Isle of Man Pensions Ombudsman

If your personal or occupational pension is being handled by a pension scheme administered in the Isle of Man, and you are not satisfied with the way the scheme has dealt with a problem, you can ask the Isle of Man Pensions Ombudsman to investigate.

How to complain to the Ombudsman

Email the Isle of Man Pensions Ombudsman at IOM.PensionsOmbudsman@pensions.im or use the following contact form.

If you have a complaint about a pension scheme administered in the UK please contact the UK Pensions Ombudsman.

What complaints the Ombudsman can investigate

The Ombudsman can only investigate your complaint if:

a)    you have given the people you think are at fault a chance to put things right, and they have not done so
b)   your complaint is about something the law allows the Ombudsman to look at, and
c)    your complaint has not been, or is not being, considered by a tribunal, court or another Ombudsman.

In general, the Ombudsman deals with complaints about how pension schemes are run. If there is a problem, this is known as ‘maladministration’. Maladministration includes a pension scheme:

a)    taking too long to do something without good reason
b)   not doing something they should have done

c)   not following their own rules or the law
d)    breaking a promise
e)    giving incorrect or misleading information or
f)     not making a decision in the right way

The Ombudsman can also investigate and determine disputes of fact or law about a pension scheme between the managers or trustees of the scheme and its beneficiaries.

The Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints about sales of pension schemes from or on the Isle of Man. In this instance, you can ask for your complaint to be investigated under the Isle of Man Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.

Investigating your complaint

The Ombudsman is completely independent and impartial and their services are free. They are not a regulator, consumer champion or a trade body.

The Ombudsman will try to sort out the problem by looking at what both parties have to say before deciding how the problem should be resolved.

The Ombudsman acts within the laws which say what they can and can’t investigate.

The Ombudsman’s decision is final and binding on both parties and is enforceable in law.