Pension contributions not being paid to scheme?

[V8 Stang]

So i work for a small company that has been barely surviving for the last few years.

Bizarrely they have work coming out of their ears, but cant get the work done due to colossal mis management and ridiculous wastes of time and materials!


Since October 2021 the company stopped paying the pension contributions into the scheme even though the 5% has been deducted from my pay.

So for getting on for 2 years im missing 5% of my £43K salary plus the 3% the company is to contribute.


I get a letter every month from the scheme telling me the payment has not been received and it will be reported to the pensions regulator.
But i have been getting these letters for well over a year and they don't seem to be putting pressure on the company to pay up?

Whenever i bring it up, i get a load of bks about it being the accountants messed up!

But the reality is they just can't afford to pay it all up to date.


Im wondering if i should cancel the pension so i at least stop getting 5% deducted?

If the company does finally go bust, i assume thats the contributions lost?

Anything else i can do?

And yes i should get a new job! But other than the financial mess the company is in and the fact they can't organise for st, it kind of suits me well.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

I'd be giving them 7 days to make all back dated contributions, plus an extra 15% to compensate you for the loss of growth over the last 2 years, or you'll go to the police and make an official report of the theft of your pension contributions by the firm.

And I wouldn't be bluffing. I suspect this is a criminal offence (embezzlement, fraud perhaps), not a civil one.

[brickwall]

On the civil side, a letter before action from a solicitor shouldn’t cost more than a couple of hundred £.

Might spur them into action (at least for you, as you say they probably don’t have the money to do it for everyone)

[ChevronB19]

Definitely speak to a solicitor. Now.

[Little Pete]

V8 Stang said:

So i work for a small company that has been barely surviving for the last few years.

Bizarrely they have work coming out of their ears, but cant get the work done due to colossal mis management and ridiculous wastes of time and materials!


Since October 2021 the company stopped paying the pension contributions into the scheme even though the 5% has been deducted from my pay.

So for getting on for 2 years im missing 5% of my £43K salary plus the 3% the company is to contribute.


I get a letter every month from the scheme telling me the payment has not been received and it will be reported to the pensions regulator.
But i have been getting these letters for well over a year and they don't seem to be putting pressure on the company to pay up?

Whenever i bring it up, i get a load of bks about it being the accountants messed up!

But the reality is they just can't afford to pay it all up to date.


Im wondering if i should cancel the pension so i at least stop getting 5% deducted?

If the company does finally go bust, i assume thats the contributions lost?

Anything else i can do?

And yes i should get a new job! But other than the financial mess the company is in and the fact they can't organise for st, it kind of suits me well.

And the fact that they have stolen over 4K off you.
Chevron B19 is right, speak to a solicitor.

[The Leaper]

Best solution is to write a formal letter of complaint to your employer, telling them of their legal responsibilities and giving them a period, say 1 month, to make good the missing contributions (yours and theirs) plus the loss on investments. In the seemingly likely event that they do not reply or respond satisfactorily, raise the matter formally with the office of the Pensions Ombudsman via their website:

https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk

Note that the Pensions Ombudsman will not investigate a complaint until you have formally raised the matter with the employer and given them opportunity to respond.

The Pensions Ombudsman's team will formally investigate, come to a conclusion, and assuming in your favour will:

• direct the employer to make good the contributions deducted from your pay, plus their own contributions
• direct the employer to get the pensions provider to calculate the lost investment return and compel the employer to pay this as well
• make an award against the employer in your favour for what is called "Redress for nonfinancial injustice". Typically such awards are around £1000.

The Pensions Ombudsman's decisions have the force of law (he is the only ombudsman that has this legal power). Failure by the employer to comply with the Pensions Ombudsman's directions is a breach of law and the employer can be taken to the Courts to seek actions by the employer.

Note that the Pensions Ombudsman's services are entirely free. If you go to a solicitor then there will be fees to be paid by you (unnecessarily) and the Pensions Ombudsman will not award these fees to you as part of his directions.

And, to the person who says go to the police because this is fraud, this is incorrect. The employer's non action is not fraud but a civil matter, and it is the employer taking advantage of the funds available, technically called "unjust enrichment" by the employer.

You can visit the Pensions Ombudsman's website and read through quite a few of his determinations in similar circumstances like yours, all in favour of the employee.

R.

[POIDH]

^ while doing all that, also find a new job.

[The Leaper]

POIDH said:

^ while doing all that, also find a new job.

Yes, if he so wishes. And if the OP does leave his current employer, he can and should still go through the process I set out.

R.