Aegon could not locate pension contributions more than a year

pensioners_dilemma

Hi everyone, 

My employer paid my contributions to Aegon but due to some systems issues they were unable to add those to my pension. They located some of the contributions but some still missing. This is now more than a year unresolved. I escalated this to Financial Ombudsman and Aegon lied to Ombudsman saying the issue was resolved. 

I still don't have more than 18K in my pension which were deducted from my salary. 

What are my options to retrieve this money from them

MeteredOut

What happened when you went back to the FOS saying Aegon had not implemented their resolution?

xylophone

Aegon lied to Ombudsman saying the issue was resolved. 

That is a very serious allegation.

Presumably you have absolute proof (audit trail) that a sum of £18,000 in pension contributions has gone missing?

You have demonstrated this to Aegon but the company refuses to accept that your documentation is correct?

Aegon's own records show all contributions are accounted for and the ombudsman is satisfied with that?

penners324

This would impact all Employees in the company. Have you asked your employer what they are doing about it?

That would be a huge problem for your employer 

SarahB16

penners324 said:

This would impact all Employees in the company. Have you asked your employer what they are doing about it?

That would be a huge problem for your employer 

I know OP refers to 'pension contributions' however I do know that Aegon can also be the provider when people make additional voluntary contributions, e.g. many people seem to use the Prudential but I know Aegon provide a similar service.  Not everybody within an organisation makes AVCs and even within the same organisation there can be different pension schemes and not everybody would be using Aegon for their AVCs (as it depends which pension scheme you are in).  

Fair enough if OP means genuine pension contributions but if OP means AVCs then I can relate to what they are saying.  Thankfully my AVCs never went missing with Aegon but at times they were very late.  

pensioners_dilemma

This is SIPP, both employer and employee contribute. My employer confirmed that, the money has been paid to Aegon, and Aegon confirms they are unable to apply some contributions. 

This impacts more than one person in my employer but don't know the exact number. My employer since changed the pension provider, no problem with the new provider.

I have received an email from Aegon saying that they are still working on this issue but a day later. I have received a letter from Financial Ombudsman saying that they had their final decision. They decided issue is resolved by Aegon based on Aegon's response and awarded me £300 for the stress Aegon caused. However, money is not in my account yet and when I called them, they say the complaint is still being worked on. 

I did not not know there is a Pension Ombudsman. I have complained to Financial Ombudsman and they look at conduct issues. I understand that my problem fits in financial mismanagement category for which Pension Ombudsman is the right place. 

I am not at retirement age hence I can take is calmly but this could be a very serious issue for the people who are withdrawing money from tehir pensions. 

pensioners_dilemma

MeteredOut said:

What happened when you went back to the FOS saying Aegon had not implemented their resolution?

I have not yet responded FSO, waiting for Aegon's call back.

pensioners_dilemma

SarahB16 said:

penners324 said:

This would impact all Employees in the company. Have you asked your employer what they are doing about it?

That would be a huge problem for your employer 

I know OP refers to 'pension contributions' however I do know that Aegon can also be the provider when people make additional voluntary contributions, e.g. many people seem to use the Prudential but I know Aegon provide a similar service.  Not everybody within an organisation makes AVCs and even within the same organisation there can be different pension schemes and not everybody would be using Aegon for their AVCs (as it depends which pension scheme you are in).  

Fair enough if OP means genuine pension contributions but if OP means AVCs then I can relate to what they are saying.  Thankfully my AVCs never went missing with Aegon but at times they were very late.  

Aegon is pension provider here, not the employer.I know there are more than one impacted from my employer but I don't know the exact scale of the problem. In FOS letter there is a reference of a system upgrade at Aegon in August 2024 which caused the problems.

dunstonh

 I have received a letter from Financial Ombudsman saying that they had their final decision. They decided issue is resolved by Aegon based on Aegon's response and awarded me £300 for the stress Aegon caused. However, money is not in my account yet and when I called them, they say the complaint is still being worked on. 

If Aegon have told the FOS that they know there is a problem and they are resolving it, then the FOS is right to close it.   There is no need for them to sit on it.    You still have the ability to go back to the FOS later on if it drags on unreasonably.

artyboy

dunstonh said:

 I have received a letter from Financial Ombudsman saying that they had their final decision. They decided issue is resolved by Aegon based on Aegon's response and awarded me £300 for the stress Aegon caused. However, money is not in my account yet and when I called them, they say the complaint is still being worked on. 

If Aegon have told the FOS that they know there is a problem and they are resolving it, then the FOS is right to close it.   There is no need for them to sit on it.    You still have the ability to go back to the FOS later on if it drags on unreasonably.

Which, from my risk management perspective, is an 'interesting' approach. If I had an open issue from the auditors anywhere that I have worked, no way would they let that issue be closed on the basis of a promise that it will be fixed at some point.

No, the issue stays open, active, and monitored until it has been proven to be resolved...

dunstonh

Which, from my risk management perspective, is an 'interesting' approach. If I had an open issue from the auditors anywhere that I have worked, no way would they let that issue be closed on the basis of a promise that it will be fixed at some point.

The FOS want to get to a point of agreement on the resolution.  Once all sides agree on the resolution, there is no point in the FOS keeping it open.      They can reopen it if the resolution isn't completed as agreed.  They can also refer the company to the FCA if they believe a breach is taking place.  

Remember that FOS decisions are legally binding on the financial company.   That is a lot more binding than an audit.