Pensions Ombudsman Focus Autumn 2023 edition

Welcome to the Pensions Ombudsman Focus for the Autumn 2023 period. In this edition, we look at six recent complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman, including:

• a decision which reiterates that the mere presence of maladministration will not necessarily lead to an award for financial loss;
• a decision demonstrating how the Ombudsman will approach instances of repeated maladministration over a short time period, and the need for trustees and administrators to quickly identify errors to avoid compounding any distress and inconvenience suffered by members;
• a decision demonstrating the importance of clearly communicating any charges payable by members; 
• a decision which shows the importance of offering members reasonable solutions to rectify issues that may arise, and also the expectation of the Ombudsman for members to cooperate with trustees and administrators in order to mitigate their loss;
• a decision which shows that the Ombudsman may look at trustees’ previous decisions when assessing whether a later, conflicting decision is reasonable; and
• a decision which reiterates the long-standing position held by the Ombudsman that trustees and administrators should only look at the evidence available at the time when considering an application for ill-health early retirement, and that trustees are not bound to reassess cases with the benefit of hindsight.

Read the Autumn 2023 edition.