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Pension and Retirement Claims

Retirement is one of the biggest financial milestones in life, and the decisions you make along the way can have a lasting impact on your financial future.

If you’ve suffered financial losses following pension or retirement advice, there may be circumstances where you have grounds to make a complaint. This guide explains some of the most common pension and retirement issues, helping you understand the options that may be available, even if you’re not yet sure exactly what the issue is.

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How Compensation Adviser Can Help

We provide an initial review if you’re concerned about financial losses following pension or retirement advice. If you decide to use our service, we can help organise the available paperwork, identify the party responsible for the issue, and explain the complaint route that may be relevant.
We cannot guarantee that a complaint will be accepted, upheld, resolved within a particular period, or result in compensation.

You do not need to use a claims management company. You can complain directly to the firm or scheme concerned and, where appropriate, use the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) free of charge.

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If you choose to use our service, you'll only pay our success fee if your claim is successful. Our fee is 15% + VAT, capped at £7,500 + VAT. Cancellation fees may apply (see full fee details below).

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Initial Review

We review your individual circumstances and explain what options may be available.

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What Can Go Wrong With Pension or Retirement Advice?

Pensions and retirement products can involve important choices about income, investment risk, charges, guarantees and benefits for you or your family. A concern may arise where the advice or information you received did not properly reflect your circumstances, objectives, tolerance for investment risk, or ability to absorb a loss. In some cases, concerns like these may be referred to as pension mis-selling.

Not every pension issue is mis-selling, and not every reduction in value means that advice was unsuitable. Whether a complaint may be possible depends on the facts, the advice or service provided at the time, the responsible firm or scheme, the evidence available, eligibility and the relevant time limits.

Common Types of Pension and Retirement Complaints

Personal pension, SIPP or workplace-pension transfers

You may have concerns if your pension transfer resulted in higher charges, the loss of valuable guarantees, an investment approach that may not have been suitable for your circumstances, or benefits you may not have fully understood you were giving up.

Defined-benefit (final-salary) transfers

A transfer from a defined benefit pension involves giving up a guaranteed income for life, making it one of the most significant financial decisions many people will make. If you transferred after April 2015 following advice from an FCA-authorised firm, the FCA provides an Advice Checker that may help you consider whether the advice met the expected standards.

FSAVC and AVC advice

Concerns can arise where an FSAVC was recommended instead of an employer AVC arrangement that may have offered lower charges or employer contributions, or instead of buying added years within a final salary scheme.

Pension investments and ongoing advice

Issues can arise where investment recommendations, the level of risk, charges or an ongoing advice service may not have reflected your needs or circumstances.

Retirement and annuity advice

Some complaints relate to how a pension scheme, provider or administrator handled your pension rather than the financial advice you received. This might include incorrect information, failing to follow scheme rules, or delays in making decisions. The complaint route may be different from one involving financial advice.

Scheme, provider or administration problems

Some concerns relate to how a pension scheme, provider or administrator handled your pension rather than the advice you received. This might include incorrect information, failing to follow scheme rules, or delays in making decisions. The appropriate complaint route may be different from one involving financial advice.

Evidence That May Help Explain What Happened

Useful records can include suitability reports, fact-find documents, pension-transfer or application forms, illustrations, annual statements, information about charges or investments, correspondence, complaint letters and final responses.
If you no longer have all of these documents, do not assume that you cannot make a complaint.

Depending on the circumstances, the responsible firm, provider or scheme may still hold records, subject to its document retention arrangements.

Signs Your Pension Advice May Have Been Unsuitable

The following examples do not necessarily mean that your pension was mis-sold, but they may be reasons to look more closely at the advice you received and the documents relating to it.

You were advised to transfer out of a defined-benefit scheme without fully understanding the guarantees, survivor benefits or retirement income you could lose.

You were recommended an FSAVC instead of an employer AVC arrangement that may have had lower charges or employer contributions.

Your adviser did not properly explore your objectives, attitude to investment risk or capacity for financial loss.

Your pension was moved into investments that may have been unsuitable for your circumstances or level of risk.

The charges, guarantees, restrictions or disadvantages of the recommended pension arrangement were not explained clearly enough for you to make an informed decision.

You were advised to leave a workplace or personal pension and later found that you had lost benefits or paid materially different charges.

What to Do If You Believe Your Pension Was Mis-sold

Gather Your Pension Documents

Collect any advice or suitability reports, transfer or application forms, statements, illustrations, information about charges, correspondence and any previous complaint records.

Identify the Responsible Party

Work out whether the issue concerns the adviser, provider, SIPP operator, investment manager, pension scheme or administrator.

Make a Formal Complaint

Raise your complaint directly with the responsible firm or body and explain what happened, why you are unhappy and what you would like it to do to put matters right.

Keep Records of Your Complaint

Keep copies of your correspondence, record the date you complained and retain any final response letter. These can be important if you later consider an escalation route.

Consider the Appropriate Free Route

For eligible regulated-advice complaints, the FOS may be relevant after the firm's complaint process. If the responsible regulated firm has failed, the FSCS may be relevant. For eligible disputes about how a pension scheme is run, TPO may be relevant after the scheme's own process.

Decide Whether You Need Help

You can pursue a complaint directly and use the relevant statutory routes without using a claims management company. If you would like support, we offer a no-obligation review; any decision to use our service is yours.

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Potential Complaint and Redress Routes

The most appropriate complaint route depends on the nature of the issue and who is responsible. Different pension problems can have different complaint routes.

Complain directly first: Start with the adviser, provider, SIPP operator, scheme or administrator you believe is responsible. Ask for a written response and keep a copy of your complaint.
Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS): The FOS may be able to consider an eligible complaint about regulated financial advice, including pension advice and transfers, after you have first raised the complaint with the business. Its service is free to use. See the FOS pension and annuity guidance.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS): If the UK-regulated firm responsible for your advice or pension has failed, the FSCS may be able to help. Eligibility, cover and any applicable limits depend on the product, firm, failure date and circumstances. See the FSCS pension guidance.
The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO): TPO may be able to help if you have been unable to resolve a complaint about the way an occupational or personal pension scheme has been run. This could include issues such as administrative failures, incorrect information or a failure to follow scheme rules. TPO states that complaints about pension mis-selling or financial advisers generally need to go to FOS. See what TPO can and cannot do.
Free guidance: MoneyHelper provides free consumer information about pension problems and complaint routes. See MoneyHelper’s pension complaint guidance.

You Can Pursue a Pension Complaint Yourself

You are not required to use a claims management company. You can complain directly to the relevant business or scheme, and may be able to use the FOS, FSCS or TPO without charge where their rules apply. Before deciding whether to use a paid representative, consider the free alternatives, the relevant time limits and the potential cost of the service.

Our Role If You Choose to Use Us

Compensation Adviser is a claims management company. If you choose to use our service, we can assess the information you provide, help identify the potential complaint route, organise supporting evidence and correspond with the responsible party on your behalf. The work we undertake depends on the nature of your complaint. We do not guarantee the outcome, speed or amount of any compensation or redress.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are your fees?

Our service is offered on a no-win, no-fee basis. If your complaint is successful, our fee is 15% + VAT of the compensation or redress recovered, capped at £7,500 + VAT. If we do not recover compensation or redress for you, there is no fee to pay. Cancellation fees may apply in some circumstances (see our full fee details).

Can I make a pension complaint myself for free?

Yes. You do not need to use a claims management company. You can complain directly to the responsible firm, provider, scheme or administrator. Depending on the issue, you may also be able to use the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or The Pensions Ombudsman for free.

Which organisation may deal with my pension complaint?

That depends on the nature of the issue. If your complaint relates to regulated financial advice, the Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to help. If an eligible regulated firm has failed, you may be able to claim through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If your complaint concerns the way a pension scheme has been run or administered, the Pensions Ombudsman may be able to help.

What pension paperwork should I keep?

Keep any advice or suitability report, transfer or application forms, pension statements, illustrations, information about charges or investments, correspondence, complaint letters and final responses. These documents can help clarify what advice or service was provided and when.

What if my pension adviser or provider has gone out of business?

If the responsible firm has failed and was UK regulated, the FSCS may be relevant. Whether it can consider a claim depends on the firm, product, timing, circumstances and its eligibility rules. The FSCS is free to use directly.

How soon should I raise a pension complaint?

Raise the concern promptly. Complaint and escalation routes can have different time limits, which may depend on the date of the event, when you became aware of it, and any final response you receive. Check the relevant body’s current guidance and keep records of key dates.

Request a no-obligation review of your pension complaint

We can explain the potential complaint route and how our service can assist with a complaint. There is no obligation to use our service.