What to do if old pension provider is stating they hold no 'liability'?

themarmitekids1962

I would be very grateful for any advice on this subject, would the ombudsman be able to help or am I going on a wild goose chase? Basically I was employed by a registered charity for a year in the late eighties during which I paid into their private pension scheme as well as paying NI contributions. I have a statement confirming my pension contributions upon leaving their employment. I recently contacted them to access this pension, albeit a very tiny amount, but they are stating they hold no liability as I didn't work for them for longer than five years. My options statement which they sent me in 1989 states otherwise! How can I proceed? Many thanks (I've also checked my NI contributions which clearly shows no default for this year and I definitely did not transfer my benefits).

flaneurs_lobster

You have a statement of pension contributions, is there any chance that these contributions were returned to you (minus any PAYE due) with your final wages (along with your P45)?

Would be unusual for service of only a year to give rise to a pension liability.

MyRealNameToo

Before 1988 it was common that you need to work X years for the organisation and if you worked less than that any pension was forfeited on your leaving, after 1988 it was still possible but X had to be 2 years or less.

If you only did 1 year then yes, you left too quickly and lost the pension

Marcon

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6680249/what-to-do-if-old-pension-provider-is-stating-they-hold-no-liability

Although at first glance it looks as if you weren't a member of the pension scheme for long enough to qualify for a 'deferred' pension, the rules of the scheme in question may say you only needed to be a member for a shorter period than the statutory minimum period.

Does the options statement of 1989 post-date your leaving the charity's employment?

DRS1

What options were you given in 1989 and did you avail yourself of any of them? And what did they say would happen if you did nothing?

themarmitekids1962

Thanks for all your responses. I left employment on 15 September 1989. The statement of options is dated 3 October 1989. They are stating that under their scheme I would need to have been employed for five years to qualify for deferred benefit. However, my statement of options clearly states that I am entitled to a deferred pension and indicates the sums to which I am entitled upon the date of my leaving, and upon my retirement date. It also details the amount of a 'final pensionable salary'. I am fairly certain (albeit a long time ago) that they did not refund any of my contributions. Surely, if my statement of options states 'deferred pension' amounts this is means that I am/was entitled to something? There is no mention of the requirement for five year contributions in under to qualify. Do you think I could pursue this even if it was a mistake on their part?

dunstonh

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82107900#Comment_82107900

A statement of options just lays out potential options. If one of the options is deferred pension, then it would require you to select that option to get the deferred pension. If you selected an alternative option, then you would get the alternative option.

A refund of contributions would have been done through the payroll. If it's just 12 months and after tax and NI, the amount could have been tiny, and you may not have even noticed it.

Marcon

Surely, if my statement of options states 'deferred pension' amounts this is means that I am/was entitled to something? There is no mention of the requirement for five year contributions in under to qualify. Do you think I could pursue this even if it was a mistake on their part?

To take the last sentence first - you could pursue but you won't get anywhere. An error on their part doesn't give you an entitlement to a benefit, and the chances of the Pensions Ombudsman awarding any sort of compensation for 'distress, disappointment and inconvenience' are close to zero.

Does your options statement have a default (ie 'if you do nothing, then….')? If you could post it here (with any personal identifiers obscured), that would be useful. Alternatively, send a copy to the provider and ask for their comments.

themarmitekids1962

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond; its much appreciated. There was no default option given on the statement. Being a 'youngster' at that time, I obviously didn't realise that I perhaps needed to take some action upon receipt of the statement. I suppose it's entirely possible that I may have received a 'tiny' refund but I do recall rather strangely, being disappointed with my final pay cheque! So it would seem the ombudsman would not be sympathetic, in which case I will contact the former employer once more and see if they will reconsider my plea, thankfully it was only a small amount!

DRS1

You call this document a statement of options. That suggests it gave you some choices but you don't say what they are. I believe that in some public sector schemes if you have less than the qualifying period of service it is still possible to transfer your deferred benefits to another scheme. But there is a time limit for that and if you don't take up the offer you fall back onto a refund of contributions. Maybe your scheme offered the same choice and that is why they set out the details of your deferred benefits - maybe they also specified a transfer value?

It is not something you'd expect in the private sector but with a charity who knows.

I don't know if you can upload a copy of the statement (with personal details blanked out).