Combining pension - Destination pension pot provider unresponsive

S

Springers

Registered User
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Hi,

My spouse made the following requests a few months ago to combine pension pots from 2 previous employments to current one:

Previous employment A - DC pot A
Previous employment B - DC pot B

Current employment C - DC pot C

Note that employment B and C share the same pension provider (BoI).

She completed all the required forms and sent them to all parties in February. Yet, no transfer has been processed so far.

The internal DC company advisor left and hasn't been replaced yet so the HR provided a call centre contact number.

Despite several emails asking for an update the last 3 months and calls with false promises without any callback, no progress has been observed.

I would like to know the correct procedure to follow to get this sorted. I believe I should make an official complaint first? and them, how long should I wait before the next step? What would be the next step? etc


PS: I am not a native speaker so let me know if I need to rephrase certain points.
Thanks in advance for your help on this!
 
Why does she want to combine the pension pots ?

Having multiple pension pots will most likely give her more flexibility when it comes to claiming her pension. For example, deciding when to start taking the pension, how much tax-free lump sum to take,...

Also, having multiple providers may provide better returns and less volatility
 
jpd said:
Why does she want to combine the pension pots ?

Having multiple pension pots will most likely give her more flexibility when it comes to claiming her pension. For example, deciding when to start taking the pension, how much tax-free lump sum to take,...

Also, having multiple providers may provide better returns and less volatility
Click to expand...

I do agree with the point above.

However, the sums involved are low:
DC pot A: around €4500
DC pot B: around €1500

We decided to transfer these amounts to the biggest pot as we thought these amounts were so low that we couldn't benefit from them independently.

Can she claim pensions with these low amounts?
 
Bank of Ireland Life and New Ireland are the same company. As a broker, dealing with New Ireland's pension scheme area for the past few years has been VERY slow and disorganised. Our experience suggests that the simple transaction you have requested will take a lot longer than three months to complete.
 
Dave Vanian said:
Bank of Ireland Life and New Ireland are the same company. As a broker, dealing with New Ireland's pension scheme area for the past few years has been VERY slow and disorganised. Our experience suggests that the simple transaction you have requested will take a lot longer than three months to complete.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. I assume that I will start to think about making a complaint after 8-9 months.
 
I'd take the gloves off now and in your email to the provider I'd CC the Central Bank becuase, ..the Central Bank may decide to investigate serious or systemic general complaints about regulated financial service providers. That's what they told me when I raised the issue of Inter-Company Transfers with them (Annuities are a disaster because quotes last from 5 to 10 working days only). These issues are systemic. [email protected]

I'd provide a timeline again so that the CB can see the dates. I'd have a look at the fund/s you're moving from/to and see if there is a financial loss to you already because of the delay. I'd log the formal compalaint now as the FSPO are swamped with maladministration complaints and the initial wait time (until your case is dealt with) is circa 7/8 months from the date of complaint. It's a long process but follow it through and if you don't like the mediated offer, refuse it and let it go to full investigation.

The CB won't respond to you, they won't tell you how the investigation went, but they are interested in these issues and are clearly looking for evidence from customers and intermediaries.
 
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