Pension complaints up by ‘almost a third’
Complaints about pensions have increased by almost a third according to the latest figures published in the Pensions Ombudsman’s annual report.
The ombudsman announced that complaints in the current financial year have reached the highest level of any year since the office was established in 1990.
The number of complaints increased from 2,946 in 2002 to 3,891 in 2003, with the bulk of the increase happening in the second half of the financial year.
The Pensions Ombudsman, David Laverick, blamed the increases largely on the very high profile which pensions have maintained in press and broadcasting media during the year.
Mr Laverick expressed concern that his office would not have the capacity to cope with the increased level of caseloads, and warned that the position was likely to deteriorate as no additional resources had been allocated to his department.
He said, ‘The bare facts are that in 2002-2003 I received 3891 enquiries and dealt with 3684. The net result is that despite a great deal of hard work from my staff and myself we have been failing to keep up with the incoming tide.’
‘The position is likely to be even more difficult in the current financial year. That is when the bulk of time needs to be spent on the work taken in last year and so far I have been allocated no additional resources to cope with that work.’
In his report, the ombudsman stressed the need for greater simplification of the rules governing who can make complaints to his office and how such complaints should then be deal with.
Earlier in the year Mr Laverick appeared before the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee and complained that there was doubt as to whether all those involved in administering pension schemes lay within his jurisdiction. He welcomed the Government’s recent announcement to clarify his jurisdiction.
Mr Laverick added, “A change to the a law…uld be a great deal simpler for the for the public to understand and for my office to interpret and explain. A great deal of work and aggravation would be saved without leading to more than a marginal increase in the number of complaints to be investigated.”
