APLI 15 December 2011
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Transcript APLI 15 December 2011
APLI
15 December 2011
Murphy’s Law Reaffirmed
(He hasn’t gone away, you know….)
A Few Statistics
2003: 155 complaints received
2004: 297
2005: 389
2006: 439
2007: 515
2008: 758
2009: 636
2010: 589
And more…
Year to end November, 508
Annual average 515 plus 950 phone/email cases where issues raised and
resolved
And even more…
Cases closed: 723 phone/email, plus 555
investigations.
Report and Guidance given: 203
Mediated: 146, 103 favoured complainant
OTOR: 76
Final determination: 74, 27 allowed
Other: 56
Public/private sectors: 30% / 70%
Cases on hand 30 November 2011: 430
Frequent Complaints
Integration and the way it is applied
When pay increase doesn’t exceed State Pension increases
FPS goes down, but historic contributions were on higher rates
Contributions based on basic, benefits on pensionable
Final Pay
e.g., three-year average for computing benefits but contributions
based on annual pay not averaged
Contributing for more than 40 years
Problems
Failure to wind up promptly
AVCs not administered with main scheme
benefits
Public service AVCS – pensionable -v- actual
service
NRD
for lump sum calculation
Early Retirement – ill health and normal
Deferred
beneficiaries given options previously
Last-minute AVCs now locked in
Retirement at 60 promised - promise not honoured
Evidence proved intention – settlement reached
Public Sector Problems
Pension Levy (or pay cut)
Reductions in pensions in payment
Miscalculation
Silly deadlines
Example:
HSE VER and VSS
17,000 estimates prepared
4,000 detailed calculations
Final exits: 2,005
Meantime, “routine” work sidelined, ordinary
retirement payments delayed
…. And More
Spouses’ and Children’s contribution liability not
notified
Misclassification of employees as post-1995
“new entrants” for PRSI
Liability for extra superannuation contributions
No hope of recovering most of the overpaid PRSI
Interdepartmental negotiations around 800 teachers
Spouses and Children’s schemes – opters-out
and would-be opters in
Change
of job or status
Injury Grants
Attempt by HSE to discontinue
automatically at age 65
Circular sent by Employer umbrella body
Statute says “shall be paid for life, or for
such shorter period….”
No power to fetter discretion in advance
Private Sector Problems
Pension Levy
Section 50 applications
Consultation
a problem? – No regulations
made
Winding-up delays
Unremitted contributions, as usual
Refusal of Early Retirement
Investment issues
Failure
to carry out instructions – or not…..!
And more…
No trustee to wind up the scheme.. A common
problem
The lady who lived too long
D.I.S Benefit not protected – delay in payment –
loss of €43k
Declared Trustee investment policy not followed
– loss of AVC value
Employers who are own trustees don’t always
understand obligations or Pensions Act duties
CWPS Problems
Industry in ruins
Vast amounts outstanding*
Death Benefits not payable
Criminal prosecutions successful but don’t
recover money in most cases
Schemes of arrangement – post dated
cheques (many bounce)
Ers not even liquidated…
*11 determinations yesterday totalling €93k +
The Rise of the Phoenix
Endemic in Construction
New
firms, often same Directors, same
employees, take up old contracts
Old firm owes Revenue, Redundancy, CWPS etc
N.I. Registered Company
Operated
through RoI Branch
Ceased to trade. I could not touch NI Company
New Phoenix operation going Registered in RoI
3 Complainants to make complaints to an Garda
in bid to obtain conviction and disqualification
OPO and the Law
Few appeals under S. 140
Most – and most troublesome – brought
by the State
Afraid
of precedents
OPO now has enforcement of
determinations power formerly with
Minister
One JR: “Conduct of Applicant throughout
the proceedings characterised by fraud
and deceit”
Penalties
16 District Court prosecutions in 2010 for failure
to provide information
Appeals
to Circuit Court
Costs €1300 to €2300
And we often get the information on the morning
the Court case is heard
Enforcement of requirement for information –
Circuit Court
Other issues
Current issues include payment of benefits
under PAOs in Public Sector
They
couldn’t make up their minds that there
was only one pension
Arrears of overpayment
Application of the USC
Death in retirement is a huge issue – Family
Law Acts and drafting
Things We have Learned
Public Service Admin is uneven
Some
Departments centralise, some don’t
Loss of expertise
Reluctance of people to stay in
Superannuation Section
Promotional criteria a problem here
Specialist
Staff means fewer problems
Need for recognition
At last, Shared Services!
Things we have learned, cont’d
Investment – “proper investment”
Disinvestment of AVCs and DC in winding-up
Can
Amalgamation of (DC) AVCs with DB fund
the trustee ever be right?
A considered decision, or just laziness?
“Having regard to the nature and duration of the
liabilities” is just a new way of saying something
very old
“Cooling-off” period and ARF
Employment Agencies and PRSA Obligations
It’s not all serious….
pensioned on all of his service – shortfall in
benefits
Misinformation on transferred service – overstated
by 100 days - “loss” was €3.38 per fortnight
PO cannot compensate for loss of expectation
Civil servant missing pension credit for ONE day of
his service
It was a strike day
One man complained that trustees hadn’t told him
inflation would erode the value of his pension
Not
It Really Isn’t
Lady complained she had lost 2½% of her
pension
She
She
She
insisted it be paid by cheque
liked to go to the Post Office
doesn’t trust ATMs
Everyone else paid by EFT and got an increase of
2½%.......
She didn’t understand basic arithmetic
She
had been a National Teacher
Another Complainant insisted on being paid by
cheque, then complained that compensation for
EFT not included in pensionable pay – he
understood, but claimed anyway
They haven't gone away….
Complainant wanted average of allowance
going back 10 years to be pensioned
duties – allowances red circled until
new scale caught up
Changed
Rules didn’t pension best 3 in last 10
Complainant submitted Labour Court case in support
Failed to submit his own Labour Court case by which
he had agreed to be bound
Told him frivolous and vexatious –don’t write again
Asked Scheme Administrator to write on his behalf!
Questions?
Office of the Pensions Ombudsman
36 Upper Mount St, Dublin 2
01 647 1650
01 676 9577
www.pensionsombudsman.ie
[email protected]