LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION APPEAL

 

SUPERANNUATION ACT 1972

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME REGULATIONS 1997 (the 1997 regulations)

 

1.      I refer to your letter of 15 May 1999 in which you appeal (under regulation 102 of the 1997 regulations) to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions against the decision of Mr XXX, the Appointed Person.  The Appointed Person concluded that the information you received in 1986 was sufficient for you to make a decision about whether to join the local government pension scheme (LGPS).  He was therefore unable to uphold your complaint.

 

2.      Your complaint to the Secretary of State is that your employers (XXX County Council (the council)), and/or their agents (the senior management at XXX School (the school)) failed in their contractual obligation to take reasonable steps to bring to your attention as an employee the existence of particular rights.  As a result you believe you were not able to understand fully the implications of joining the scheme.  You consider that you lost out on maximising your pension.  You further consider the council should be required to provide you with a pension to the level it would have been if you had joined the LGPS in 1988, instead of December 1994.  Furthermore you consider the Appointed Person cannot be a truly independent judge of this matter as he is the Chief Executive and has a vested interest in the running of the council’s business.

 

3.      The Secretary of State has no powers to consider on appeal whether an Appointed Person is independent and this question has not therefore been considered.  Under regulation 99(4) of the 1997 regulations an application must not be referred to a person who has previously been involved in the subject matter of the disagreement.  It is noted that you do not suggest that Mr XXX was involved in the original disagreement.

 

4.      The Secretary of State has considered all the representations and evidence.

 

5.      The Secretary of State’s powers under regulations 102 and 103 of the 1997 regulations are to reconsider the original disagreement referred to the Appointed Person under regulation 100.  It is noted from the form dated 13 November 1998 to the Appointed Person that the disagreements he was asked to consider were;

 

a)      why none of the ancillary staff at the School in 1986 were given a presentation;

 

b)     that they were unable to obtain any sensible response from the council’s Pensions Office at XXX; and

 

c)      that you considered it was incumbent upon the council to provide adequate information, explanation and opportunity for questions about the pension scheme and that they failed to do so.

 

6.      The questions for decision:  The questions for decision by the Secretary of State are whether:-

 

a)      the council or the school were required but failed to give a presentation and an opportunity for explanations and questions; and

 

b)     the information was adequate.

 

7.      Secretary of State’s decision: The Secretary of State’s powers under regulations 102 and 103 of the 1997 regulations are limited, like the Appointed Person’s, to whether the statutory rules governing the LGPS have been correctly applied.  The Secretary of State accepts that relevant information was made available to you and he agrees with the Appointed Person that this was sufficient on which to a base a decision whether to join the LGPS.  He notes that the regulations do not require the council or the school to provide a presentation or an opportunity for explanations and questions. The Secretary of State takes the view that where a council is asked in writing to provide additional information this should be provided in a clear manner; however he notes that you do not claim nor have you provided any evidence that any written information was misleading.  Having considered your complaint, the Secretary of State finds that there is no evidence that the regulations have not been properly applied.  His decision confirms that made by the Appointed Person.  He is acting judicially and has no power to modify the way the regulatory provisions apply to the facts of the case.  Having made his decision he has no power to alter it but you may refer the matter to the Pensions Ombudsman or to the High Court.  Because of this the Secretary of State’s officials cannot discuss the case further.

 

8.      This completes the second stage of the internal disputes resolution procedure.  The Pensions Advisory Service (OPAS) is available to assist members and beneficiaries in connection with difficulties which they have failed to resolve.  Their address is 11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB (telephone number 0171 233 8080).

 

9.      The Pensions Ombudsman may investigate and determine any complaint or dispute of fact or law in relation to the Scheme rules made or referred in accordance with the Pensions Schemes Act 1993.  His address is 11 Belgave Road, London, SW1V 1RB (telephone number 0171 834 9144).