Nest Pension Scheme · CAS-112925-T5G7

CAS-112925-T5G7

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Mrs S

Scheme NEST Pension Scheme (the Scheme)

Respondent J&Y Webber Services Limited (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties

In January 2023, Mrs S began her employment with the Employer.

Between June 2023 and September 2023, the Employer failed to pay pension contributions into the Scheme.

On 1 November 2023, Mrs S brought her complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Mrs S provided copies of the payslips that she held for the period from June 2023 to September 2023, which detailed the pension contributions deducted from her pay and the corresponding employer contributions. These deductions amounted to £370.77. A breakdown of the deductions has been included in the Appendix.

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Adjudicator’s Opinion Mrs S’ complaint was considered by one of our Adjudicators who concluded that further action was required by the Employer as it had failed to remit the contributions that were due to the Scheme. The Adjudicator’s findings are summarised below:-

2 CAS-112925-T5G7 • The Adjudicator stated that TPO’s normal approach, in cases such as these, was to seek agreement from all parties on the facts of the complaint, including the dates and amounts of contributions involved. He said that, as the Employer had not provided a full response to the complaint raised by Mrs S, he had to base his Opinion solely on the information provided by Mrs S.

• The Adjudicator said that he had no reason to doubt the information provided by Mrs S. So, in the Adjudicator’s Opinion, on the balance of probabilities, contributions had been deducted from Mrs S’ salary, but had not been paid into the Scheme. In addition, the Employer had not paid any of the employer contributions that were due over the same period. As a result of its maladministration, Mrs S was not in the financial position she ought to be in.

• In the Adjudicator’s view, Mrs S had suffered significant distress and inconvenience due to the Employer’s maladministration. The Adjudicator was of the opinion that an award of £500 for non-financial injustice was appropriate in the circumstances.

Ombudsman’s decision

Directions

(i) pay Mrs S £500 for the significant distress and inconvenience she has experienced;

(ii)

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;

(iii) establish with the Scheme administrator whether the late payment of contributions has meant that fewer units were purchased in Mrs S’ Scheme account than she would have otherwise secured, had the contributions been paid on time; and

(iv) pay any reasonable administration fee should the Scheme administrator charge a fee for carrying out the above calculation.

Anthony Arter CBE

Deputy Pensions Ombudsman

7 October 2024

4 CAS-112925-T5G7 Appendix Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

June 2023 £54.83 £41.12

July 2023 £35.72 £26.79

August 2023 £75.20 £56.40

September 2023 £46.12 £34.59

Totals £211.87 £158.90

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