Britons are becoming increasingly disgruntled over their pension plans, with the number of complaints received by The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) increasing by 10% in 2008/2009.
In the 12 months to the end of March, 7,746 individuals contacted the body, compared to 7,026 in the previous 12 months.
According to TPAS, the biggest single driver was poor administration with increases in both delays and mistakes contributing “heavily”.
The majority of complaints involved individual pension plans, whilst occupational schemes appeared to improve their performance with a 2% drop.
TPAS Chief Executive, Malcolm McLean, suggest that the tough economic conditions of the past six months may well have exacerbated problems for pension holders.
He describes a ‘double-whammy’ effect, with many savers seeing the value of their plans fall because of the financial crisis and then experiencing delays in obtaining annuity quotes or awards that reduce their entitlement even further.
With regard to the delays, mergers and takeovers form part of the problem as snags occur in integrating systems.
However, consumers also reported long delays in getting a response to their complaint plus errors and mistakes that sometimes resulted in financial loss.
TPAS says it has been helpful in obtaining compensation where it could be shown that an individual had relied or acted upon incorrect information and lost money as a result.
