Dealing with Pension Queries and Difficulties

A pension is a tax-efficient way of saving your money now ready for your retirement. If you’ve had any previous jobs before becoming a Personal Assistant (PA) you may already be enrolled into one or more pension schemes from other employment(s).

There are three main types of pension schemes: Workplace pensions, personal pensions and state pensions.

Workplace pensions

A workplace pension is a way of saving for your retirement that’s arranged by your employer.

Some workplace pensions are called ‘occupational’, ‘works’, ‘company’ or ‘work-based’ pensions.

Please see the resource below on ‘Workplace pensions’ to find out if you qualify to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension.

The Pension Regulator: Workplace pensions

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is the UK regulator of workplace pension schemes.

They make sure that employers put their staff into a pension scheme and pay money into it. They also make sure that workplace pension schemes are run properly so that people can save safely for their later years.

Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put certain staff into a workplace pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’. If you employ at least one person you are an employer and you have certain legal duties.

To get in touch with the Pensions Regulator see further details in resources below.

Personal pension

UK Government Personal Pension information

You can find a range of information on personal pensions from the UK Government’s website in the resources below.

State pension

You can find further details on the basic State Pension and the new State Pension from the UK Government’s website in the resources below. This covers areas such as:

  • Eligibility
  • How much the State Pension currently is
  • How to claim for your State Pension
  • How you can check your State Pension forecast

Dealing with pension queries and difficulties

Further information and support is available through the following organisations:

Pension Wise

Pension Wise is a government service from MoneyHelper that offers free, impartial pensions guidance about people’s defined contribution pension options.

An appointment with Pension Wise is free and will help people understand what their overall financial situation will be when they retire.

It’ll talk people through their options to help them make the right decision. People will also find out about the other factors they need to consider when deciding on their options before retirement. To get in touch with Pension Wise, see their contact details below in resources.

The Pensions Ombudsman

The Pensions Ombudsman are an independent organisation set up by law to deal with pension complaints. They look at the facts without taking sides and their service is free.

People can check on their website to see if they can help you with a complaint or dispute about a pension scheme provided by your employer or a pension you have set up yourself (see details in resources below).

They can also help if you have a complaint about a decision made by the Pension Protection Fund or the Financial Assistance Scheme.

Before The Pensions Ombudsman will investigate a complaint, you must have first tried to resolve matters with the party or parties you think are at fault. You can see their Factsheet ‘Complaining to the party/parties at fault’ below.

The Pension Ombudsman also operates an Early Resolution Service (ERS) (contact details in the resources below), which provides an informal and streamlined approach to dispute resolution. This relies on the willingness of all parties to resolve a complaint informally and is run on the basis of consent and cooperation.

Next steps

Speak to your employer if you think you qualify to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension.

Take a look at the resources below to help guide you in more detail on what pension(s) are right for you, including where to get advice, and who to contact if you need to make a complaint.

Part of
Last Updated
27 April 2023
First Published
15 July 2022
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Disclaimer

Please note that the information contained in this Handbook is provided for guidance purposes only. Every reasonable effort is made to make the information accurate and up to date, but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by Self Directed Support Scotland or any other contributing party.

The information does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice. You are strongly advised to obtain specific, personal and professional advice from a lawyer about employment law matters, or an accountant/ tax specialist about taxation matters, and from HMRC and your insurers. You should not rely solely on the information in this Handbook. Support organisations listed in this Handbook can help you find appropriate sources of advice.