Mr L v (1) British Regional Airlines Group Pension Scheme Trustees and (2) Mercers - 5 July 2021
Summary of determination
Mr L made various complaint of maladministration about how his applications for early retirement and then retirement at his normal retirement date at 60 were dealt with by the Trustees and Mercers including that he had been treated with 'utter contempt' in dealing with his applications. These applications were dealt with during the period Flybe went into administration and the wind up of the pension scheme was triggered. The Pensions Ombudsman determined, having looked at the time line of events and email exchanges, that Mr L had not been treated with 'utter contempt' by either the Trustees or Mercer. The Ombudsman accepted the submissions by the Trustees and Mercers that they were having to deal with a fast moving situation necessitating revisiting a number of decisions and the benefits on more than one occasion which, due to unfortunate timing, impacted particularly on Mr L. The Ombudsman, however, concluded that:
- There were a number of instances of maladministration by Mercer in implementing the Trustee’s decisions (which had to be revised as a result of the commencement of winding up of the scheme) during the difficult period and
- The original decision not to put Mr L’s early retirement pension into payment on the date agreed (after previously agreeing to do this) was in breach of trust law
In relation to the maladministration by Mercer the Pensions Ombudsman directed that a payment of £1500 should be made by Mercer for non-financial injustice.
In relation to the breach of law the failure to pay the early retirement pension had already been addressed as the Trustees had already later revisited the decision and put the pension into payment retrospectively at a date prior to the triggering of the wind up of the scheme. The Ombudsman however directed that a small interest payment should be made because of the delay in putting the pension and lump sum into payment.
