pension denied for years then offered!

[hoppy]

My partner has been an employee of a public service organisation full time for the last 10 years on a repeated 12 month contract, she was told for years that she was not entitled to join the pension scheme (which she has in writing) ,that was until the pension levy.then no pension but still paying the pension levy!
so out of the blue her and a some of her colleagues in the same situation are told verbally told by management they can now join the pension scheme but would have to buy back their previous years service ( a phone call to the pension ombudsman proved the buyback couldnt be made a condition of a permanent contract).
Our qeustion is if the organistion was denying entry to the pension for years are they not liable for paying any buyback up to the date they changed their minds and decided to let her join!

 

[jpd]

The "pension levy" is just a tax - it has no legal link to a pension entitlement other than a moral one.

 

[Homer]

Have they told your partner how much it will cost her to buy back the missing years?

If the amount is based on the member contributions she would have paid, then it should represent very good value for money and you should make every effort to buy back as much service as you can afford, even if it means cashing in other savings in order to do so.

 

[Tentman]

If she was employed for 10 years on a rolling type of contract, then her employer may have been acting illegally. Uder the current legislation, she must be given a contract of indefinate duration, i.e. a permanent contract after 4 yrs.She should contact her union urgently and provide fullest details of the contracts she has fulfilled since her appointment. From what you have described above, there may be serious issues to be addressed, not least the actual cost of purchasing service, and the question of eligibility for permanency.