 months time !!

Is this normal or acceptable? 

All I have had is excuses of short staff, large influx of claims etc etc

In August last year I had an adjudicator who understood my claim perfectly, she has left… Is this normal government policy of stalling until people die like they have done with nuclear test victims and asbestos claims ??

Marcon

BrianW44 said:

I started a claim oafter going through the internal disputes procedure with my former employer in 2020. My former employer stalled for 18 months before making a decision to reject my claim. Then I went 

 to the ombudsman who were not best pleased with my employer’s delayimg tactics!! 

The ombudsman decided I had a justified claim after 3 years of waiting and I now have  an adjudicator.
But, they will make a judgement in 12- 22 months time !!

Is this normal or acceptable? 

All I have had is excuses of short staff, large influx of claims etc etc

Normal and acceptable are two different things. Normal, yes; acceptable...

BrianW44 said:

In August last year I had an adjudicator who understood my claim perfectly, she has left… Is this normal government policy of stalling until people die like they have done with nuclear test victims and asbestos claims ??

The government can't control whether or not someone resigns from their post. The service is chronically overstretched and underfunded to deal with their caseload - ditto the Financial Ombudsman. Send a formal complaint to your MP about the position (not about your pension-related complaint, which the MP won't be able to deal with).

dunstonh

The ombudsman decided I had a justified claim after 3 years of waiting and I now have  an adjudicator.
But, they will make a judgement in 12- 22 months time !!

I don't believe they would say it was justified.  More along the lines of saying it is something they can look at. i.e. within their remit.     It is for the adjudicator to decide whether it is justified or not.

The timescale for adjudication is normal nowadays.

In August last year I had an adjudicator who understood my claim perfectly, she has left… Is this normal government policy of stalling until people die like they have done with nuclear test victims and asbestos claims ??

The ombudsman is not the government.   It is a non-departmental public body and the staff are not civil servants.   Your examples are not comparable.  

BrianW44

Yes justified was the wrong word.. it has been accepted for investigation after three years of waiting, comments have been received from the pension provider and a summary sent to me of my claim which I am happy with.

No of course they can’t stop people leaving… why are you so defensive about the ombudsman ?

My case was referred to an adjudicator a long time ago and I might get a decision in another year ? 

My frustration is compounded by my pension provider sat on this during the 2nd appeal stage for 6 months, much to the annoyance of the ombudsman, hoping it would go away I suspect, as it will involve some 3000 other pensioners.

dunstonh

No of course they can’t stop people leaving… why are you so defensive about the ombudsman ?
<snip>
My frustration is compounded by... <snip> 

I don't think either of us was being defensive about the ombudsman.   We don't have the emotional attachment to the issues that are causing your frustration.    So, we get to comment from a neutral position.     It isn't ideal but barely a day goes by without reading media stories about the workshy and shortage of labour that is causing issues in all walks of life.

rnj

It's definitely normal, I'm currently at 4 years ongoing investigation, latest email is that the next stage could take 12 months to proceed (at this point what's another 12 months).... I have time but I dread to think if I was an elderly person.