Pensions Ombudsman issues Annual Report

The 2009/10 Annual Report of the Pensions Ombudsman, Tony King, was published on Monday.

Highlights include:

• 950 complaints were accepted for investigation (although 43 of these cases concerned the same issue and could be dealt with as one), which was a 22% increase on last year (and 13.5% above the estimated number for the year)
• The subject matter of complaints can be hard to classify (and may fall into more than one category), but of those that could be classified, the three highest areas of complaint were in respect of ill-health pensions, misleading information and transfers
• The trend towards significantly quicker turnaround times continues, with it taking an average of 9.6 weeks (against a target of 10 weeks) for the Ombudsman’s office to deal with initial enquiries and decide whether to accept a complaint for investigation; 2/3rds of investigations were then completed within 6-12 months (compared with 1/3rd in 2008/9)
• The average time taken to complete investigations this year was 10.9 months (against a target of 10 months and compared to an average of 18.5 months in 2008/9). Of the cases open at 31 March 2010, 35 complaints were between 1-2 years old (compared with 46 for the year 2008/9 and 450 in 2007/8), and only one case was over 2 years old
• Casework procedures introduced in 2008/9 have provided investigators with more scope to resolve matters as early as possible. Investigators are able to reach a view on the likely outcome of a complaint at any stage in the investigation (allowing for informal settlement at an earlier stage if the parties accept it)
• Of the 889 investigations closed during the course of the year, only 231 needed to be formally determined by the Ombudsman or his Deputy. Of the remainder, 187 cases were discontinued, withdrawn or resolved informally, 152 investigations closed after a decision of the investigator using the informal procedures, and 319 cases were determined by the Ombudsman under the informal procedures following the investigator’s initial decision
• There were 4 appeals of Ombudsman determinations over the course of the year, with 6 other appeals remaining to be heard as at 31 March 2010. The Ombudsman observes that notice for 4 applications for judicial review had recently been received “most unusually and for no obvious reason”
• The Ombudsman also undertakes the role of Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman. 45 applications for review of PPF decisions were received, 38 of these were accepted for investigation, 18 cases were concluded (almost exclusively relating to the calculation of the risk-based portion of the PPF levy) and in each case the decision of the PPF was upheld. As at 31 March 2010, one notice of appeal of a PPF Ombudsman determination had been received
• The Ombudsman notes that his office is no longer permitted to use email for communications containing personal data, and instead has had to revert to post. The Ombudsman recognised that this was unsatisfactory and a “retrograde step” and is looking into possible solutions allowing secure exchange of electronic correspondence.