• Home
  • eAlerts
  • Providing reasons to member for refusal of incapacity pension 1

Providing reasons to member for refusal of incapacity pension 1

United Kingdom
15/07/1998
Download PDF

Reference: G00263

A member alleged that his applications for an incapacity pension had been improperly rejected, and that the failure to give reasons for this decision was maladministration. The trustee argued that it was not policy to disclose to the member the reasons for that decision or the nature of the advice given by the doctor involved. The Ombudsman held that under the scheme rules the granting of an incapacity pension was a decision of fact rather than a discretionary decision. The trustee's failure to provide an adequate and proper explanation of its reasons for the rejection of the member's five applications, despite requests from the member to do so, fell appreciably short of the standards of good administration. The Ombudsman ordered that the case be reviewed by the trustee. The deliberations were to be minuted in sufficient detail, indicating (if appropriate) the reasons for any subsequent decision not to seek an independent medical examination and/or to decline the complainant's application, and disclosed to the member. In any event, the trustee had to pay the member GBP 100 for the distress caused in the refusal to give a proper explanation for the earlier rejection of the application.





Search Filters

Advanced Search

Related content