Hampshire Pension Fund Complaints process

How do I make a formal complaint?

If you want to make a formal complaint about:

  • a decision that has been made in relation to your pension by Hampshire Pension Services (HPS), or
  • the service that you have received from HPS,

please write to:

Director of Corporate Operations
The Castle
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 8UB

If your complaint is related to a decision made about your pension by your employer, then you must follow your employer's complaints procedure instead.

What happens and how long will it take?

A complaint against Hampshire Pension Services will be investigated by a senior manager and a full reply will be given to you. If we've got something wrong, we will do our best to put it right. If an error has been made we will admit to our mistake and offer a full apology. We will also review our policies and procedures to try and stop it happening again.

We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days from the date of receipt and tell you how long it will take to give you a full reply. We try to respond quickly and to reply to you within 20 working days of your initial complaint.

Sometimes, due to the complexity of the complaint, we will not be able to meet this timescale. If this happens we will write to you and keep you fully informed of the progress being made. 

Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)

Making an informal enquiry, or formal complaint, does not affect your statutory right to have your dispute heard under the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP).

You can use the IDRP if you are not happy with any decision affecting you made in relation to the Scheme. You also have the right to use the procedure if a decision should have been made by your employer or administering authority, but it hasn't been.

If your employer has made the decision in question then you must contact them for details of their IDRP.

If Hampshire Pension Services have made the decision that is affecting you then you can use the Hampshire County Council IDRP. This is a two-stage process in which the decision which has been made is reviewed by an independent person.

Who can use the IDRP?

You can use the formal process if you are:

An active, deferred or pensioner member

Someone who is paying into the scheme, or who used to pay in, or who is receiving a pension.

A prospective member

Someone who is not yet a member, but could become one if their employer brings them in or they choose to join.

A dependant

Someone who is the widow, widower, surviving civil or nominated partner, or a child of a member or prospective member.

You can also use this process if you think you should fall into one of these categories, or you did so in the last six months.

You can choose to have someone else represent you, and this representative can be whoever you like – a friend, relative, solicitor, union representative, etc.

Stage one of the IDRP

You can use this IDRP if your dispute relates to a decision made by Hampshire Pension Services. You must put the dispute in writing and send it within six months of receiving the decision you are disputing, to:

[email protected]

or

Internal Dispute Resolution co-ordinator Stage 1 appeals
HR Business Support Team
Corporate Resources
Hampshire County Council
The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UJ

You can find more information at: IDRP process and timescales.

Your complaint will be considered carefully by an Accountable Officer nominated by the Director of Corporate Resources. That person is required to give you their decision in writing, within two months of receiving your appeal.

If the nominated person's upholds your complaint, then the employer or administering authority who made the original decision will have to deal with your case in accordance with the nominated person's decision.

Any decision must be given to you in writing, stating the legislation relied upon and let you know that if you are still dissatisfied you have the right to go to stage two of the IDRP within six months of receiving the stage one decision.

Stage two of the IDRP

If you are still dissatisfied, you or your representative must put your signed dispute in writing, enclosing a copy of the stage one decision, and send it within six months of receiving the stage one decision, to:

[email protected]

or

Internal Dispute Resolution co-ordinator Stage 2 appeals
HR Business Support Team
Corporate Resources
Hampshire County Council
The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UJ

Your appeal will be considered by an Accountable Officer not previously involved with the case and a suitably qualified solicitor from Hampshire Legal Services.

The stage two decision will be given to you in writing and state the legislation relied upon. The decision will be provided within 2 months of receipt of your stage 2 request.

Help and support

At any stage, you can contact Money Helper for help and advice regarding your pension. Their contact details are:

Money Helper
Money and Pensions Service
120 Holborn, London, EC1N 2TD

Telephone: 0800 011 3797

Website: www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en 

Further route of appeal

If the dispute or complaint cannot be resolved by the IDRP process or after intervention by Money Helper then you can apply for an adjudication to the Pensions Ombudsman within three years of the event which gave rise to the complaint.

The Pensions Ombudsman can investigate and determine any complaint or dispute involving maladministration or matters of fact or law and his decision is final and binding, but matters where legal proceedings have already started cannot be investigated.

The Pensions Ombudsman solely deals with pension complaints and can help if you have a complaint or dispute about the administration (including transfers/conversion) and/or management of personal and occupational pensions.

The types of pension arrangements the Pensions Ombudsman looks at includes:

  • executive, group, and personal pension plans;
  • self-invested personal pensions (SIPP);
  • small self-administered pension schemes;
  • workplace, employer, and stakeholder pension schemes;
  • free standing additional voluntary contribution schemes; and
  • annuities and section 32 buy-out policies.

Some examples of types of complaints the Pension Ombudsman considers include:

  • auto enrolment;
  • benefits: incorrect calculation/refusal/failure to pay or late payment
  • charges/fees;
  • death benefits;
  • failure to provide information/act on instructions;
  • fund switches;
  • guaranteed Annuity Rate;
  • ill health;
  • interpretation of scheme rules/policy terms;
  • misquote/misinformation;
  • payment/pension increases;
  • pension liberation;
  • transfers: general;
  • winding up; and
  • with-profits issues.

The Ombudsman's determinations are legally binding on all parties and enforceable in court.

There is no financial limit to the value of the award the Ombudsman can make for financial loss arising from maladministration.

Additionally the Pensions Ombudsman, can consider whether or not to make an award for any non-financial injustice caused by the party being complained about (commonly referred to as 'distress and inconvenience' awards).

These awards are made based on the facts and circumstances of the individual case. If you have already been made a sufficient offer of redress before or during the investigation, the Ombudsman will not normally add to it.

There are different levels of award depending on whether the distress and inconvenience caused is considered to be significant, serious, severe or exceptional. See: Non-financial Injustice

Contact with The Pensions Ombudsman about a complaint needs to be made within three years of when the event(s) you are complaining about happened – or, if later, within three years of when you first knew about it (or ought to have known about it). There is discretion for those time limits to be extended.

The Pensions Ombudsman - frequently asked questions

If your complaint is about advice you received when taking out a pension, transferring between pension schemes or investing in pension funds then it may be more appropriate to contact the Financial Ombudsman. See Where to go for help with your pension complaint if you are unsure which Ombudsman to contact.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, from 22 April 2020 until further notice the Pensions Ombudsman will only be accepting complaints via email, not through the post.

The Pensions Ombudsman can be contacted at:

10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PU

Telephone: 0800 917 4487

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

You can also submit a complaint form online.