UK Pensions Ombudsman to launch expedited decision-making for complaints

In a recent blog post, the PO said it was currently piloting expedited decision-making at the ‘assessment’ and ‘resolution’ stages of its pension complaints process. Following a pilot launched in the summer, the PO aims to roll out expedited decision-making more broadly before the end of October.

The new scheme is part of the PO’s ongoing ‘operating model review’ aimed at improving its current operating model. According to the PO, expedited decision-making – which involves shorter determinations more akin to summary judgements used by the courts - could reduce waiting times for resolution of pensions complaints by as much as 18 months.

The pilot has so far helped the PO resolve a higher number of complaints than initially expected, however the current volume of new complaints is 24% higher than forecast. This highlights the need for an expedited system to both “deal with our existing complaints, but also stay ahead of increases in demand,” the PO said. 

The PO’s initial focus for the expedited determinations scheme are complaints assessed as having a ‘clear outcome’ – such as instances where a pension provider supplied an incorrect benefit statement, but the error did not result in a loss. For these kinds of complaints, parties who do not agree with the caseworker’s initial assessment can bypass adjudications and move straight to a determination.

The PO said “very few” caseworker decisions had been referred for a determination during the pilot.

Charlotte Scholes, a pensions litigation expert at Pinsent Masons, said the new scheme was a welcome development.

“There are lots of common themes that emerge in member complaints which make their way to the PO, such as overpayments and complaints related to transfer value quotations or investment choices and fund switches,” she said.

“Sometimes the time involved for both parties and cost for schemes in responding to these complaints can be considerable. We look forward to seeing how the new expedited process will work in practice, but we view this as a very welcome development for members and trustees alike.”

Under the new scheme, the PO does not intend to publish expedited determinations. Instead, the PO confirmed it is looking at other options – including case studies – that will help share industry learning.

The PO has also published a new factsheet (6-page / 236KB PDF) relating to its investigations process.