Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Pensions Ombudsman: trustees must obtain court order for disputed recoupment under PA 1995 s91; member defences fail; following wrong legal advice not necessarily maladministration

Published on: 07 May 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Legal News

Article summary

Original news Mr Y (CAS-39869-Q8J7)—19 December 2023

Summary

The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) has partly upheld a complaint concerning the recovery of a mistaken payment. The trustee acted contrary to section 91(6) of the Pensions Act 1995 by deducting the overpayment without first obtaining a court order; for these purposes, the Pensions Ombudsman is not a competent court. There was, however, no successful estoppel or change of position defence, as the complainant ought reasonably to have realised he was not due an unreduced pension at age 60. This decision serves as a reminder that, where repayment is contested, trustees must secure a court order before reclaiming overpayments...

What were the facts?

Mr Y was a member of the Aecom Group Pension Scheme (the Scheme). Before that, he had belonged to the Knight Piesold UK Final Salary Scheme (the KP Scheme), and subsequently moved his benefits to his employer’s defined contribution arrangement (the COMP Scheme). In 1998, Mr Y accepted his employer’s offer—an initiative in which he was involved as an administrator—to reverse that move by reinstating his COMP Scheme benefits into the KP Scheme...

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