How to complain about a problem with your pension

If you’re unhappy with your pension provider, you can complain. Issues might include unexplained delays, breaking promises or giving you incorrect or misleading information. Even if it’s a small problem, ask your provider to fix it.

Tell your pension provider what happened and what they can do to fix things. You can usually contact your provider using live chat, phone, email or post. 

If your pension provider has gone out of business and cannot pay your pension, you can make a claimOpens in a new window to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) instead.

If you’re unhappy with your pension provider’s initial response:

• make a formal complaint in writing
• ask your provider if they’ll follow a one or two-stage complaints process, typically called an internal dispute resolution procedure (IDRP). 

For a one-stage IDRP, your provider usually has up to four months to investigate and explain how they propose to resolve your complaint.

For a two-stage IDRP, your provider normally has up to four months to complete each stage (eight months in total).

In some cases, your provider might be allowed more time if it's necessary to make a decision.

At the end of the IDRP, your provider will issue a final response.

If you do not agree with your provider’s final response, check if you can complain to The Pensions OmbudsmanOpens in a new window. This is a free and impartial service.

You usually need to complain within three years of:

• the problem first happening, or
• when you first knew about it.

The Pensions Ombudsman's decision is based on legal principles and is legally binding. This means it can be enforced in court.

If The Pensions Ombudsman upholds your complaint, your pension provider must do what they say.

If The Pensions Ombudsman rejects your complaint, this is usually where the process ends.

You could choose to go to court, but this can be expensive and you might not be successful.

Contact HMRC online, by phone or postOpens in a new window if you have a problem with your National Insurance (NI) record.Opens in a new window Your NI record is linked to how much State Pension you get. 

For all other State Pension problems, contact the: 

• Pension Service if you live in England, Wales or ScotlandOpens in a new window 
• Northern Ireland Pension Centre if you live in Northern IrelandOpens in a new window
• International Pension Centre if you live abroadOpens in a new window

If you’re unhappy with the outcome, you can ask for your complaint to go to a senior managerOpens in a new window  and appeal to the Independent Case Examiner.

If you’re unhappy with pension advice from a regulated financial adviser, you can complain. This includes if you think you were mis-sold, told incorrect information or lost money due to bad pension transfer advice. 

If you’re complaining about bad advice to transfer your defined benefit pension from one scheme to another, you can use the Pensions transfer advice checkerOpens in a new window built by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This asks you a series of questions to help you understand if you might have received poor advice.

First, tell your financial adviser what has happened, why you’re unhappy and what you’d like them to do to fix things.

If your financial adviser has gone out of business, you can make a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)Opens in a new window instead. 

If you’re unhappy with your adviser’s initial reply, ask to make a formal complaint.  

This means your adviser must investigate and explain how they will resolve your complaint. They have up to eight weeks to give you their final offer, called a final response.

If you do not think your adviser’s final response is fair, or eight weeks have passed, you can complain to the free Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)Opens in a new window

You usually need to complain within six months of receiving your final response and six years of the problem first happening, unless you were not aware of the issue when it started.   

The FOS is a free service and means your complaint will be reviewed impartially to decide if your financial adviser:

• has already acted fairly, or
• needs to do more to resolve things. 

If you accept the decision by the FOS, your adviser must do what they say.

If the FOS rejects your complaint, this is usually where the process ends.

You could choose to go to court, but this can be expensive and you might not be successful.