Complaint summary

The customer has been trying to request part payment of the lump sum from her personal pension with

Friends Life. She said that they weren't able to process her request on the phone and they requested she

complete a form and send it back.

Complainant is unhappy with the business in regards to a pension plan, complainant is unhappy that business

are currently unable to issue him with the forms to allow complainant to take his retirement benefits as an

Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS).

Personal Pension dispute; [consumer]is unhappy Aviva Life is refusing to allow her to withdraw her funds

from her pension. Having been advised by the provider she has been ill-advised she has also discovered the

amount the business will top up the fund by will still not provide an adequate pension. She states she does

not understand why she has never been told this before now. She has been denied a cash lump sum under

the circumstances.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer cashed in her pension but she has still not received the payment.

The firm guaranteed a payment on a date and based on this, consumer had to borrow money from friends

and family. Consumer feels very let down by the firm.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy as he was wanting to take a lump sum from one of the pension

policies held with them. The business have ended up combining the 2 policies into one. Consumer feels the

business are using a loophole as by combining the policies it takes the policy value above £30,000 and this

means he has to get a financial adviser to sign a form to say he has received advice. This is proving to be

difficult as the advisers are not willing to sign the form.

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer wishes to make a draw down, however the firm will not allow

him to do this unless he engages the services of a Financial Advisor, which he has been unable to do.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy as she has a old group personal pension scheme which she was

looking to cash in. Consumer had set the retirement age of 50 and now she is approaching 50 the business

have said the new government legislation has meant she cannot take benefits until age 55. Consumer

disputes this. The government site consumer has been on says she can take the benefits.

Complaint regarding a personal pension. Consumer is unhappy as he has approached his provider to ask

them to provide an illustration showing what tax, fees are charges will be however they have refused to

provide this information until he actually draws down his pension and they will then do a post payment

illustration but they will not do a pre-payment illustration. He is therefore unable to make a decision

regarding how much to drawdown.

Maladministration of Personal Pension; [consumers] states he has been trying for some eight weeks to

obtain relevant claim forms from Friends Life regarding his pension however, he has not been able to get

these. Having made numerous calls he has been unsuccessful (having held for at least 40 minutes during one

call) despite assurances given by staff the forms had been sent to him.

The customer is unhappy with the delays - the business have not processed her payment of her personal

pension.

Complaint relates to firma failure to give consumer his lump sum pension. He was told t could take up to 3

weeks which has elapsed but now say they do not know what's happened to it.

Consumer contacted Scottish Widows Plc with details of transferring his pension builder policy from

Equitable Life. The consumer says the firm appears to have an inflexible rule that all transfers have to be

supported by financial advise. The consumer feels this is unreasonable and does not take into account the

experience of the person making the transfer.

Consumer wants to take out the cash lump sum of his pension. B will not let him unless he gets advice from

an IFA first. He has been to two IFA's who will not advise him due to the fact that the FCA is still looking at

new pension guidance on IFA advice.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The pension is due to be drawn down in July. He has sent of the

relevant documents and information to the firm, but to date they have not replied.

Consumer's complaint is that he wanted to take his pension out but there was a clause in there that says that

he is not allowed to because he has a guaranteed minimum pension written into the policy. This does not

allow him to take cash. He wasn't told this at the time he took out.

The customer is unhappy with the delays he's experiencing with Prudential. He said he wanted to invest the

money in a government bond but the payment hasn't been made yet - so he's missed the deadline and is

having financial difficulties.

Relates to pension. Complainant unhappy with firms handling of Cash in request, where funds agreed have

not been paid.

The consumer is unhappy that when he contacted the firm to cash in his pension there was a delay in them

responding. He has told on multiple occasions his pension will be paid but the date is continually being put

back (the latest 19 June 2015). He has always had to chase the firm himself and has been kept holding on an

0845 number.

Complaint relates to firms interpretation of the rule that any whole pension lump sum taken over £30,000

consumer has to have been signed off by an IFA as haven advised the consumer, His pension is £21,000 but

firm say as its potential is worth higher than £30,000 so rule applies, Pensions Advisory and other IFAs have

disagreed.

Complaint relates to consumers pension. The fund is worth approx £33,000 and he wants to take the full

amount as a lump sum. Prudential will not allow him to do this until he has sought independent financial

advice and had the "Appropriate Advice Declaration" form signed by the independent advisor. The consumer

is unhappy as he has tried to obtain financial advice but no one will give him advice. Prudential are refusing

to allow him to withdraw the funds in the meantime.

The customer is unhappy that he he was told he could not take a lump sum. The customer said due the

current legislation he thought he could take a lump sum out of his pension and was not offered a choice

about the type of pension he could have.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer requested if he could defer the payments however, he did not

receive any response. Consumer was looking to withdraw a lump sum and the firm later requested

numerous amounts of personal information and documents which he disputed as it was not a legal

requirement. Consumer sent the necessary information however, he is still having difficulty receiving the

funds. Consumer has received poor service from the business.

Complaint regarding large delays in taking benefits from an occupational pension as a lump sum under the

new legislation

The consumer is unhappy with the firm's administration of their pension. The consumer wishes to withdraw

£25% of their pension, withdraw a further taxable £10,000 and sell the rest of their units and transfer the

money to a retirement account. The firm initially said this would be done within 10-15 working days, but this

has not been the case. The consumer has tried to find out what has happened to their money but the firm

has been unable to explain where this is.

Relates to several problems experienced when attempting to withdraw funds from my personal pension. I

have been given misleading/conflicting information every time I call Friends Life Limited. They have issued

me another 'risk assessment' which is just adding tot he delays.

Unhappy that he is unable to cash in his pension pot without a signature from an IFA. Consumer is struggling

to get an IFA from the websites & most do not want get involved for the liability aspects. He has also

received conflicting information that a signature is not required. This is now becoming too much for him to

find an IFA who will offer their services.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant is unhappy with the service she has

received has from the firm, when trying to en-cash her pension policy. Complainant has sent off the

documents requested and was advised she would receive her payment within seven days. However they

have now asked for a copy of her passport.

[consumer] feels that Abbey Life have not calculated her tax correctly on the AVC's that she has taken as a

lump sum. She is a basic rate tax payer and currently isn't paying tax at all because she is below the

minimum.

The customer said that they asked to take money from their personal pension and were told they could not

because they had an annuity. The customer said they did not know what an annuity was.

[consumer] is unhappy that she has had to wait some time since she applied to drawdown £7000 under the

new pension rules from her personal pension. She is unhappy that she continually calls and gets told a

different timescale.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer surrendered her policy and expected to receive her payment 5

days later but she has still not received the payment. Consumer feels she has been treated unfairly as she

has been given different dates for the payment to be made.

The customer is unhappy with the time it's taking for a lump sum payment of his pension being made.

Concerns are raised over service and information that is being given to her. Having made the move to cash in

her small pension, she was categorically told it was be dealt with on the Monday. She has waited patiently to

for payment

Consumer has a AVC pension with prudential. He wanted to take the 25% out and they have said that they

do not deal with individuals and that he should contact an IFA. He feels that they will take some of his money

and that he does not need their help. He only want s to take out the government allowed 25 %

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy with the advice given to her. This is because she was led to

believe she could take her pension out and filled in all the forms. Consumer has now been told she cannot

take her pension out by the provider as the adviser is not registered.

Relates to this firm not en-cashing my pension as per my instruction. I have told them I know I have to pay

the tax but they will not do what I have told them to.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer has tried to withdraw the full funds from his pension but is having

difficulties doing this. Consumer has contacted the firm on numerous occasions to have a form sent to him

to claim his monies which has still not been received.

Consumer has a pension with Abbey Life which she has been trying to get released since April, the firm

confirmed receipt of the forms but to date the consumer has not received the funds. The consumer is just

being given one deadline after another which the firm is failing to meet.

Consumer is trying to claim her pension, but business is messing her around. Business state that she has

provided incorrect sort code of her account and are now asking that she fill out all of the necessary forms

again. Consumer has to wait half an hour each time she calls

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer has requested the cash out pack but there has been

significant delays in receiving this. Once he finally received his forms, they requested his bank details. He

supplied his mortgage account information so the payments can be put straight into his account. The

consumer has re confirmed this with them which they said would be fine. However it transpired that this was

not possible and he has incurred further costs as a result of this.

Complaint relates to his pension. Consumer completed the forms to enable him to withdraw the funds from

his pension. The consumer was advised he would receive the monies on the 18/05 however, the firm has

still not sent the funds. The consumer is unhappy with the customer service from the firm as he has been

promised call backs and that the monies has been sent twice which has not been received.

Had a small pension pot with Aviva. recently was in need of some funds, with new legislation (Crystalite

plan), she cannot take any funds from it, needs to speak to IFA who [name removed]in Nottingham they will

be able to take it to another pot from which she could draw down. Was told they will not do it now. They

now say they do not want to get involved in this type of advise.

Consumers complaint relates to the service received from the firm. Complainant states he was promised a

call back to discuss the the pension options and the implications. Complainants states ha number of called

back were arranged but when call back were made the individuals were not able to help.

Complaint relates to a stakeholder pension plan. Customer wishes to take pension as an account that he can

draw money from when he wants. He believes this is in the pension rules but HSBC are refusing to give him

this option.

Firm has failed to reply to requests made since April to arrange for payment from the pension pot. They have

also failed to follow up on the complaint lodged in May

The customer requested for his entire pension to be paid to him as a lump sum- £16000.00. The company

informed him it would be in his bank account on 6/06/15. It did not arrive and he was then told 15/06/15.He

was then told the funds would be in the account on 10/06/15 To date the money has not been received from

the company.

[consumer] is unhappy that his pension company have told him he must seek advice from an IFA before they

will allow him to drawdown his pension. He has been told by Court that he must drawdown the pension

because he is in the middle of divorcing his wife. The pension is a workplace pension.

he was told he could have a 25% tax free lump sum and would send him the forms. So they promised now a

25% but you must take an annuity which he doesn’t want to do he contacted them a number of times but it

appears B does not want to explain why it will not let him leave the rest in the pension pot.

The consumer is unhappy with the response to his complaint relating to his pension withdrawal. The firm

delayed sending out forms until 11/5/15 saying [consumer] had not taken financial advice when he had. This

situation created problems which caused stress and inconvenience. The consumer is self-employed and the

stress may have contributed to his health issues which are now preventing him from working.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer has made the request to surrender his pension

policy. However there has been significant delays in this being processed and they have given no

explanation.

Firm had initially failed to send the forms necessary to pay the funds due after request to close the pension &

cash it in. Was initially advised that the process would be completed within 30 days

The customer has been trying to get in touch with the business about the release of his pension. The

customer said he was promised that his funds would be released twice but this has not happened. He said he

tried to speak to a manager but was told he could not.

Consumer has been trying to get her pension as a lump sum. She's been told that she can't have access to

the funds without a valid passport. She has already sent 3 utility bills which have been certified by her bank.

I have been trying daily to reach someone on the Retirement Line but after hanging on the telephone for

nearly 2 hours have given up. I was assured by your staff on the Helpline that I still would be able to access

my money when the pension

reform was introduced. I now find out that I am locked into the annuities and cannot access the funds to my

pension. I do feel that I have been mis-sold annuities by Standard Life.

Complaint regarding delays in paying her TFC from her occupational pension scheme, she has applied due to

the changes in the pension legislation

The customer is unhappy with Aviva because they have delayed paying out on a PPP/investment plan of

£108,000. Unhappy with customer service.

I have been trying since 07 April 2015 to close down and withdraw my retirement fund with Friends Life.

They have constantly given me misleading information, made false promises, and failed to deliver on

promised dates.

Complaint relates to a pension application for three policies of which the consumer is unhappy that the firm

have failed to make the payment as requested. The firm say they will call to discuss the request, but have

failed to keep the appointments missing six, so far.

Complainant is unhappy that firm have failed to execute his pension encashment request. Complainant

believes the firm is being difficult and obstructive.

Firm advised the customer that he could take the benefit of funds from his pension at the age of 55. He was

also told this during a telephone conversation with them on 15-05-2015 so he requested the funds so that

his wife could stop doing 2 jobs out of 3. He is now told that he cannot take the benefits out until the age of

60.

Mr W is unhappy that B will not allow him to take a lump sum from his pension fund. Mr W wishes to

withdraw the money in order to repay a small mortgage he has. Mr W is aware that the pension rules have

recently changed, so he wants to know whether he can now make the withdrawal.

Complainant is unhappy with the business in regards to a personal pension. complainant requested for the

funds to be put into the his account. however business has caused great delays and has past complainant

from pillar top post. business has continued to provide incorrect information in relation o the date of when

the funds will be available. complainant has received poor service from the business. this has caused

complainant to incur financial loss.

Complaint relates to a pension of which the consumer is unhappy that the firm have failed to pay the money

by 27 may 2015. The customer has complained about delays and customer service. He said he spent 500

Hong Kong dollars trying to call the business. The sent a cheque for £50 but he wasn't able to cash this as it

was addressed to the wrong person.

Complaint regarding delays in drawing benefits from her pensions under they new pension legislation

the £50 offered has not been paid into my account, the pension monies have not been paid and this is

causing us financial difficulties at a time when my wife is facing medical issues. I was promised the monies

and I am now unable to my mortgage.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant rung the company to cash in their

pension and asked for it to be send quickly because they are leaving the country. They finally received the

pack 20 days later, they called the company to see whether they received all the information, for them to say

that the the need a form filled out, they said they were leaving the county and they could fax it over. Now

they send they could not received the fax. The form was send again.

Relates to Personal Pension. Complainant unhappy with firms handling of pension, where he was expecting a

pension payout, which has not yet be arranged. Firm had agreed to this previously, but since the date

payment was due, have not done this. Firm have quoted different things to the complainant which he feels

has been them mislaying him and providing mis-information.

The consumer provided all paperwork requested in order to receive a pay out from his pension, but he has

not as yet received the money. They continually move the date further and further back.

Complaint regarding problems/delays in drawing benefits from his pension funds, appears they have not

asked him to complete all necessary forms for all policies

Consumer contacted the firm in order to take advantage of the 25% cash lump sum as he was 55. The firm

advised this would be no problem and a form would be sent to him. As he had not received the form he

contacted them again to be told they had changed the rules and no longer offered the lump sum at this age.

The consumer is unhappy as he requested this before the date of the rule change.

Contacted pension provider and asked how much could be withdrawn from the fund without incurring tax.

Was told that would be able to withdraw around £4,097 and would be able to continue contributions into

the pension. After returning from holiday, contacted company again to sort it out. Was then advised that this

was not possible. Unhappy that has been given conflicting information.

The consumer is unhappy with the firm calculation of their pension lump sum payout. The consumer feels

this should be more.

The Chancellor George Osborne said pensioners will have complete freedom to draw down as much or as

little of their pension pot as they want anytime they want. I am now being told that value of the policy being

£80,369.15 but I am unable to withdraw

Complaint relates to a pension of which the consumer is unhappy that he is unable to withdraw the funds as

the firm have stated the policy is a closed policy. The firm have said he is able to transfer the policy, but with

huge costs. The consumer feels that the firm are not managing the policy in his best interest and feels it is

unfair that he is unable to take his money when he wants to.

Consumer needed some funds and contacted her pension provider, to see if they could release any funds,

she was unaware of the changes to the pension legislation, but they confirmed she could and started the

process. She wanted the money by the end of April, payment initially appeared to be delayed, so she

borrowed some money in the short term, the application has now been declined as she is not yet 55

Consumer is unhappy that he has not received his cheque for his pension. States that the business has told

him on three occasions that the cheque will be sent

Mrs H has two pensions. One she was able to cash in with no problems but the other remains outstanding.

She has been dealing with the matter since 8 April 2015 - B advised documents (including a cheque) had

been sent to Mrs H's old address. On 19 May 2015 payment was made via BACs but a cheque was sent to the

old address. Mrs H was supposed to receive her P45 but this has not been received.

Relates to issues regarding [consumer's] personal pension. [Consumer] turned 55 on 1 May 2015 and

received letters from Prudential about drawing on pension. It was decided a cash lump sum would be taken -

it was advised the money would be with him no later than 9 June 2015. The money has still not been paid

and it's transpired Prudential altered the payment schedule.

Complaint relates to the firm failing to release the consumers pension fund to him after he opted to cash it

in. The firm sent him a letter confirming the withdrawal has been completed but the money was never

transferred,

Complainant applied for his pension when he turned 55. He is unhappy with the delays and lack of

information from the firm. He has been told every week over the last month that his funds had been release

( a cheque was send) but has not received his funds.

Unhappy that he is unable to access his stakeholder pension funds. Consumer was given the option to

withdraw the funds & completed the initial paperwork & returned this. However since 30/03/2015 he has

not been able to access the funds & has been given the run around.

Complaint relates to the length of time it has taken for the firm to transfer the consumers pension to him

after he decided to cash it in. He was told it would take 37 days but now he has been told it will be a further

28 days.

Consumer is very unhappy with the way that the business have dealt with her pension after she was led to

believe that she could take her pension proceeds at age 60 without penalty. However she has now

discovered that this isn't the case.

Complaint regarding problems with drawing money from his pension plan, they refused to allow this without

Independent Financial Advice, then has paid a IFA a fee for this, and documentation completed, but they are

still refusing to allow this to happen

Unhappy with problems experienced in cashing in a pension. As complainant was made bankrupt in 2005,

company advised that they needed a letter from the insolvency service confirming that the pension was

exempt from the bankruptcy. This had already been sent. Company has also failed to communicate

effectively. Asked to be contacted on mobile to arrange the release of funds. Company instead called the

landline.

Complaint relates to the firm refusing to let the consumer withdraw his pension as per the new government

rules. The firm have advised the C that they have not received anything from the government to say these

are the new rules so will not let the consumer take it out.

Customer is cashing in his pension. Customer is unhappy with the length of time taking to get the money

from the pension.

Firm has failed to complete request made in April concerning the payment of proceeds under the pension

policy.

Has been unable to contact the business concerning the release of funds. Has been trying to make contact

for over 3 weeks.

Complaint regarding mis-advised on pension. Complainant was not given the correct advised on pension

legislation. She was given the old information and not the correct new legislation , so she was unaware that

it was her last chance to transfer her pension to her employee.

Requirement for advice

since New Legislation from the government he sought to pre-empt and make the business aware that he

wanted a drawdown facility on his pension. He requested these documents around about the end of March

he didn't receive the documents despite being told he would do with 14 days. He called to chase the docs up

and again was told it would be another 10 days after which still no documents came. The document's

eventually came in first week of June but were incomplete as he needed the risk form for the IFA to

complete.

Consumer has a small pension with L&G and has called the firm to get access to the funds. The consumer

says he has been told that they have sent forms on several occasion but he has received nothing. The

consumer says that he has sent forms back to the firm but they are unable to give him clear answers on

when the funds will be released. The consumer says he has been left on hold countless times and all he has

been told is that they have no information for him.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. Consumer cashed her pension with Phoenix life but had difficulty

making the arrangements. Consumer disputes the delays when receiving the funds and disputes the amount

received as the pension was roughly £400 less than what was expected. Firm were requesting numerous

documents which the consumer feels were unnecessary,

Consumer is unhappy with delays in receiving their full pension fund as a cash lump sum

I have been informed that I am unable to take my tax free commutation or any other funds from my pension

funds without seeking the advice of a financial advisor, for which I will have to pay fees. I object to paying for

such advice.

Consumer has been trying to speak to the business to talk to them about what forms need to be completed

to access his pension as a lump sum. He's been trying to do this for a while and is kept on hold for up to an

hour.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. Consumer withdrew a lump sum from the pension and later

become aware the remaining funds have been placed in to a new pension. The consumer is unhappy the

firm did not make him aware the monies were placed in to a new contract.

consumer is unhappy that the business have delayed in cashing in his lump sum pension. The value of the

pension has now decreased.

friends life, wanted to access funds, would take 10 days, then advised would take 30 days, 11/04

Complaint relates to a pension, of which the consumer has requested to receive a lump sum, but is unhappy

with the delays by the firm.

Complaint relates to firm delaying in paying put the lump sum on consumer's pension. They initially told

consumer that it would be transferred to them and in the account next day then 10 to 20 days but have now

stated that it is 30 days. Consumer is very unhappy with this

Complaint relates to cashing in on a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy that having requested his

funds the business have told him they will do this however are yet to do so. The consumer is unhappy that

they have not paid the funds into his account.

[consumer] is unhappy that he still hasn't received the funds from the pension fund he has cashed in. He says

he has been waiting four months.

Complaint regarding delays in accessing his pension benefits after applying in April under the new pension

legislation

Relates to pension. Complainant unhappy with firms arranging of payment of his pension pot, where there

have been delays with firm in arranging this. This has affected his pension pot, meaning funds have been lost

in this delay.

Complaint relates to firm not following consumer's instructions 15/05/15 to pay out a lump sum and have

placed the pension into an annuity. Firm deny receiving the letter. Consumer is having great difficulty trying

to contact them and this is leaving him in financial hardship. Consumer is retired and dependent on this

money. Firm resent the forms but when consumer returned them they stated it had been placed in an

annuity.

requested the documents needed to cash in my AVC lump sum. I was told that these would take 7-10

working days to process. On a subsequent conversation, I was told it could be 3 wks, with a further two wks

to process. Today, 10 wks later nothing.

Complaint relates to firm delaying in paying consumer's pension in a lump sum. Firm stated it would be paid

by the 23/06/15 but have now stated that it will be 01/07/15. Consumer is concerned as requires the money

urgently as he was diagnosed with cancer, has chronic kidney failure and requires the money to enjoy the

time he and his wife have left.

The consumer is unhappy with the delay in providing a payment from her pension. The consumer’s sister is ill

and she needs this to travel to be with her. She also needs some time off to look after her brother who had a

stroke and she needs this money in order to do this.

The consumer requested a lump sum from their pension. Initially the firm sent a letter advising of the

balance, then requested the consumer take financial advice (Which he did) then advised him of the balance

of his pension again. The consumer's now discovered that his pension was trustee based and they can't do

anything until the trustees released the money. This situation is causing the consumer financial difficulty.

Complainant asserts that firm have not yet paid proceeds of AVC (held with Scottish Widows). Firm have

advised that trustees are waiting to make a decision on payment.

Complaint relates to the firm failing to send the consumer her funds after she opted to withdraw her pension

fund. She was told she would have it within 8 weeks. When this didn't happen she called the firm and they

advised a further 7 days. Now the consumer still does not have her money and has been told that they

should never have promised her the money as they have until 08th July 2015 to get the money to her

Complaint relates to the handling of their pension by Prudential regarding delay with funds being released.

Consumer has sent them all requested information and has been waiting since March. Prudential have told

them that a cheque would be out to

Consumer has prudential pension wanted to cash in, filled in paperwork and send out, was advised money

would be going into the account by end of one working day, the money is still not credit into the account,

there was maladministration and delay in the process.

Consumer is unhappy that Sun Life Financial of Canada will not allow her to draw a lump sum from her

personal pension because she does not want to get ongoing financial advice.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with the service he has received from the

business. He has been trying to contact them to discuss his pension withdrawal but is not able to get through

to anyone. None of the phone lines work and he has not been able to speak to and advisor.

Complaint relates to a pension of which the consumer wanted to take a lump sum amount of £5,700, and

was told he could do this after 6/04/2015. He was set up with online access, but then was unable to take the

required amount. The firm have now said he cannot do this without changing his pension at a fee of £500.

Had he have been told this earlier, he would have had other options.

Unhappy with the delay in dealing with request to withdraw pension as a cash lump sum. Was told that the

application would be processed by 18/6. Company is now stating that it will take longer.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to his pension. The customer has requested his lump sum

for the pension but the firm have not issued the money and keep stating that the are processing it.

Maladministration of Personal Pension Plan; [consumer] is very unhappy Abbey Life has failed to release

funds despite assurances given it would initially take around 2 weeks. Having subsequently had to chase this

he has since been told he can be given no anticipated date as to when the funds will be released. He finds

this very unfair and has been given no further assurance (he feels he has been left stranded).

Consumer is unhappy with the delays in releasing the AVC portion of his occupational pension. The original

request was made in April but he has heard nothing back form the firm and feels he is being fobbed off.

The consumer has asked for a lump sum from his pension. He was told it would take 10 days. However, this

has been ongoing since 6.4.15. Almost 3 months later this has not been received. He needs this money

urgently and the matter is putting him in financial hardship.

Complaint relates to delays [consumer] has experienced in cashing his pension. He first approached Fiend's

Life in April and was initially told the process would take 2/3 weeks. However this timeframe has been

subsequently set back several occasions.

Complaint regarding delays in being able to draw benefits from his pension plans with Prudential, following

the changes to pension legislation

Complaint regarding difficulties in drawing benefits from his pension plans, he wishes to draw the benefits as

a lump sum, but CIS are saying it must be taken as an annuity

This complaint relates to the consumers pension. He has tried to withdraw his full amount following the

pension changes but the firm has advised him he cannot withdraw the money as it is invested until the

consumer is 65. The consumer did give the firm his permission to invest in 4 companies 5 years ago but at no

point did he state they can invest his money until he is 65 years of age.

Unhappy with the delay in cashing in pension. Company has already missed 3 deadlines to send the funds.

Has no other income at present and is incurring bank charges. Has cars in storage and these will be

potentially crushed if complainant is unable to make a payment soon.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension product provider has not processed his request to pay out his

pension to him in full in a timely manner. The customer is incensed that they have kept on failing to keep

their word missing promised payment dates on several occasions causing him severe inconveniences. The

customer ultimately feels that he has been misled, ignored and mistreated.

Customer has a personal pension of around £20k and requested to cash it with Legal & General. The

customer has sent back the application forms the firm has sent him but they keep requesting further

information and they have still not released the funds.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the customer lump sum payment for their pension. The

firm seem to have said that they are sending the payment to the issuing firm but this payment has not been

received.

Complaint regarding problems with his pensions policy, he has applied to draw benefits as a lump sump, due

to changes in pension legislation, there are delays due to non receipt of a risk form and further

administration delays

Consumer is unhappy as despite requesting company pay him the full amount of his pension they have still

not paid the pension. Consumer is unhappy at fact pension has not been paid and has raised as a complaint.

Consumer is unhappy about the business not issuing him with the £20,000 he is entitled too from his

pension. The business refuse to give the consumer his funds and, will not start the process of 29 days from

when he first contacted them in regards to the issue but instead from a later date, which means the

consumer would have to go without funds for a longer pension of time.

C has Section 32 and has been told that he would have to transfer to take benefits as a lump sum and would

need to get advice before he could do that.

Customer unhappy that business made an error in taxing amount payable to him - customer had prior

financial commitments that needed to be dealt with.

Customer unhappy that in April he was advised that it would take 2 weeks for him to receive his cash lump

sum, to date money has not gone into his account.

The consumer is unhappy with the delay and customer service he's received when re requested a lump sum

from his pension.

Consumer is unhappy about the business continuously saying they will put his pension into his account.

Which has been said on three occasions. The consumer is unhappy that the business have still not done as

promised and is now causing consumer to struggle due to know payments.

Unhappy with the administration & delays re request to make payments from the pension

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer unhappy that he wants to cash his pension but the firm have said

he has to appoint a financial adviser first. Consumer feels this is unfair.

C has been trying to cash in his pension and is unhappy about the delays and administrative issues with trying

to get this small cash pot. The wrong forms were sent to him and then the forms were returned as he did not

put this in capitals

This complaint relates to the firm failing to action the consumers request following the pension changes in

April

Consumer is unhappy that the business has advised them that a significant amount of money has already

been paid out on their pension which they have not received

Has a pension with Royal London. Wishes to drawn down the full amount. Because of this they have stated

he must get a financial advisor to sign a confirmation to say he has had advise on this. He knows what he is

doing and this is the way he wants to do it, he is 65 today and they wont pay it unless the form is signed.

Has already spoken to TPAS who told him to find his own advisor but no advisor will sign it. Feel he is being

treated unfairly.

Complainant is not happy he has not been able to contact company to log a compensation claim.

Complaint relates to the customer's pension release.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. Consumer has attempted to take a drawdown under the new rules

however the business are stating that she cannot do this

Complaint relates to a pension plan and firms failure to make payments and refusal to allow the complainant

to withdraw under Pension freedoms.

Complaint relates to the handling of their personal pension regarding delay received cash lump sum

payment. Consumer has been waiting since 13.05.15. Consumer has only been told during conversation on

29.0615 that they have a 33 working day timescale

The consumer tried to cash in his pension with the firm and they sent him an information pack in May. The

consumer completed the forms and returned them but when he called for an update they advised he had

not completed a Risk Warning Doc. They did not send the consumer one of these initially but sent him

another. When he returned it he was told he would have his money in 20 days. He has called again and now

they are saying 40 days. The C has put a deposit down on a motorbike which he will lose.

Plan to retire in March 2015 and call provider prior to this date for information on draw down options. Given

incorrect information on tax liability. When I called in April 2015 delay in accessing the funds during which

time I lost an investment and job opportunity. Firm still calculation the fund and I have not received the 25%

drawn down

Consumer is unhappy the business are not allowing him to access his pension. Consumer explained he was

made bankrupt in April 2014, his wife was diagnosed with cancer June 2014 and later passed away in January

2015. Consumer used all his savings for the funeral and other day to day bills. He would like the case rectified

as he is not struggling financially due to Aviva not releasing the funds.

Consumer is complaining about the business delaying in sending her a cheque for cashing in her personal

pensions.

Relates to Personal Pension. Complainant is unhappy with firms delays in paying out, where he applied to get

this payout.

This complaint relates to the delay the consumer has experienced in cashing in his pension. He requested it

on April 5th and they have still not transferred the consumer his money.

Complaint regarding problems with an application to draw benefits under the new pension rules, but on the

grounds of Ill Health (Age 48) they have been giving various dates of when payment would be paid, but now

they are saying it may not be paid at all

Complaint relates to ongoing delays [consumer] has experienced in trying to withdraw 25% of her pension as

a lump sum. She has been attempting to withdraw the funds since 6 May. The firm are not able to tell her

where her money is at this stage or when she is likely to receive it.

The consumer is unhappy with the administration of her pension and the service provided by firm. The

consumer wished to cash in their pension. The firm initially sent the consumer the wrong form for this, The

consumer eventually received the correct form and completed it and returned it the the firm. Since this time

the consumer has not had any progress updates from the firm. The consumer cannot contact the firm via

phone.

Complaint relates to the handling of their personal pension regarding delay received cash lump sum

payment. Consumer has been waiting since 13.05.15. Consumer has only been told during conversation on

29.0615 that they have a 33 working day

The consumer tried to cash in his pension with the firm and they sent him an information pack in May. The

consumer completed the forms and returned them but when he called for an update they advised he had

not completed a Risk Warning Doc. They did not send the consumer one of these initially but sent him

another. When he returned it he was told he would have his money in 20 days. He has called again and now

they are saying 40 days. The C has put a deposit down on a motorbike which he will lose.

Husband drew from pension put, did this before April but informed them since things changed that they

wanted to draw full amount but not its dropped by a lot. Lost around £1100.00. Offered a £50.00 for the

phone calls but still not happy since all their paperwork stated one amount but now it's lower. Told reason is

claim started on 6th of march & on the 9th of march there was a new bonus declaration, but no mention of

this before only when they called a few days before drawdown.

Plan to retire in March 2015 and call provider prior to this date for information on draw down options. Given

incorrect information on tax liability. When I called in April 2015 delay in accessing the funds during which

time I lost an investment and job opportunity. Firm still calculation the fund and I have not received the 25%

drawn down

The customer is unhappy that the business has failed to provide him with the correct forms so that he can

claim his pension. He's told me that they've sent incorrect forms with a £0 balance which he feels is

inaccurate.

Unhappy be informed that the firm has no system in place to implement FLEXIBLE DRAWDOWNS and that if

I now required flexible access to the funds in my pension schemes u I would need to transfer such to an

alternative provider

I am 55 and wish to withdraw 25% of my pension. I have asked Friends life how I do this and they have

replied they are not in the scheme and will not give me 25%. They have said I can close the account and take

100% and pay tax or change companies

Complaint relates to a personal pension. Consumer is unhappy as she wrote to the provider in May to state

she wanted to drawdown the full fund and would be stopping her payments but no reply was received. She

then received a letter in June regarding her payments being cancelled so she wrote to them again explaining

she desperately needed the £32k pension fund and had previously requested this but again no reply has

been received.

Consumer had a pension with Co-operative which was transferred to the Royal London. Consumer asked for

the draw down option in April, where the business informed him the documents were not ready, but assured

the consumer all correspondence would be ready by mid May then again in June. Consumer is unhappy the

company have still not given him his drawdown documents.

The customer has been unable to access his pension as a cash lump sum under the new rules. He feels that

the company keep putting him off.

Complaint relates to a Section 32 Transfer Plan. Told they could not cash in the policy, was given wrong

dates more than twice for when they can start taking the benefits, and was told that Aviva's legal team

would investigate . Now told cant be done until 60.

The consumer contacted the firm to request funds from her pension. 3 months later she still has not received

the money and every time she tries to contact them she does not get a response. When she calls, she has to

hold for over an hour and so usually she has to hang up before she gets through to anyone. She is losing

interest during this time.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with the mis information and service

provided by the firm in relation to drawing on his pension. There were delays in sending paperwork and

commitments had been made on [consumer] expecting his funds on a certain date. They received all the

paperwork they required but again the funds were delayed in being transferred to his account.

I am trying to get Friends Life to pay out my trivial cash sum of £1192 which I applied for on 5/4/15 . I have

telephoned 6 times since then, each time being assured they will look into it and to date am still waiting.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer requested to cash in a lump sum however, he has not received

the monies due to the firm's delays and inefficiency. The firm provided the submission forms more than a

month after the request but agreed they made an error and offered compensation. The consumer disputes

the firm's response due to the delays caused by no fault of his own.

Complaint relates to the delays with the pension provider releasing the pension funds. The process was

started on the 6 April and the business keep promising that the pension will be transferred however they

have missed 2 dates where they said this would have happened

I have completed a claims form 4 times for payment and yet they continue sending me letters asking me how

I would like to claim. When I try calling them no-one is available or their phone system just cuts you off. I am

absolutely disgusted

Complaint regarding the consumer requesting a 25% drawdown on his pension. He has been trying to get the

funds for over 6 weeks and the firm keep giving him different dates as to when the funds will be available. He

has been given a complaint ref - 9192338 and is still waiting, he has not been given a reasonable explanation

as to why there is such a delay.

Complaint in relation to firm paying the consumer her full pension incorrectly. The firm paid out the amount

in May 2014 but later come back to advise they should not have done this as she had more than 30K in other

sources - however this information had been given previously so they were aware when they made the

payment. At this stage she had already used the funds to repay a mortgage. She has now repaid the amount

and is unhappy with the amount of time its taking to rearrange the pension etc.

Consumer took out a pension approximately 18 months ago. She has not tried to cancel it with the firm but

they will not cancel it.

Relates to Zurich's failure to issue me details in writing of my pension right due under the new government

rules of April 2015. My pension fund had been moved from First Bus Group to Zurich however I was not

informed of this.

Complainant is unhappy that despite reaching retirement age, he is unable to access his pension with his

pension provider. The customer is also unhappy that his pension provider has not processed any of his

requests in a timely manner causing him to suffer consequential loss. The customer ultimately believes that

he has been ignored and mistreated.

Complaint relates to the firm failing to action the consumers request to withdraw his pension. They have

now advised he cannot get his pension money until his retirement date of the 5th August 2015.

Personal Pension dispute: [consumer] is unhappy he has been unable to obtain a cash lump sum (£4,800)

from Friends Life. The matter has been ongoing since 18 March 2015 after he received a retirement options

pack. The option for encashment was not received in the pack and subsequently he wrongfully received a

lifetime annuity form and had to call again to receive another replacement form. He has since made several

calls but has been told it will still take additional time to process.

Complaint relates to delays [consumer] is experiencing in withdrawing her pension funds. She sent off the

documents which were received by Prudential on the 18th of May. Since then she has been told 4 different

dates as to when she can expect the funds.

Contacted pension provider to drawdown full amounts . Keep getting put back and puck back and feel that

the firm are deliberately being difficult and delaying. Because of a simple error on the form and the fact the

form is difficult to understand that they have now had to send back and now told their case is at the back of l

the line and will take 40 day to look at. Feels this is unacceptable and firm are being unfair.

[consumer] complains that Friend Life have ignored repeated calls over a 3 month period, which they

acknowledge they ignored or stalled, regarding his repeated request for partial withdrawal and flexi access

drawdown. He is unhappy that Friends Life are admitting they are unable to provide him with partial

withdrawal/flexi access drawdown at this time & expect some of these services may be available later this

year but unable to provide more precise timescales.

Complaint regarding the consumer wanting to cash in her pension and the firm are requesting 50% of the

value for cashing the policy in.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer unhappy that the firm breached data protection by sending

documents belonging to a 3rd party to her. Consumer unhappy that the firm have not sent her a form so that

she can cash in her pension. The firm have also said she did not fill the form to advise she has contacted a

financial advisor. Consumer unhappy with the level of service she has received from the firm.

Complaint regarding his personal pension, he wanted to take his lump sum out and and requested this back

in March, however this has still not been done. He ha raised a complaint but is not happy with their

response. They have not answered his questions.

Complaint relates to the advice given to the consumer by the business regarding her private pension. She

wanted to take out a lump sum but was told that she could not do so as the information she was given was

incorrect. Eventually she received a letter dated 18/06/2015 to say that she would receive the 25% tax free

lump sum she requested within 5 working days which did not happen and the business could not trace this

payment.

Complainant is unhappy that despite providing the relevant forms to his pension provider, they have not

released the money requested in a timely manner. The customer is also unhappy that he has received

assurances from the company but the none of the assurances, to date, has been met. The customer

ultimately believes that he has been ignored and mistreated.

Consumer is unhappy with delays in drawing down their pensions and the lack of communication received

from the business following their application for these drawdowns

The customer said he is concerned about the delays in getting their lump sum under the new legislation. The

customer said he's tried to get an update about this but hasn't been able to get any information.

Complainant asserts that firm misadvised him into believing he would be able to take his pension, which

subsequently transpired not to be the case. He had arranged to use the funds elsewhere in the meantime.

The consumer's complaint relates to Aegon not allowing him to take a lump sum to invest the funds in a flexi

cash plan. Their criteria is they require an individual to receive financial advice before taking this product.

The consumer is not happy with this as he is financially aware and is a retired IFA.

Consumer feels that the firm have given him the run around via his financial advisor regarding the

information about withdrawing his pension under the new pension changes.

Pension Maker - The consumer has not been provided with information about his pension. He wants to know

what his pay out value is. How they have arrived at that figure, whether they have applied tax, if so how

much and at what rate. The firm initially told him the value was £15,000, but they have paid £13,000.

The consumer's complaint relates to his pension provider not allowing him to cash in his pension.

Complaint relates to a pension with Zurich. The consumer has tried to draw the pension since March 2015

and has phoned the firm on numerous occasions to change address and name. The consumer keeps being

fobbed off by the firm and has still not received the funds.

Consumer is unhappy that the business has not yet released their pension funds under the pension freedoms

regulations and feels that the delays are unreasonable.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with the delays for drawing on her

pension. She has contacted them numerous times and has been given different timescales each time she has

spoken with them. The timescales are getting longer and longer on each phone call.

Relates to issues regarding [consumer's] Personal Pension Scheme No.1. [consumer] has requested to cash in

the pot, the value of this is around £2,700. There hasn't been any money paid into this for some time now

and he could do with making use of this money. Timescales for receiving the money were given - this was

initially 21 working days, it's since increased to around 41 working days.

Customer requested the value of his pension and the amount seemed to have decreased. He was advised

that he is able to cash it n until November so he requested the forms to redeem it. He then received another

call saying another policy had been located and he agreed to cash that also. He wanted to buy a canal boat

so he put a deposit down but then received a letter from the firm saying he could no longer cash the pension

at this point.

The consumer is unhappy that he has been trying since mid May 2015 to cash in his pension, however he has

still not received his money. He has been told that he can do a bank transfer but this would take three days

which he was unhappy with. He was also told that they could do a 24 hour transfer but they would charge.

He did not go with either option. The consumer feels the business are creating obstacles where they

shouldn't be.

The firm have failed to action the consumers requests to cash her pension. The consumer has cancer and

was no longer able to work and decided to cash her pensions under the ill health act. The C has still not

received their money despite making request on 10 March. She has requested encashment 4 times and

although the firm have promised the money, it has never been transferred. The consumer is finding this

situation extremely difficult to deal with and the family are struggling financially

Complaint relating to pension freedom.

Complaint relates to a corporate pension. Consumer applied for a lump sum by providing documents and

certificates which the firm lost including birth certificate and marriage certificate. The consumer has been

offered £100 which she disputes and is now concerned about her identity.

Complaint about drawn down of allowed 25% tax free. Made initial request 15 April 2015. Have received no

written response but have been advised over the phone that the drawn down is not allowed and not given

any reason

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with the delays to withdrawing his

pension pot. He has completed the forms they have requested and they confirmed at one point that the

funds would be in his bank account on the 26 June 2015.

Complaint relates to the delays in receiving his lump sum private pension. Had he received the money in

April he would have been able to invest it in investment bonds that stopped in April/May. He has now missed

the opportunity.

Consumer is unhappy that his pension lump sum has not been paid out when they advised him it would be

paid

Complaint relates to continuous delays [consumer] is experiencing in cashing in her personal pension. She

requires the funds urgently as she is going through a property purchase and she may lose the right to buy the

property. She was initially given the wrong information on how to receive the funds. She was then told she

would receive the money within 20 days, however it has since been extended to 30 to 40 days.

Complaint relates to [consumer] cashing her personal pension. She has been told by Phoenix Life that she

needs to get an independent financial advisor to sign a uncrystallised funds lump sum pension declaration

before they release the money. All IFA's she has approached have said it's unnecessary to sign a declaration

as the sum she is taking is only £15,666. Phoenix Life have referred [consumer] to their own IFA who will

charge £600 + VAT for the service, which she feels is extortionate.

requested to withdraw £6000 as a lump sum from the pension pot. Despite giving them all the information

all I have received is poor service and delays and they want me to speak to a financial advisor but I live in

Spain.

Consumer is unhappy with the time it took Prudential to send her the proceeds of her personal pension

which she wanted to cash in

Complainant is unhappy that his pension product provider has not processed his request to draw down his

personal pension in a timely manner. The customer is also unhappy that he has encountered a multitude of

complications leaving him to suffer severe inconveniences due to the company's ineptitudes.

Complaint relates to the delays she has experienced after she requested to take out her pension pot. She

said the firm have delayed her request a number of times. She has been asking for this since April and her

pot has actually decreased since she initially asked for it.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The customer wants to access the money from the protected side

of his pension. He has been receiving a pension drawdown from the non-protected side. The firm won't

accept his direction about the protected side of his pension without an appointed IFA. They won't accept his

previous occupation qualifications as an IFA.

Complaint relates to the firm not allowing the consumer access to his personal pensions funds

I requested to withdraw the funds from personal pension. Despite giving them all the information I have had

constant delays and now a tax bill is over due on 30 June. Despite upholding the complaint I still do not have

my money.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant has requested to cash in his pension

under the new government guidelines. He has made many calls and filled out various forms, but he has not

received his funds and the firm is unable to advised him when this will happen.

Complaint regarding a request for 25% of his tax free pension and the reminder to remain in the fund. He is

unable to contact them and this is taking to long to process.

Consumer requested to cash in his pension but was told it would take 28 days for the transfer. The consumer

was extremely unhappy with this delay. 28 days has now passed and they have not transferred the funds.

The consumer is also unhappy with the cost of the calls to the firm. #

Complaint relates to the difficulty the consumer has experienced trying to withdraw his pension pot. The

firm have continued to delay the transfer.

Complaint relates to a policy that the consumer requested to be cashed. The consumer completed all the

forms back in May and returned these to the business. The business advised the consumer that this should

have all been completed within 16 days and the consumer contacted them in June and was advised that it

would be sorted out in 3-5 days. The consumer spoke to a manager who said they would investigate.

Another member of staff called 2/7/2015 and said cheque would be sent by the 6/7/2015.

I recently turned 55 years of age and decided to take out all of my pension.

I contacted Scottish Widows on June 8th regarding this, I was advised that as my birthday was [date

removed], payment would be made by July 10th 2015. Following on from this information my husband and I

agreed to pay substantial bills on or by July 11th 2015.

Since this conversation and numerous phone calls we were informed that payment had been made on July

7th (am) and that it would be with us no later than July 14th!!. I wanted to speak to the complaints

department but the call handler at Scottish Widows (SW) was reticent to transfer the call and was promised

a call back from the complaints department no later than 24 hours later. You've guessed it, no call received. I

therefore contacted SW again at 4.30pm on July 8th and spoke to [name removed] ( assistant manager

complaints department) who has now informed me that payment has NOT been made! This is causing my

husband and I substantial stress as we are facing a financial situation that we cannot pay.

Please would you advise me of the process for complaint as this is not a satisfactory state of affairs.

Complaint relates to the consumer approaching the business and requesting to take an amount out of his

pension to keep this below the higher rate tax threshold. The business said that they would take 15 days to

send out documentation and the second time the consumer was told it would take much longer to get the

forms out. On the third time he contacted them he was advised that he could only take the full amount or

take the amount as an annuity.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's failure to allow the complainant to cash it in stating that they

require further information although they have also failed to request this.

The customer is unhappy with the firm not processing the request for cashing a pension plan. The customer

took a long time and so the customer complained. The firm are investigating a complaint for the customer

and in this time not dealing with cashing the plan but only waiting for the investigation to finish first.

Co-op pension taken 15/08/1996. Matured June 11th 2015. Wished to drawdown full amount. Firm state

he has another policy a year later than the first one. Second policy wont mature until 2020 and are now

saying it counts as one sum and wont let him drawdown, because they are both guaranteed annuities. Also

unhappy they want an independent financial adviser to review and ok before they will consent to release

since getting this advice costs £500+ policy they only have 16k in this.

Customer is not happy firm say they cannot pay her pension in a lump sum because her total pensions are

more than £30K. They will only pay her £70 a month.

He had a normal personal pension with them up until early April 2015, when he attempted to execute a 25%

drawdown. He made over 4 telephone calls to various departments just to execute this one deal and was

told different things by different departments. He was eventually told that in order to make his drawdown he

had to transfer the whole amount of his pension account into a retirement account. He transferred the funds

on the 23rd April but the funds never reached the retirement account.

Complaint regarding constant delays by the firm in releasing the consumers funds.

Complaint relates to consumers personal pension. She completed an application in April to withdraw her

pension pot and to date this has still not been dealt with. They have now advised her that as she omitted to

provide her bank account name and so they will have to treat her application as a brand new application and

have advised of a further 90 day delay. She feels this is unreasonable and has tried to complain but they

would not accept this stating she had to go online.

Consumer has stated he is having problems in obtaining his pension funds from the business.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the tax free lump sum claim. The customer has

requested back in Feb but still is not paid. The customer has had to chase this payment and often been on

hold for long periods of time and also being passed around between different departments and people. The

customer is not confident with the organisations ability to process the request.

Complaint in relation to delays to cashing in his pension. The consumer requested this in April but the firm

have not been able to confirm what is causing the delays to the lump sum being paid. He is concerned this

will cause a decrease to the amount.

Complaint in relation to delays in transferring funds from the consumers occupational pension to Portal

Financial in order for the consumer to cash in 25%. He has been in contact with Portal and they have advised

the transfer is waiting to go through with this firm. He is concerned the delays will cause a decrease to the

lump sum.

I have applied to Prudential to cash my pension in. I applied on 17th April, was told I would get the forms

within 5 days then it takes 7-10 days for the money to be paid out. It is now July and I am still waiting. I have

made several phone calls and sent several complaints but just keep getting fobbed off. I phoned on Monday

9th July and was told I would have the money by 9th July but have received nothing. I was given an original

quote of the amount of £14k and now they are saying that quote has expired but they cannot give me the

new amount, but that they will get customer services to contact me, which they havent. The service I have

received from this company is atrocious. They upheld one of my complaints regarding the delay of them

sending the forms, but I feel I am being ignored and because of their incompetance I could now be penalised

regarding the amount I am due.

Complaint relates to the consumer approaching the business requesting to cash his pension in full. He

requested this back in May and was advised this this would take about 19 days. The consumer submitted his

documents promptly and he has still not been provided with his pension monies. The consumer has

committed the funds for some where for the consumer to live and must be paid by 25/7/2015

Complaint relates to a Stakeholder's Holder Pension plan and firms failure to make payment under the new

pension freedoms after all information requested was supplied.

Complaint is about his Prudential Staff Pension Scheme Defined Benefit transfer value. He had sent for a

transfer valuation with all relevant paperwork as he was interested to look at options now available under

the new pension freedom rules. On the 19th March 2015 he was quoted a guarantee transfer value of

£538,000. He then found out on the 22nd May that they had made a mistake and the value was now

£319.000. This huge reduction in value had crushed his pension aspirations and goals.

The length of time the procedure to cash a policy in with Prudential and their non communication and their

attitude to prolonging the time to pay out without prior notification. Also the hoops they made me jump

through prior to acceptance of the claim (independant financial advise, their financial advise) which involved

taking time off work to meet up with their representative who took over a month between 2 visits (he also

asked me to provide him with a spreadsheet of my outgoings and inc

Complaint relates to a pension that the consumer has with Scottish Widows and has been trying to cash the

pension, but the business are not allowing this as they have said that the consumer is not able to provide the

appropriate identification with the consumers date of birth. The consumer has no birth certificate , but does

have an adoption certificate.

Consumer is unhappy that her pension provider has not sorted out her pension even though it was due in

April

AEGON Occupational Pension-Complaint relates to the consumer not being able to access a lump sum from

her pension The consumer has recently received another form to complete which she has already completed

twice.

Complainant is unhappy that he is experiencing problems when accessing his pension. This has been ongoing

since the beginning of the tax year.

The consumer applied for his pension pots to be paid as lump sums as per the new rules. His forms were sent

and the firm confirmed their receipt and that they were completed correctly. He was told he could expect his

payment on 20 May 2015. The firm have not remitted the funds on his larger pension. He has chased

multiple times and has spent considerable time on the phone. He complained about the payment via the

online complaint form on 24/6 and 13/7 but no response has been received.

[consumer] complains that Aviva failed to payout on his two small pension which matured on 29/03/15 prior

to the end of the financial year. He was promised that he would not have to pay any tax as the pension

matured before the financial year. However later payment was made after the 6th April & he will now have

to pay tax on the amount.

Complainant asserts that firm is perpetually delaying encashment of pension. Firm also misadvised him

regarding a booklet. Firm do not appear to have enchased the correct account and it also appears to have

fallen in value due to maladministration.

Relates to this firm stating that they cannot provide me with the new income drawdown facility and that

they do not know when this will be available. The firm have stated that I can opt for annuity or take the

whole amount - this is not what I want to do. I am also unable to move without incurring the costs of a

financial advisor.

Complaint relates to a pension. The complainant is unhappy with the service received when attempting to

take it as a lump sum.

Consumer is extremely unhappy at the time it is taking Prudential to issue the funds from her personal

pension following new government legislation. The first request was made on 06/05/15 but as yet she has

not received the money.

Complaint regarding problems/delays in drawing benefits from his personal pension, as a lump sum,

following the changes in the pension legislation this year

Consumer is complaining about his personal pension. He has applied to the business for the whole pension

to be paid out to him and they have agreed to this. However, they are dragging their feet and the consumer

is concerned that his pension will decrease whilst they delay the administration.

Consumers complaint relates to the delay in the firm paying out her pension funds.

Complaint relates to a Pension. The consumer wants to take 25% then lump sums when necessary, but the

firm have said they do this as the consumer lives abroad.

Complaint relates to delays [consumer] is experiencing in cashing in his pension. He has been told that he

needs to get a signed declaration from an independent financial advisor before he can cash the pension.

However, he has been told by the Pensions Advisory Service that this step is recommended but not

mandatory. Scottish Widows have told him it's essential.

Complaint relates to firms refusal to allow client to withdraw funds under new laws. They advise that this is

not coming into effect until April 2016. Client believes it came into effect this year,.

Wish to access my pension before I am 65. Firm have told me that there will be a drawdown penalty if the

pension is taken before 65. This is against current legislation

Maladministration of Pension Plan: [consumer] states despite contacting Abbey Life in early April 2015 with

instructions to close and refund his plan, the business has failed to do so. He has now been advised he must

await a risk assessment but feels the provider is stalling the process. Having called (and have to end the call

after not getting through for 25 minutes) he has incurred costs in excess of £15.#

I have a small personal pension with Abbey Life. I submitted forms in May 2015 to take the entire pension

pot as a lump sum. Abbey Life have confirmed that they had all forms and

information in place in May 2015 in order to make the payment. To date (14th July 2015) I have not received

payment. I have called them several times (most recently today) and they tell me that they have no idea

when the payment will be made and cannot not give me any indication of a payment date. Apparently they

are very busy following the new pension legislation.

Complaint relates to delays [consumer] is experiencing in receiving a personal pension payout

Complaint is in relation to the handling of their pension regarding delay with funds being released. The

matter has been ongoing since May 2015 which they feel is not acceptable.

Complaint relates to delays in releasing funds to client.

The firm wont allow the customer to cash in the pension - as no body would sign the compliance.

Complainant states that he opted out of SERPS. The policy has now matured and he requested his 25% lump

sum and also take a sum out as drawdown. The will not allow him to access the funds unless he seeks the

advice of a IFA. He feels that he is not being treated fairly.

Complaint relates to a pension. The firm contacted the complainant to advise that a cash payment is to be

made to him. Unhappy as the firm have refused to make the payments in any other form than a cheque

which the complainant

Consumer is unhappy with the handling of their request to obtain their 25% lump sum and the delays in

receiving the money

Unhappy with delay in sending him a pension release form

Complaint regarding difficulty getting funds from a pension policy (as a lump sum, under the new legislation),

originally taken out through Colonial Mutual, he is unhappy that the fund value has dropped since the

transfer to Friends life

The consumer is unhappy in the delay in receiving their pension lump sum and the management fees. The

customer said he's had a double heart by pass and this is causing him stress. He said that he's had no income

since February 2015 and the business are not prioritising his pay out.

Complaint: unhappy with the administration and delays when trying to take pension lump sum

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the customer claiming their 25% tax free allowance

from their pension. The firm agreed to the request but the customer did not hear anything for 6 weeks. The

customer contacted the firm to be told they are not doing the tax free payments anymore.

Relates to issues with personal pension. [consumer] wanted access to the cash in the pension pot early as

per the new legislation. [consumer] had to get statements from the bank showing the last month - these

were printed in branch and stamped. ReAssure have advised they cannot accept these without the branch

managers name and employee number, but the bank have advised this isn't going to be provided.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the firm not paying out the customers pension. The

customer has sent the documentation in but the customer has not received any payment and it has been 13

weeks now

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer has been trying to access the lump sum since April

and is having difficulty receiving the monies. The consumer has been contacting the firm on numerous

occasions however, the firm has been very unhelpful. The consumer has sent the firm documents however,

he has not received a response or any acknowledgement.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's delays in allowing the complainant to take this out as a lump

sum.

Complaint relates to the firm requiring the consumer to obtain a signature from an independent financial

advisor before they will transfer his pension under the new law.

Customer has pensions with Friends life and has been trying to access his funds since April. The firm have put

up several barriers which is delaying the pay out. The firm say they are struggling to administrate the

additional pension requests.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer has requested to withdraw funds from his pension in

December 2014. He had sent them all the relevant information and ID but they have still not processed this

for him. He has had confirmation in writing that he can collect this but they have said they are too busy.

Personal Pension Complaint relates to the consumer requesting to cash in 25% of his pension and the

remaining 75% to be reinvested with the business. The consumer was firstly told this should take 7-10 days.

When he did not hear back from the business he contacted them and has now been told that this will take 30

days rather than the original 7-10 days. The consumer borrowed money from his daughter to pay for a

holiday assuming that these monies would have been paid out

The consumer is unhappy that he has been trying to contact the business about cashing his pension in in

November when he will be allowed to but he has not been able to get in touch to ask for the relevant

paperwork

Complaint relates to annuity policies. The consumer has contacted them to cash the policies in but the

business state they can not find any of her policy details. She has contacted them numerous times and still

had no response from them. They keep placing her on hold which is costing her in telephone calls.

The complaint relates to taking benefits under your pension fund. The customer has been told on several

occasions the money would be with her within a week.

They are very reluctant to pay it to me. I should have received it on 9/5/15 but every time I send in forms

they wait several weeks then when I phone I am told I need to send more paperwork. I have put in two

complaints to the company and received £25

Consumer is unhappy about Prudential not releasing her pension. The consumer was informed that she

would be paid out in the beginning of June, then later received correspondence saying that she would

receive payment in July. The consumer is still unhappy the issue has not been rectified and they have

deferred their payments on three occasions.

Complainant wanted to cash his pension policy but is unhappy that he has been charged 20% for this.

Complainant disagrees with this as he was not made aware of this.

Consumer is unhappy that the business would not allow him to withdraw a sum from his pension for

window repairs. Consumer also feels that the business did not read his letter properly.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider has declined his request to draw down on his pension as a

lump sum. The customer believes that the recent legislation change means that he is entitled to do so.

No payment has been received after requesting the lump sum back in April 2015.

Complaint relates to delays in releasing monies.

Unhappy with the delays in responding to the request for a cash drawdown from the pension

my policy number for my prudential pension is [removed] I have arranged with them to receive cash lump

sum on the 17th July 2015 , I have chased and chased them as no payment has gone in now the call back I

got on Monday 20th at 5.55 pm to tell me I get a ring back tomorrow again ? I'm on a low income and need

out money but can not get to speak to anyone to help from pru and I at my tether and do not know where

to turn ?

I am writing to register a complaint about the delaying tactics being used by Legal and General to avoid

paying out my Pension. I have had several communications with Legal and General to notify them that I

would like to withdraw my complete pension at my retirement age of 60 years. I did not receive any

notification as to what was going to happen to my balance at aged 60. I have repeatedly tried to get my

money paid into my bank account

Complaint relates to a stakeholder pension. Complainant wanted to withdraw 25% tax free from her

pension which business agreed to and said they would process her request. Complainant however is unhappy

that the business has now withdrawn this due to the new legislation.

Firm has used incorrect tax coding details re the pension drawdown lump sum.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The customer has contacted the provider to withdraw some

money.

The consumer's complaint is in relation to his Sipp provider not carrying out his instructions to pay out his tax

free cash lump sum and alter his plan to a flexible drawdown product.

Relates to pension. Complainant has received advice from his IFA, as he needs funds released from his

Pension. Firm had agreed with the IFA that up to 25% of the pension could be released tax free, however

firm are now stating they cannot do this. Firm have stated full amount would be payable at a higher tax

bracket if they were to pay anything.

Consumer is unhappy that his pension provider will not let him cash he remaining balance of his pension.

They have let him cash 25% and advised him the remainder has to be placed into an annuity. He has been

receiving £257 yearly for the last 3 years.

The consumer wanted to withdraw his pension but the firm have said he cannot do that because he has an

annuity. The consumer does not remember opting for an annuity.

Consumer has said that the business changed his pensions into two annuities He wanted to commute this as

the pensions were small Consumer wanted to see what his options were after the government changes to

the pensions and possibly wanted to cash them in.

Complaint: Consumer has said that the business changed his pensions into two annuities He wanted to

commute this as the pensions were small Consumer wanted to see what his options were after the

government changes to the pensions and possibly wanted to cash them in.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to payment of the pension to the customer. The

customer feels that the firm are stalling and purposely making it difficult for the customer to claim their lump

sum pension

I have requested my tax free 25 % entitlement as a draw down, I have sent three letters and as yet have not

received a reply or my monies and they continue to ignore me

I made an inquiry about drawing a lump sum from a pension: Scottish Widows Ref no [removed] to be

advised that if I withdrew funds there would be a fee of £1600. I can find to trace of this in my original paper

work and was not advised this when taking out the policy.

Complaint relates to a drawdown on a pension. [consumer] was offered the potential of a 25% tax free

withdrawal on his pension. The firm have rescinded the offer.

Complainant is unhappy with the service received from the company. She was told that she would receive an

application pack, however, two months later she was told that no pack would be sent as they did not have a

product available that would allow her 35% tax free drawdown.

Consumer is unhappy his pensions provider are refusing to let him transfer funds from another provider

dormant pension pot that he has with Standard Life into his existing Scottish Widows pension plan unless he

pays for financial advise.

Complaint relates to pension transfer. Complainant is unhappy that the firm will not transfer the pension

unless they get a form seeking independent financial advice.

I have been a member of a Aviva run work pension scheme through my employer. Having come to retire

through ill health I contacted Aviva to arrange to take my Tax free lump sum from my pension and use the

remaining Pot as drawdown.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant was given three different quotes for

a cash lump sum. He also sent documentation to them in April, but they find to reply.

I have requested a claim form for my pension as I wish to cash this policy In. I have requested this form on

more than one occasion and I feel as though i have not been dealt with in a professional manner. During the

time I have requested this form I have received three information packs and a statement. They do not

provide this particular claim form on their website.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy as they are not giving him any information regarding a pension

he has held with them since 1993. As there has been changes in legalisation recently he believes he is

entitled to take his pension but they will not give him any information.

The complaint is regarding a personal pension. Consumer is annoyed by the fact that the business are not

giving her a cash payout on her pension. They have offered her £14,083.00. She says that she is being taxed

incorrectly and she is a 20% rate tax payer. It is worth £17,429.00. They are delaying this process and she is

very upset by it.

Complaint relates to the mis-sale of a pension annuity. [consumer] was not told he would be able to take his

full pension after April 2015. He was told he could only take 25% of his pension and take out an annuity. If he

had known he'd be able to take the full amount, he would've have waited to April 2015.

Complaint relates a annuity with the firm. He feels that he was mis advised and the pension was mis sold to

him. It was not explained to him that he would not be able to get a lump sum when he retied. He was told

that he would.

Complaint in relation to Pension plan. The consumer is unhappy that he has asked Prudential for a refund for

his policy but they are not willing to provide him with this. The consumer received an income of £50,00 per

week from one policy and £2.50 per month from another policy. The consumer understood that if he was

unhappy with this investment/ pension he could request a refund and have it returned as a lump sum

Customer has tried to withdraw his pension fund however he has been waiting and has still not received his

pension fun.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider has not processed his request to drawdown from his

personal pension in a timely manner. The customer is also unhappy that the company has consistently

requested more time to process his request but failing to meet agreed deadlines. Finally, the customer is

incensed that the company has not addressed his complaint against them so ultimately feels that he has

been mistreated and ignored.

Complaint relates to the firm delaying allowing the consumer to withdraw his pension. This was originally

requested on the 5th May 2015. The consumer has called the firm many times to chase it up and is charged

£10 for each call as it is a premium rate number and the firm are never able to supply a reason for the delay.

Complaint relates to the firm failing to action the consumers request to withdraw his pension. Each time the

consumer calls they say someone will respond to him but they never do. This situation has been going on

since February.

Prudential has refused to do this because they insist that I have to pay them £860 Pru. advisor fees or get

independent advice before they will release or transfer any money. They said pot value is more than £40000

and it will never be released unless I seek financial advice. This is total blackmail by Prudential.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's refusal to allow the complainant to take it out as a lump sum

without the advise of an independent financial adviser. The complainant disputes this as would be costly.

The firm have changed their policy, which greatly reduces my lump sum and gives a small lump sum.

The customer decided to take a lump sum from her pension. She was advised that she could do this and the

lump sum would be invested with Legal & General. She has since been advise by Aviva that they will not

release the funds due to the type of pension that she has. She believes the company did not look into the

product she held and advise her correctly.

Unhappy with delays in dealing with the surrender & cashing in of the policy. This has been outstanding

since June 2015 & the delays are casing inconvenience as the client had acted on the timescales provided by

L&G re the payment date.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer received a letter advising they was having difficulty getting in

contact with him. The bank have advised they did not receive the completed forms to enable them to issue

the funds. The consumer is unhappy with the delays to receive his monies.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy as he applied for his pension to be paid as a lump sum. This has

not happened despite the request being made on 18th June 2015. He was advised at the time it would take

10 days.

Complainant is unhappy that her personal pension provider has not processed her request to draw down on

her pension in a timely manner. The customer is also unhappy that the provider is now attempting to move

her pension to another provider without justification.

Complaint relates to the delay in processing the tax free lump sum and the calculation of the fund. The fund

therefore reduced by over £2000 because of their delay.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's refusal to allow the complainant to take this out in three lump

sums without the services of an independent financial advisor which would be costly.

Consumer is unhappy with the handling of their pension policy regarding the funds being released. Consumer

is unhappy they are refusing to allow to use their appointed adviser as they do not have G60 permission. The

consumer is disputing this

Complaint relates to an annuity. The consumer is unhappy that he is unable to access his annuity growth

account following recent changes in pension laws in 2015. He had not been informed of the restrictions in

terms of choice and feel their response has been negative.

The customer wanted to commute his policy fund money to a small lump sum. His documents do not state

that he cannot do this, He has requested this from the company but the only paperwork he has received are

statements.

The complaint relates to the firm failing to release the consumers money despite advising the consumer on a

number of occasions that he will have the money shortly. This was first requested in April.

Requested pension cash in January & is unhappy with the offer made after complaint was raised concerning

the admin & delays.

: Complaint relates the firm not making payments of his pension and the delays he has incurring. He is also

unhappy with the conflicting advice from the firm regarding when the payment would be made.

The customer requested the release of his pension in a cash lump sum in order to sell his property and

invest in another property.. He has sent the appropriate forms to the company on several occasions. The

company told him it would be 5 days before release. This did not happen and he called today to be told it will

be a further 5 days. He is concerned that he will lose his sale due to the delay by the company.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider has notified him that they will impose surrender penalties

should he choose to retire early and look to draw down on his personal pension. The customer does not

believe this is fair and reasonable and is incensed that this is the case.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with access to his personal pension plan

with Wesleyan and the imposition of excessive charges to allow flexible drawdown.

Complaint relates to the consumer approaching the business to arrange to draw a lump sum from his

pension. He was advised that has it was more than £30000 he would need to seek advice from a finanancial

adviser. He did this is May and sent all documents back to the business who received this back on 1/6/2015

and on the 8/6/2015 new legislation came into place and the business said that as a result they were not

able to accept the application.

Consumer has tried to ask about withdrawing the 25% he is entitled to, but has been advised that he must

have a financial advisor in order to do so. B also refused to provide an estimate.

[consumer] has three pension policies with Friends Provident. After writing to the company they have told

him that he is unable to have the 25% tax free lump sum from each of the policies even though they are all

DC schemes

Consumer is unhappy that she requested 25% of her personal pension and was advised she would have to

cash the whole balance.

Complaint relates to a pension plan and complainant completing incorrect paperwork in order to claim

monies under pension freedoms however firm have setup an annuity.

Complaint relates to delays and poor service experienced by [consumer] in relation to cashing a personal

pension.

The customer is unhappy that she was not told the pension age was 65 when she applied for the policy or

that to take the pension before age 65 would incur a market value reduction. The customer like the MVR

removed in total and I would like the full sum of the policy of £6,984.16 paid to me as a lump sum

Unhappy that the business won’t give him financial advice so that he can drawdown his pension. They won’t

look at his pension because his pension is less than £50,000. They are taking fees from his account but they

haven’t transferred his pension.

Unhappy that they won’t let him drawdown his pension without seeing a financial advisor. They’ve also

asked him to go to another provider and refuse to deal with his pension.

Unhappy that the business refuse to take over his pension so that he can draw down on it.

Complaint relates to a section 32 arrangement. The pension was frozen and the consumer tried to withdraw

a lump sum which was rejected. Consumer deferred the pension and has suffered a financial loss.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's delays in allowing the complainant to take this out as a lump

sum.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy as he has been trying to draw down the lump sum element of

his pension. Consumer applied in April 2015 and is still waiting. He has been given one excuse after another.

Consumer can not get a financial advisor to sign a form to release his pension pot of @ £35k. IFA's are

reluctant to sign the form as this may leave them open for a compensation claim for wrong advice.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's failure to allow the complainant to take the pension out as a

lump sum.

The customer is unhappy that the business have changed the mind in allowing him to release funds from his

pension following recent legislation. The business claim that due to his age and contractual terms, he is not

eligible for the scheme

Complainant states that he applied to draw out a lump sum from his pension before age 60. he is unhappy

that the firm will apply a 10% fee to withdraw his funds early. He feels that is is unfair and that he was not

told about this at the start.

Complaint relates to a pension with Friends Life. The consumer is unhappy he was given wrong information

regarding the income drawdown. The consumer requested a cash lump sum and a pension drawdown with

the firm who advised this was possible in May. The consumer received the first pack from the firm but not

the second pack. When the consumer phoned to query this the firm advised they do not offer the pension

drawdown.

Complainant is unhappy that the insurance company will not allow him to withdraw his pension. The pension

is gaining little to no interest which is depreciating in value. His pension pot has fallen £14000 to £6500.

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with the delays to accessing funds from

his pension. He spoke to them at the beginning of June to start this process and ask for the withdrawal of all

his pension funds.. They sent incorrect paperwork but was later told his enquiry was on high priority but he

has still not received his funds. He needs this money to pay of a loan and is being charged interest because

he cant pay this off.

Complaint is unhappy with the delays in firm providing her with forms requested in order that she she cant

take take out a lump sum form her pension. She keeps on being promised that it would be send but it has

not arrived.

Has a pension with abbey life, became 65 on the 5th of July. Decided to take whole amount in a cash

payment. Has responded and sent all in docs and receipts. They acknowledge receiving this and state 14

days from retirement date this would be paid. Now firm are delaying and saying 28 days to pay. Now over

that as well. Unhappy with service and delays. 29th July complaint was formally made.

The consumer has requested to withdraw his pension but the firm have not released the funds. They have

told the consumer there is a problem with the account information provided. The consumer has sent in

numerous copies if identification. The consumer is constantly promised call backs which never happen.

I have a Pension Plan with Abbey Life, due to mature on 10 Sept 2015. The problem is that they are very

difficult to communicate with, not answering their phone and taking a long time to reply to my letters. time

is running out and I am frightened that they will take all my funds and put them into their low paying annuity.

I do not want their annuity, I want my money. I have posted a 4th letter

Relates to Pension policy. Complainant unhappy with lack of action or response from firm in regards to

pension. Had written to firm to to arrange encashment of policy, however has not had a response. Firm have

failed to progress and complainant is worried that firms lack of activity could mean pension pot is placed into

an annuity.

Complaint relates to an annuity. The consumer has been quote an annuity guaranteed for give years and

feels the amount is unfair. The consumer requested the total pension fund in cash which the firm has

refused as the money was tied into the old pension even though this is a new quote

"Section 32 Transfer plan". Unhappy with way pension has been paid out, sought advice from a firm who

advised them to take 1/4 of his pension pot and invest 3/4 with outside investments. Aviva refuse to do this

and state only option is to take pension. This is because the actual cost of securing the Guaranteed

minimum Pension (GMP) is currently greater than the transfer value. It is therefore not possible to transfer

the benefits from the plan to a an Appropriate Personal Pension or COMP

Complaint in relation to Pensions. The consumer is unhappy about the business not releasing her pension,

even though she requested for it on 15th April 2015. She was informed that the funds were released on 28th

July 2015, but she has still not received any payments.

Complaint relates to a pension with Legal and General. The consumer has requested a lump sum payment

from the firm in May. The firm advised the consumer she will receive the payment within 10 working days.

The consumer did not receive the funds and phoned the firm again. The firm then advised it will take a

further 40 working days. The consumer has still not received the funds and the firm are not giving any

timeframes on when they funds will be available.

Due to retire on 2 Jan 15, as of today, he is still not in receipt of his pension. Initially there was a transfer

taking place with L&G in late 2014 and there was delays in the completion of this, until such time he was

unable to seek any advise over his options. Once the transfer was complete a request for this pension as a

lump sum on 6 April. An illustration was provided 17 April. Having filled the forms it took them 2 months to

reply advising more forms to be filled.

Unhappy with the delays in providing reply to request to send funds due from policy

Consumer is unhappy with delays in receiving the money from cashing in their pension pot

Failure to pay a lump sum in accordance with the agreed timescale. Failure to confirm that the lump sum

payment in 2016 will be at the agreed date.

Complaint relates to consumer cashing in his pension and firm deducting monies for the market value

Complaint relates to the business advising the consumer that a partial withdrawal from his pension was an

option but they reversed this advice and said that giving customers access to their pensions "proved more

complicated than expected". The consumer feels this is not acceptable.

The consumer is unhappy that the company have cashed in one of his pensions in (for £13,000) but won't

cash in the second (for £17,000) unless he has an official document signed by a financial advisor. He disputes

this as this document will cost him around £150. He also states he has sought financial advice on this matter.

The consumer is unhappy with the length of time taken by the business for them to pay the consumers

pension - he states he has lost out on around £200 because of this. Also unhappy they didn't ask for a tax

code as he believes they should. He states he also had to take out a £10,000 loan to pay for a motor home

he had ordered due to the delay in receiving the pension payments.

Complaint relates to firms refusal to allow consumer to take a lump sum from his pension. He did appoint

another company who get the money transferred out and into a SIPP however consumer has lost the

opportunity to invest in a one-off scheme ( pensioner Bonds) and it has cost in alot of money in fees & costs.

Complaint relates to the consumer contacting the business about drawing down a lump sum on his pension.

every time he contacts them they tell him to consult your financial adviser. Address in the UK is [removed],

however now lives in Thailand, suffers from extreme Alzheimer's and finding the firm very unhelpful and

unsympathetic.

Complainant is unhappy that her pension provider has past her from pillar to post regarding evidence of

maladministration on her P45. The customer has had to endure severe inconveniences due to the company's

ineptitudes and feels that the company's offer of compensation is derisory.

[consumer] is unhappy with his pension provider. He has applied to have a drawdown of his pension in

accordance with the new regulations.

Complaint regarding delays by the firm in paying the consumers pension out.

Complainant is unhappy that the business is insisting on paying death benefits to a discretionary trust

instead of directly to the complainant via "Dependents Flexible access drawdown". Settlement: For the death

benefit to be paid as per pension legislation

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer is unhappy with the time taken to have access to

funds from his pension pot. Feels firm are being deliberately difficult and making things take too long and

requests are unreasonable. Sent as letter to him in July asking for a copy of a birth certificate which

prompted him to complaint to the business on 20/08/015

Complaint relates to a personal pension. [consumer] was diagnosed with a terminal illness so contacted

them to release the funds from his pension funds. The business have given him excuses for the delays and he

is no closer to accessing his pension funds. The value of his pension has decreased as a result of these delays.

The customer contacted the firm and made them aware he was declared bankrupt many years ago. The

customer has been having difficulty trying to withdraw the lump sum from his pensions since April due to the

previous bankruptcy and is unhappy he has been promised call backs on numerous occasions which have

been been received. The customer is unhappy with the service received, time its taking and handling of the

matter.

Complainant is unhappy with the delays that he has been experiencing regarding his pension being paid into

his account. He has had numerous delays, and is constantly being given different dates that he will have his

pension paid. He was due to have it paid into his account on 1st July, however, this then changed to 29 July,

then 3rd August and then 7th August. He still has not received the payment though.

consumer requested to draw down some of the funds and was given paperwork which he found confusing.

.It took 82 days to get the monies. Just before receiving payment he was told that he had not signed the

form correctly. He found the form was worded badly as it referred to taking out the entire plan which he did

not wish to sign. £15,000 was taken out without him signing. He has now been told if he does not sign he will

not have further access to the remainder of the pension

The consumer has requested his tax free lump sum from his pension pot but the firm have failed to release

the funds to him. This has been going on since February and the consumer is unhappy with the delay.

I received details of the award of an FSSU occupational pension dating to my

employment with them in the 1970s. This included the option of a 100% tax free lump

sum. Since then the FSSU has said, first that only a 25% tax free lump sum was payable, and subsequently

that no lump sum was payable, but just the annuity. This is less advantageous in lump sum terms than the

recent changes to pensions generally. The FSSU staff have said there is no further internal appeal process.

Relates to issues regarding a GMP pension. Several calls have been made to access funds within the pension.

Friends Life are still not paying out on the pension. [consumer] says his pension should've been paid from 25

April 2015.

Complaint relates to the length of time the business took to process an application for a 25% lump sum

payment from their personal pension. They were expecting this payment in June.

The complaint relates to pensions. The consumer has asked the firm to release funds from his pension

however they have failed to do this after 18 weeks of asking.

He asked Scottish Widows to transfer his earnings from policy [removed] to a Retirement Account. He is very

unhappy that there has been a delay in gaining access to his retirement funds. He would also like an

explanation as to why there have been two different amounts quoted for his transfer value to their

Retirement Account.

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer requested to cash in all four policies and take a lump sum.

The consumer has provided all the required documents however, he has still not received the funds. The

consumer is unhappy with the delays.

Personal Pension dispute: having requested to take 25% of the £8,000 value plan for a required cash

injection the provider has refused to allow this. They have stated an independent financial advisor must

register for [consumer] and conduct either an annuity arrangement or drawdown her pension. She does not

understand why she isn't able to make the arrangements herself at all. She feels AEGON is putting up

unnecessary barriers to her requests.

Consumer is unhappy that he pension provider has not actioned her request for her pension to be paid in 3

payments. She was sent the forms which she completed the incorrect form.

Complainant arranged a draw down with the business in relation to his pension, business caused great

delays and caused errors,

Complaint relates to a pension. The payment for the policy was due however, Friends Life caused delays and

did not release the funds until months later. The consumer made several phone calls and is unhappy the

consultants could not confirm which policies fell within the payment figure as she held two separate policies.

The firm claimed the plans to be linked which is incorrect. Due to the delays, there was a financial loss as the

pension lost value.

She asked her advisor for the tax-free portion of her pension to be released to her from Scottish Widows.

She signed all the necessary forms on the 22nd June 2015 and was told it would take 10 days to release the

money once they received the forms. She was informed on the 10th July 2015 that she needed to send more

information to Scottish Widows which she did on the 15th July 2015. She is still awaiting the funds.

Complaint relates to misleading information given by the firm in relation to the consumer withdrawing 25%

of her pension as a tax free lump sum.

The consumer was encashing a pension drawdown, he was supposed to receive a 25% tax free lumpsum

plus £!0,600 which was to be taxed at source but consumer did not receive the correct amount.

The customer moved her company pension into a private pension and took 25% cash. She has now asked for

the fund to be cashed and has been told that she could have £8000.00 if she signs a declaration to waive her

right to the other £32000.00 The funds are invested in an illiquid fund which loans to people to invest in

property. Some of the investment is in Cyprus. She has been told the people the money was loaned to have

defaulted.

Consumer has a AVC with the firm and is unhappy that they are refusing to provide drawdown

arrangements.

With accessing my pension pot from L&G. Since the process began back in April I have been met with

obstacle after obstacle. They have lost multiple correspondences I have sent to them and not sent me the

relevant correspondence. After completing all the relevant documentation to access 25% of the pension pot

& given a date when I would receive it, I have been given multiple dates of when I would be receiving it. In

June

Complaint relates the time taken for the business to release the lump sum payment from the consumer's

personal pension.

Maladministration of Personal Pension encashment: [consumer] states Scottish Widows has missed a

deadline (pursued since January 2015) in respect of receiving the personal pension (prior to the end of the

financial year) which has resulted in tax implications to him and his business (as he then couldn't include the

amount for investment into his company for the last financial year). Having been offered compensation he is

very unhappy with the amount offered under the circumstances.

Consumer is unhappy with firms delays in releasing his lump sum pension to him. Consumer sent his

documents to firm in June and was told it would take 10 days to process the documents and further 20 days

to release the funds but was then told it was actually 30 working days which would be the 17/08/2015.

When consumer asked for the money to be sent by electronic transfer firm then told him he would need to

send in proof of address. Consumer feels this should have done this at start.

Complaint relates to advice given in relation to drawing down on the consumers pension. The business have

admitted failings however then continued to make the same error. The consumer feels that the offer of

compensation is not adequate for the distress and inconvenience caused.

Self Employed Pension Plan Complaint relates to the consumer wanting to take a partial lump sums from his

pension. The consumer spoke to Pensionwise and saw 2 financial advisers and said that this made the best

sense for the consumers situaton.The business sent a form to the consumer and he completed the form and

has received a letter in the last few days saying that they don't normally allow a partial drawdown but will do

it on this occasion.

Complaint relates to a drawdown on a personal pension. The customer received advice from an FA to take a

drawdown on his personal pension. The pension firm told him they have no procedure for drawdown's on

pension over £30,000. This was in March and he was told a procedure would be in place by now.

Complaint relates to request to cash in pension. Was firstly given a figure of £30.176.85. then £30,181.25,

and now £28,375.52. Asked why it had dropped by £1,805.73 over 20 days. Told there could not give me an

answer but would investigate and get back to consumer. Understands the rates can go up and down, but

does not feel it is an explanation of why it made such a big drop as soon as they decided to withdraw the

funds and over such a short period.

The consumer is unhappy that the firm did not act upon customer instructions in a timely manner and that

they provided misleading, confusing and unclear information, that the firm signposted and referred

consumers to subcontractor financial advisers and that charges of £650 were applied and the firm were slow

in responding to customer instructions.

Relates to the firm's failure to issue me a lump sum from my personal pension as agreed in May 2015.

Following a formal complaint, they sent me a letter stating the payment has been made into my account

however this is incorrect.

Guaranteed Minimum Pension - The consumer says he was given different information on accessing the

pension and it turns out that the pension can only be accessed in one way.

In April I was approached by the Pension Service to say that the Prudential were holding a small Pension due

to me of £832.14. I have repeatedly requested this pension be paid to me in full now as I have terminal

cancer. It is distressing enough being so seriously ill with cancer that cannot be cured without the Prudential

with holding this money, which would be of benefit to myself and my family.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's delays in paying this to the complainant as a lump sum.

Complaint relates to a nest egg defined benefit pension plan. Complainant has requested for the business to

cash the policy and the money to be paid to him. Unhappy that the business has not followed the

complainant's instruction.

The consumer's complaint relates to the encashment of his stakeholder pension. The consumer made a claim

to HMRC to claim back the tax on her encashment as she is a high rate tax payer. However the consumer was

informed Scottish widows will provide the relevant paperwork to HMRC but Scottish Widows have failed to

do this.

Consumer's complaint is because of AEGON's mistake he didn't get his money on time, they refused to own

up to the fact that they made a mistake. The bank said because AEGON missed a digit the money bounced

around for around 5 days. He had plans for that money and because of their mistake he couldn't fulfil his

plans.

Complaint regarding delays in receiving benefits from his pension plan, all forms were completed prior to his

retirement date (21/6/2015) but payments have not yet started

The consumer contacted the firm regarding the pensions freedom reform and asked what her options were,

as she wanted to make an informed decision. Based on the information the firm gave the consumer she then

resigned from her job and retired. The firm then reneged on the information they gave her. The firm failed to

respond to the complaint within the time limits regarding this.

Complaint relates to the consumer being able to drawdown on his pension. The consumer has been

informed that to do so because of the size of his pension he requires a financial advisor with certain training.

This advisor will charge £2,300 for the work. The consumer feels this is unfair and that the business will

refuse to release his funds.

He feels that having to seek financial advice and to pay for this service was not fair as he is looking to transfer

his policy to Scottish Widows.

Complaint regarding problem with release of pension funds. Firm have removed him as a signatory and are

therefore sitting on significant funds.

The complaint relates to private pensions. The consumer is unhappy with the firm's failure to record the

correct information on their p45 forms despite raising the issue on several occasions.

Complaint regarding the withdrawal of a large lump sum of his pension.

The consumer is unhappy that the firm have delayed in paying out a lump sum of £3000 after the consumer

reached retirement age of 60. The consumer requested the payout and the firm said it would take two

weeks to process, but this has not happened and now the firm has said this will take a further 15 working

days.

Relates to information that this firm have given me regarding the release of funds from my policy. The firm

have given me 3 dates in relation to these funds being released and on each occasion this has not happened.

The firm gave me a guarantee that the money would be in my account today 20/08 but they have now

extended this by two weeks.

The customer decided to cash in his pension and was told by his provider the pension release form needed

to be signed by an IFA. The company told the customer he would need a review prior to them signing the

form. When the review was carried out the company declined to sign the form as they state cashing the

pension was not the right thing to do. At no point was the customer told they might decline this. He now has

a bill for £650.00

The consumer is unhappy that he has been trying to take his pension as a drawdown for the last 6 weeks

without success. He has explained that when he began this process, this pension was worth £39,707, but is

now worth £1000 less. He states she has also incurred interest charges due to what has happened.

Consumer is unhappy as company are charging him for advice to take money out of his personal pension. It

was never mentioned that there would be a fee chargeable for taking funds out of his pension.

Complainant is unhappy with his pension provider as they have not processed his request to drawdown on

his pension in a timely manner. The customer is also incensed that the pension provider are requesting he go

through a third party service in order to gain access to his funds. The customer ultimately feels he has been

mistreated.

[consumer] moved his personal pension from lloyds into 3 SIPP funds with the advice of the business. He is

unhappy that the funds are not performing the way he was told they would. He is also unhappy that despite

the new pension freedom rules, he is unable to start withdrawing on his pension despite him being 55. His

retirement age on his pension was set at 65. He believed at the time of the advice he was low risk and

believes he is in a high risk fund.

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer enquired on taking a lump sum from the pension however,

Aviva has rejected the request without providing a clear explanation.

The customer has two small pensions administered by trustees. The company are moving the pensions to

another provider. The customer has asked for the pension to be cashed but the company have stated that he

is unable to do this, that they are not giving any rights to transfer the pensions before the transfer and that

charges from the new company will be levied.

Consumer made a claim to withdraw his pension. The firm failed to action his request a number of times and

are not doing what they are saying they are going to do. The firm told the consumer that his money was on

its way and that it would take 3-4 days to reach him. The consumer has been told today that his has not been

approved and it will be done today.

Customer filled in the forms to cash his pension with Abbey Life for a lump sum however after 2 months he

has not received a payment. When he called the firm he was given conflicting information about the

settlement dates.

Consumer is unhappy that the funds value should be the value as of the 31/05/2015. The difference is

£2816.95

Complaint relates to the delays in paying the consumer a lump sum from his pension. The firm initially

advised the transfer would take 40 days, however they later advised an error had been made and the

consumer would have to complete another application which could take another 40 days to process.

Unhappy with the delays in paying funds as this resulted in costs being incurred.

Customer has an issue with her pension. She has been chasing the payment for roughly 3 months and it still

hasn't arrived into her account. Customer feels that Scottish widows are responsible as this was her

retirement account which she wanted to transfer the funds to her Virgin Money savings account. Both firms

are unable to locate the payment but Scottish widows have said they have sent the money. C states they

have the correct chaps sort code etc.

Unhappy with the advice received to cash in the existing Barclays pension & replace use the funds for

general living costs/expenses and the reduction of existing borrowing with the bank.

Consumer was referred to the business for independent advice regarding releasing funds from a pension.

Feels that due to B's administrative delays/ error she missed out on the opportunity

Consumer is unhappy that he was not able to cash in his 2 small pensions when he turned 60. He was advised

that these policies were linked.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's refusal to allow the complainant to take this out as a lump sum.

[consumer] was told her pension payment would be received in 10-15 days. She applied to get the full sum

paid in May. She did not therefore apply for option 7 on the form sent by firm regarding the lump sum

option as she already informed in May that she would be cashing the whole lot. Firm now say they would

repay the money in 2 weeks after retirement date, which can be this September but also September next

year.

The consumer turned 65 in May. He sent off all of the correct information in November in preparation for

the maturity date. The firm sent the consumer a final form to complete his bank account information and

return to them, which he did. The consumer thought the amount would be transferred straight into his

account but this has not happened. He has called them constantly since but they have never given him a

valid reason nor have they advised when he can expect his money.

Complaint regarding constant delays the firm are taking to release the consumers funds.

Consumer is unhappy with the service provided by the firm when trying to cash in their pension

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer requested to withdraw a lump sum and the firm agreed to

send the monies. The is unhappy with the amount of time it's taking to receive the funds.

Complaint relates to the consumer requesting to withdraw his pension fund and he received a settlement

figure £679.25 less than he was expecting.

Royal London has not responded to a request about the value of his pension as he would like to cash it in.

Complaint relates to the firms refusal to release funds from a pension as requested by the consumer. The

firm state that the funds must be released into an annuity or a drawdown account. The consumer does not

want an annuity and has been unable to open a drawdown account as 25% of the pension pot was taken out

last year.

Complaint regarding problems/delays in paying his pension benefits (under new legislation), they told him it

should be paid within two weeks of his selected date (6 August) but has still not been received.

Complaint relates to a pension with Phoenix. The consumer has requested to take a lump sum payment from

the pension. The consumer requested this a few months ago but the firm advised the consumer will need to

get an IFA to sign the form to say he has been advised. The consumer is unhappy that the IFA will charge

£850 when the consumer knows what he wants to do with the funds.

Needs someone from the medical department to get in touch with the customer's medical professor. He

would like the medical professor to be able to explain to the business his condition so that they can prioritise

the pay out of his pension.

The customer needs someone from the medical department to get in touch with his medical professor. He

needs the business to speak to the professor so he can explain the customer's medical condition - so they

can prioritise the pay out of his pension

The consumer opted to withdraw her pension. The consumer was sent forms which she completed and

returned. The firm told her that they did not receive the utility bill so the consumer sent it again. They have

told her that they still have not received it and the consumer feels the way she has been treated has been

appalling.

The complaint relates to pensions. [consumer] has contacted the firm to request the release of the Late

[consumer] pension fund but the firm have delayed this several times. After offering compensation and

promising the transfer of the funds on a certain date the money was still not released.

Complaint relates to the delays in paying a lump sum from the consumers pension. The delays and lack of

communication has led to a loss of funds in the pension.

The consumer wanted the lump sum from his pension, but the firm have caused delays and confusion and

now have advised that this will be deferred until next year.

Complaint relates to the firm requesting information from the consumer to prove who she is . The consumer

has provided this on multiple occasions and through a solicitor but the business keep requesting more . This

is making the consumer ill and she just wants it all to be completed as she feels harassed as she is providing

the same information .

The consumer spoke to the firm to discuss transferring his AVC pension to them so he could withdraw the

funds. The firm told him that as he is suffering ill health, he would need to sign and send in an ill health

declaration and he can have his funds. The transfer went through which took £2000 of his funds. Now the

firm have said that he cannot withdraw his funds, they have admitted they are at fault but have only offered

£50 compensation.

Relates to issues regarding a pension.[consumer] wanted cancel the pension and withdraw the funds, this

was not allowed. Instead, he was looking to transfer the pension but this would not be allowed if not done

via an IFA. The IFA has needed to ask questions about the pension, although due to Towers Watson going

through a data cleanse, it doesn't seem the answers can be provided.

Consumer is unhappy that the business are constantly telling him that he has failed the security questions

when calling up to enquire about his pension. He has tried to make a complaint several times, but they will

not allow him to do this as they state that they can't pass him through security.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to a personal pension. The customer contacted the firm

and was told that the payment could not be processed until a IFA had provided advice to the customer.

Complaint regarding his pension, he wanted to take a full lump sum from his pension but was informed he is

unable to do this as his policy is excluded from the recent pension budget changes from April 2015.

Complaint about C not being able to access freedoms with OPS AVC plan

Concerns are raised over the time and delays behind a decision to allow the consumer to withdraw from one

of her pensions ( she holds 4). Barnett Waddingham, whom she has dealt with throughout initially took 6

weeks to respond and so far has been with their legal advisors for the last 5 months. She is not happy with

the lack of progress on this matter

The consumer is unhappy with the delays she is experiencing with the firm releasing her pension. She has

sent all the required paperwork to the firm as requested but is unable to understand what is causing the

delay as she cannot afford to wait for her pension to be released

The consumer is unhappy the firm have applied a penalty charge to her pension meaning she cannot take the

full amount if she withdraws funds before she is 65.

This complaint relates to the firm failing to offer the consumer the option to withdraw his funds. Further to

this, the only telephone number which was on the consumers correspondence was an 0845 number. The

firm have admitted they made a mistake but there is no offer of compensation.

Unhappy with the bank after they proving me with misleading/conflicting information regarding the lump

sum payable on cashing in a personal pension. They informed me I would be getting £34, 634.16 however

they only paid me £19, 014.72. HSBC have only offered me £75.

Unhappy with the difficulties faced when trying to enchash her my small AVC under the new pension

arrangements.

Complaint relates to retirement income plan, Complainant was to receive £45,000 for the policy from the

business but is unhappy that they have only sent him a cheque for £31,000.

Unhappy with advice regarding releasing funds from his pension .His funds have also been taxed due to the

the mix up of dates by the IFA. IFA have has also charged more than agreed for his services

The firm has failed to act on request to release funds for transfer under the pension policy.

Complaint relates to consumers pension. He originally opted to take a 25% lump sum and the drawdown

pension was transferred over to Royal London by CIS. He then changed his mind within the 30 day cooling off

period and opted to take the full amount as a lump sum so Royal London said they would have to transfer

the fund back to CIS. Since then he has been advised by CIS that they have not received the pension and no

one can tell him when he will get paid.

The customer is unhappy to the undue delays experience in processing his pension refund claim. The

business have repeatedly sent the same form for the customer completion dispute them being completed

and he has now been advised that he must wait a further 28 days for an update. The issue has been ongoing

for 5 months.

Customer is unhappy that the firm has not followed his instructions in relation to his commutation lump

sum.

Consumer's complaint is in relation consistently appalling service received from Scottish Widows. Her

complaint is in relation to her pension draw own, the 25% tax free sum

Complaint: moved pension lump sum and did not wish to drawn down any funds at that time. Firm have

transferred 25% of the fund direct to my bank account without authority

Unhappy with misleading advice with regards to releasing funds from his pension to pay off his mortgage

Complaint regarding mis sold annuity. Complainant is not happy as this has effected his income. Firm have

said he should have taken the amount as a lump sum, however he had tried to do this previously but was

told he could not.

Complaint relates to a pension. The complainant is unhappy with the service received while applying to have

his pension paid to him. The complainant feels that the firm has given him misinformation and is unhappy

with the length of time the process has taken.

I commenced flexible income drawdown with Aviva as from 6.4.15. The first payment was due to be made

on 15.4.15. The first payment was not in fact made until 5 weeks later and in the meantime I had to rely on

my overdraft in order to pay monthly expenditure. I complained by email on 24.5.14, but have had no

substantive reply

Complaint relates to a pension. The complainant is unhappy with the level of service received when

attempting to cash it in. Also unhappy with the amount that will be getting as this has decreased significantly

since the process was incepted.

Customer is attempting to cash in his pension under the new pension freedom act. The customer has

provided all of the documentation requested but firm have kept on delaying the settlement. The firm have

now advised he must provide further documentation but the customer is finding it difficult to obtain this. He

suffers from MS and this is causing him further stress.

Complaint relates to delays in cashing in a personal pension. [consumer] was told that her pension had been

successfully cashed on the 12 August. She was told it would be sent to her building society account within

the next few days. This hasn't happened and the pension has been transferred to another provider.

The complaint relates to pensions. The consumer cashed in her full pension and the firm sent out all the

relevant paperwork. This was sent to the wrong address however and this has now put the consumer at risk

as her information may fall into the wrong hands. The consumer is unhappy with the amount of

compensation the firm have offered.

Complaint relates to a mis-sold pension. The consumer is unhappy the firm have stated she cannot withdraw

a lump sum due to having a private pension. The consumer feels mis-led.

Consumer had given instructions to sell the units so that she could cash in the drawdown. They confirmed

that the units had been sold and that she would get the monies in September when the sale had been

settled. However, they still have not sent her the money and she has to keep on chasing them The business

only do a pay run on certain days of the month, 6-9 working day of the month

Complaint relates to the time taken and serviced received when the consumer tried to withdraw her

pension from the business. The consumer is unhappy that the timescales were changed which negatively

impacted her financial plans.

[consumer] complains that her pension plan has been with Royal London’s technical team for several weeks

due to the pension not being transferred correctly. In the meantime she is unable to get any money out of

the pot this has been ongoing since 11/8/15 when they changed the plan number. She is not getting any

satisfaction from them despite telephone calls & emails. She also does not see why to exit the plan she has

to pay her financial advisor for something that is not her fault.

Relates to this firm stating that I had to seek independent financial advice regarding my pension and my

guaranteed annuity rate. The GAR ended on the 1st August but as the firm extended the deadline by 90 days

my payout is being delayed as they want me to prove that I have had independent financial advice.

Relates to the firm's failure to release me a tax free lump sum from my personal pension held with them.

Consumer gave instructions to the business on the 29th June 2015 requesting his last contribution to be

made on the 10th Aug, retirement date is the 11th Aug regarding his personal pension and they confirmed

that they would carry this out, He has been told on the phone, that in order to get his pension, it takes 50

working days from the 11th August which is his retirement. He wants to know why this was not made clear

to him before and feels that that this is wrong.

Unhappy with performance, now wants to cash in pension

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer has been trying to withdraw the pension and has been

constantly chasing the firm. The consumer is unhappy the funds have not been received and the delays

caused as it has caused a huge inconvenience.

Relates to consumer cashing in pension. Should of been already paid out. Stated they has already sent out

a pack but hasn't received Updated of address details. Only received pack 3 days after this was meant to

of been paid out. Feels firm keep delaying too much, and now the amount they have decided to pay out

has changed from £1800, £1600. So has lost £200.00 because of the delays. She called them back in May to

do this. Unhappy how they have handled her

Complaint in relation to an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum. Consumer is unhappy about the business

the amount of time it has taken for them to pay his pension lump sum. The consumer is unhappy about the

business handled this and would like this looked into.

Unhappy that he has to get advice and that a drawdown facility is not available.

Consumer has a with profits pensions fund with Scottish Widows which he would like released early so he

can put down a deposit on a house. Scottish Widows will not release the fund with written confirmation that

the consumer has taken independent financial advise. The consumer has been clearly advised by Ashcroft

not to draw the pension down for a variety of reasons but the firm refuses to put this in writing. The

consumer cannot get his pension without it ad will lose the house.

Complaint relates to a pension plan and firms failure to provide information, firm have stated that only an

annuity is available however the complainant would like to take a lump sum payment due to his wife's ill

health.

Complaint regarding the firms refusal to release any funds from his Safeway pension. He believes under

government legislation he should be entitled to.

Consumer is unhappy with the difficulties they have had attempting to access their pension. Consumer

responded to an information pack in an attempt to obtain their pension and has not had the expected

responses since

Complaint relates to a pension plan, complainant is unhappy with the amount firm have taken in fees when

cashing the policy in.

Consumer is unhappy with inconsistent information they have received from the business in relation to

cashing out their pension under the pension freedoms regulations

Complaint regarding a personal pension held with Aviva. Consumer took the 25% tax free lump sum and left

the remaining funds in an investment held with Aviva. The aim was to leave this money until she could take

further sums tax free. Aviva contacted consumer to say they had miscalculated the figures and sent a

cheque for the discrepancy which consumer has been taxed on. Consumer complained about this was not

given the correct complaint timescales.

Complaint relates to a pension plan. (UFPLS)

Complaint relates to a pension with Abbey Life. Has been advised to leave money with Abbey life until he is

60. He has now contacted Abbey Life to request the lump sum. They confirmed they tax free lump sum

can be paid them and the rest transferred. Now told they have to delay, and complete investigations. They

state they need to investigate but feels this is taking too long. This was started in April. Nothing has still been

paid and it now September.

Consumer wanted to draw 25% of their pension to invest elsewhere and is unhappy that the firm reduced

the amount initially quoted to the consumer after he had waited 30 days for the quoted funds to be

transferred to his account.

Complaint against Clerical Medical (complaint ref: in respect of the charges (£4,524.93) applied to the recent

transfer of my pension fund.

The consumer has tried to cash in the pension which he holds with the firm however they will not allow him

to do this. The reason they have given is because the pension has a Guaranteed Annuity rate.

requested to cash in pension and was quoted a figure which has now dropped by 5% by the time I will

receive the money.

[consumer] is unhappy with her pension provider. She has been trying to release some funds from her

pension. She has been caring for her daughter who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Her statutory

sick leave is coming to an end and she wishes to continue caring for her daughter. The firm keep telling her

they will send her the form but it never arrives.

applied to transfer a deferred pension after they contacted me by email advertising this service, having

sought there advice they went ahead with the proposals and figures leading me to believe everything was

going to go through fine, after they had finished the process they declined to transfer my pension saying I

would be loosing money which we had already discussed and I was fine with the final fee they are charging

me is £3960 which I think is far too steep for just giving advice to say no

Complaint in relation to the firm refusing to allow the consumer to cash in his pension early on medical

grounds. The firm sent the medical forms etc required along with a valuation of the policy however they

have now advised he cannot cash in this type of policy.

relates to issues regarding personal pension plan held

Unhappy that she missed the 3 month window of opportunity to transfer her pension. This is because her IFA

has not acted in a timey manner. This has now left her in a compromising situation causing her emotional

distress.

Complaint regarding her lump sum pension payment. She was informed she can take the money from this

pension. However they are asking her for the original documents for this pension which she is unsure she will

have on her now. They also want six more documents for proof of her id which she is not happy with.

Complaint relates to delays in cashing a pension. Consumer has been told the problem is an IT fault but is still

awaiting the pension to be paid out.

Complaint relates to a pension with Scottish Widows. The consumer is unhappy with the delay in paying the

pension. (AVC issues)

Complaint in relation to delays in firm releasing the consumers 25% lump sum. The firm advised it would

take between 2-3 months however this timescale has now passed. She was advised to register online

however her policy number has not been recognised so she has been unable to do this. She feels the way in

which her enquiry has been been dealt with is unacceptable.

Complaint relates to a number of issues that the consumer has had with her personal pension. The consumer

contacted the business in January to discuss the flexible access drawdown and has been given conflicting

information since this date. The consumer was also told that she would have to seek advice and it had to be

one of their advisers.

The consumer is unhappy that the firm say that if she takes her pension at 60 she will not be able to take

£5396.25 as previously stated. They say that she could only take approximately £3800. She feels the

company are not treating her fairly in not allowing her to take whole sum.

The consumer is unhappy with the advice given by the firm. She was told that she could take her pension

how she wanted. She has now discovered she cannot take all her pension in a lump sum as advised.

Complaint relates to a pension with Abbey Life. The consumer's pension matured in June 2015. The

consumer phoned the firm in May to give authority on what to do next with the pension. The firm have sent

out numerous forms to the consumer and nothing has been actioned by the firm.

Customer had requested to cash in his pension due to serious ill health. He was waiting for the payout, but

was then advised the wrong forms had been completed. He feels the firm are at fault for sending the wrong

forms initially as he had informed them of his condition. He has still not received the correct forms for

completion. He feels the firm are purposely delaying the payout.

Unhappy with the delays encountered when transferring pension funds. She has been embarrassed not to

receive the lump sum because she promised some of the lump sum to her son. This has caused her stress &

wasted time & frustration.

Complaint relates to the time taken for the business to get back to the consumer regarding withdrawing the

tax free lump sum from his pension and there have been other issues regarding this matter. He feels this is

unfair.

The consumer is unhappy about the business not releasing her pension after a n error of incorrect bank

details being provided. The consumer argues this has been happening since 19/8/15

Complaint relates to firms refusal of early release on his pension on medical grounds. Consumer has supplied

various evidence and supporting reports from professionals to back up his request.

Complaint regarding delays in processing payout that resulted in decrease of value.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy as he was not allowed to take his pension in full. He was only

offered 25% lump sum when he wanted to cash it all in. Now the business have admitted their error and

want him to return all the money he has taken so they can release all the pension to him. However consumer

has spent half of the 25% pension they gave him.

Complaint regarding his personal pension, the maturity value of the pension is not what he expected. He

constantly received statements to state what he will get but when it came to taking the pension out under

the new rules for the lump sum the amount was a lot lower. He is not happy with this.

Complaint relates to a private pension. [consumer] wanted to withdraw the funds from his pension but the

firm have not helped him. He feels they do not want to help him with this because they don't want him to

have the lump sum.

The customer purchased a secured deposit account (£30000.00) , and on several occasions told the company

that he would require the full amount as a tax free lump sum when he retired. He was told that this would be

ok. He has now applied for the money and has been told that he is entitled to 25% as a a cash lump sum.

He has complained to the company but they have declined to release the whole fund.

The consumer is unhappy that he was told by the business that in order to take out the money in his pension,

he would need to contact a financial advisor about this which he is not prepared to do as his accountant has

been helping him with the necessary advice.

I'm taking a drawdown from my pension and I'm unhappy with the amount of personal information, that I'm

being asked to provide. I don't see what some of the questions have got to do with what I'm doing with my

fund.

Complaint relates to the mis selling of his pension plan he believed he would be receiving a lump sum upon

retirement however it is an annuity

Complaint in relation to firm overpaying the consumer when paying the lump sum. The consumers made a

complaint in relation to delays with the lump sum being paid. The response to this was upheld but they had

realised the consumers had been paid 6K more than they should have and this amount was owed as tax. The

consumers believe this to be unfair as they were told all tax etc had been deducted from the amount paid.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the payment of lump sum for a personal pension. The

firm keep saying incorrect and contradicting information and sending the wrong forms to the customer

Complaint relates to a pension plan and advice received from firm which has caused a financial loss.

Administrative issues with setting up drawdown.

Complaint relates to a personal pension policy. [consumer] has been trying to release funds from her pension

pot, but the pension providers has passed the issue to her other pension provider.

Complaint relates to a personal pension policy. [consumer] has been trying to release funds from her pension

pot, but the pension providers has passed the issue to her other pension provider.

Complainant transferred funds to her pension fund which was advised she could do but is unhappy that the

business opened an additional policy and now due to this she is not giving her an income from her pension.

Complainant feels that the business has breached the contract because she is not getting paid from the

business. The business has given incorrect advice about the transfer and they are unable to give a time limit

as to when complainant will get her income.

The consumer is unhappy about how the business have dealt with his pension and would like the issue

resolved. The consumer is unhappy about why they allowed the IFA to withdraw the fund without his

permission.

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer opted to receive a full cash sum of £8690.60 and terminate

their pension. However when receiving correspondence back from the firm, this value had decreased

considerably. He is unhappy that the value of the fund fluctuated so considerably within a few days of

accepting the initial value given.

The consumer asked to cash in his pension. Initially the firm advised that the policy was redeemable and said

that a redemption figure would be sent out to him. He had to request this again as this was not received.

However he was given a redemption value of £24,632. After still not receiving any correspondence, he

queried this again, to be told that the policy was not redeemable due to his age.

Complaint relates to delays that [consumer] has experienced in cashing in his pension. He has been

attempting to do so for a year now. He was initially told to wait until April 2015 when the pension freedoms

came into place. He was initially he could cash the pension then informed he couldn't. Then he was told he

may be able to transfer it into a SIPP. He was then told he can't transfer it to a SIPP. He has been sent a letter

with wrong income and savings information for him.

delays in accessing benefits under the freedoms

Complaint relates to a pension plan and difficulties the complainant has experienced accessing his funds.

Personal Pension-Complaint relates the consumer experiencing misleading and possible misrepresentation

by the business Intention was to consolidate all pension pots into the Clerical Medical(Scottish Widows).The

consumer was not informed that an IFA would have to be consulted in order to achieve the transfer of all

accumulated funds, but would have to take 25%.As a result of being advised of this late stage the consumer

had no option to accept the 25% lump sum to set up drawdown.

Complaint relates to the mis-sale of a pension. The firm have given the consumer three options to take his

money, but have now said that they do not have to honour the options and there is nothing he can do with

his pension.

"I have received 4 pension details for myself dated 30/05/2015. I have added all the transfer values together

on these policies and they come to £70655.82.

I contacted Reassure yesterday by phone to claim back 25% tax free on all of the policies and to move the 4

pensions into a flexi drawdown retirement fund. But was told that due to the Chinese market crash I was

now entitled to £7244.00 less"

Customer is unhappy that they were unable to withdraw their pension as a lump sum. Also the loss of

guaranteed annuity rates. Customer is also unhappy with the poor service they have received.

I recently decided to opt out of my company pension scheme. The Pen 4 form was sent on the 10th August

2015 to Capita to process. Till this day Capita has not resolved my refund to opt out of the pension, I waited

until the 17th September to call and query how long before my refund is processed. The man on the phone

confirmed they received it early August and sorry for holding on to it, they should be sending me a refund

form to complete that week. Nothing arrived in the post

Complainant is unhappy with the charge applied for crystallisation of his pension. Complainant believes that

this is an excessive charge. complainant believes he has received poor service.

Complaint relates to the consumers personal pension. He has approached the business to cash in the

pension and they have written to the consumer saying that they will be deducting £1000 on the basis that

the consumer is taking his pension at the age of 55 rather than 60. The consumer has been receiving annual

statements saying that the retirement age is showing as 55.

Customer is unhappy with the miss information they have received after they made a request to withdraw

form their pension,

Consumer is unhappy that the business didn't tell her she wasn't old enough to take a certain amount of her

pension

Complaint relates to [consumer] unhappy as he is the executor of his late wife [name removed] He is trying

to cash in her pension following her death. However the business are refusing to pay out unless he takes out

probate. This is unnecessary as he is the executor of the will and probate have confirmed to him in writing

that it is not required.

Wasn't expecting a charge of a '5% Initial Adviser charge'. Wanted to just to release a cheque to get a lump

sum from their pension. Initial adviser charge wasn't explained . Standard life Pension. SIPP wrap. Feels

this wasn't made clear and this is a significant chunk of their investment.

Complaint relates to consumer unhappy as the business not willing to release any money from her pension

annuity held with them. This is approximately £50,000.

Complaint relates to the consumer attempting to get his pension . Every time he completes the businesses

form they send him another form ! The consumer is not very good at writing and does not know why they

keep asking for the same information

Complaint is regarding the charge being applied by pension provider should complainant withdraw the funds.

The fund value is £32,058. Pension provider is applying a MVA of £10,293.

Complaint relates to administration of pension. Consumer informed the business that she wanted to

withdraw the funds from the pension on 15 August 2015. Consumer submitted all the necessary forms and

documentation and has chased up the matter several times. The business have not yet released the funds

and she feels they are using delaying tactics

Consumer is unhappy that the business mis-quoted his pension lump sum. Consumer was initially quoted an

amount, however the business have now quoted a higher amount and have refused to honour the initial

lump sum as this was because of human error.

Complaint relates to the consumer approaching the business to put in place a retirement drawdown. The

consumer was advised by Aegon that he would need to see his IFA. The consumer submitted all

documentation, which the business said they had not received. The consumers passport was enclosed and as

a result the consumer e had to report this has lost. Then all the documents turned up at Aegon? The request

for the retirement drawdown has still not been dealt with correctly

Application made in August concerning the pension has not been actioned as requested as client still awaits

contact after risk assessment was sent. Was initially advised that this would be completed in August. The

firm has advised that further forms will be sent, as errors had been made, but nothing has arrived. The delay

is causing financial difficulty.

Consumer is unhappy that Aegon will not allow her to take benefits from her pension scheme, without

needing to seek independent financial advice, feels the literature from Aegon

The complaint relates to pensions. The consumer took a lump sum from his pension in 2012 but was given no

further information about what would happen with the remaining balance. The consumer recently enquired

about taking a further lump sum but was told he could not do this as an annuity should have been set up.

Different people have told the consumer different things and they are unhappy the firm have now set up an

annuity.

Have 2 AVC's with Aviva. On 9 September 2015 a request was made for my AVC's be transferred to AON

Hewitt. AVC and Freestanding AVC have not been transferred. Unhappy with the delay. This is causing a delay

in receiving my pension

Complaint regarding the firm failing to provide an investment guide following a consultation. Consumer was

informed she could not do what she wanted to do and they offered different products. In may she was

advised she would receive an investment guide to help making a decision but to do not received this. She

has also requested answers to questions which they have failed to address. The firm have also not

responded to complaints raised on 04/08/15 and 24/08/15.

Complaint relates to the businesses refusal to release a pension pot. The consumer has been told that

because he has asked for the money after turning the age of 75 they are not willing to pay out in a lump sum.

The consumer is unhappy that the firm supplied him with incorrect information regarding the tax free

amount he can take and what he can/can’t do with the pension pot itself. He is also unhappy with the level

of service he has received from the firm as they have passed him from different departments failing to

answer his questions/queries.

Customer is unhappy that the amount he had received when he cashed in his pension was less than he was

originally quoted.

Complaint relates to the firms refusal to allow the consumer to take a larger lump sum as part of her

pension options. She has previously taken a smaller lump sum and the firm has now stated she cannot

change this decision.

The firm sent letters with the incorrect retirement date on, The customer decided to take a lump sum. The

firm wanted certified bank statements - but the customer only does online banking and feels there is no

need for this but got a bank letter instead. The firm then state the customer filled the wrong form. The firm

have also failed to send the customer a final quote. The customer then sent the correct forms, yet the firm

have failed to pay the customer or respond.

Consumer is unhappy with the problems they have had in claiming their pension pot under the pensions

freedoms regulations. Consumer has received inconsistent and conflicting information regarding the

progress of their claim.

Delays have resulted from the Prudential not processing the application for the payment of the pension.

They did not advice that they would need correspondence concerning his now fully discharged bankruptcy

before they could proceed

Complaint regarding pension pay out request that the consumer made on 12/02/2015. However the process

has been delayed and consumer believes that this is due to the business having requested for some official

documents and other requirements which delayed the process of obtaining the pension money..

Complainant requested his lump sum payment from James Hay regarding his pension for 25%. they stated

this will be done on 25th march 2015. However whilst he was away he realised this was not done and had

difficulties contacting them to deal with this as he was not in the country. They stated the payment was sent

but his bank confirmed money had not been received. They sent him conformation but later realised the

money was placed in their holding account which he is not happy with.

Personal Pension dispute: having earlier this year to discuss pension and payments. Mr Copithorne was

wanting to take funds from pension to purchase a new car and was told he could do this. He was then

advised to call back in the new financial year (after April 2015). Having then called back a few weeks later he

was told he couldn’t remove any funds as he had not reached 55 years of age yet (he is only 46).

Consumer is unhappy that the business is requiring them to seek advice from an IFA before releasing their

pension to them

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer opted to receive a full cash sum of £9130 and terminate their

pension. However when receiving correspondence back from the firm, this value had decreased

considerably. She is unhappy that the value of the fund fluctuated so considerably within a few days of

accepting the initial value given

Complaint regarding problems in drawing benefits from an occupational pension scheme, under the pensions

freedom rules, there have been confusion around who the trustees of the scheme are as their permission

was needed

Complainant is in relation to a personal pension. complainant is unhappy with the performance of the

pension the investment has not made any increase value and is unhappy that business has refused to provide

the investment to the consumer until he is 65 years old..

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer had requested to withdraw funds and benefits from

his pension in August. There has been significant delays in his funds being released which [consumer]still

does not have. He has had written correspondence stating they would release his funds within 2 weeks and

needed no further information. They are holding onto his funds and still no solution to the situation

This complaint relates to the delay in the firm actioning the consumers request to cash in his pension as a

lump sum. From the day that the consumer requested to withdraw the funds and to when he received it, he

lost over £2000. He was told it would only take 17 days but it took much longer.

Customer is unhappy that by treating their two pensions as one, the customer is being forced to involve an

IFA to withdraw only one of their pensions.

Customer is unhappy with some of the questions the the firm are asking them to answering a questionnaire.

They will not allow the consumer to accesses their pension until they have, which the consumer feels they

are not required to do.

Personal Pension dispute: following [consumer]'s request to move £10,000 from his pension he states funds

did not arrive in his designated Barclays Bank account (despite Scottish Widows' confirmation of sending as

of 29 September 2015). He has now been told the funds were sent to a former Abbey National account he

has never held at all. He finds it very poor the business did not verify up to date account information and has

been told he must now wait until the bank returns to the funds.

Customer is unhappy that the firm have not released his pension funds.

level of tax applied on flex-drawdown

End of Aug made an application to cash in pension. Went through the process and filled out forms.

Expected it to take 7-10 from receiving forms . Told he missed a form, and they emailed it to him, resent it,

expected all was ok, however 30th still no funds. Firm now stating issue with forms again, firm state he is

[name1] He has always been [name2]. They state he signed [name1] when opening Feels someone has

changed the copy and requested original.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant is unhappy that the firm are

blocking him for receiving his payment. He has provided all the documentation and explained to [name

removed] for over the phone the form that was required to completed confirmed over the phone, he agreed

that they had everything and would get a manger to call him, but he has been advised that they are both

away.

The customer enquired whether she could cash in her pension and take the lump sums over 3 years to avoid

payment of tax. On 2 occasions she was told this was possible. When she then requested this to be

processed, she was told it was not possible. Due to this she had had to pay tax (£10096.60) on the lump sum

Consumer is unhappy the business have refused to give him his lump sum of £45K on 2 occasions. Firstly he

requested it as an Uncrystallised Fund Pension Lump Sum and then requested a transfer to his HL Vantage

SIPP Pension Scheme with Hargreaves Lansdown. On both occasions this was rejected by Reliance Mutual.

The consumer is unhappy that the firm is referring him to a IFA before the release him pension (as per him

instructions)

Complaint relates to problems the consumer is having with recovering funds from his pension plan following

the change of regulations in April. There has been a lack of contact from the business regarding this.

[consumer] does not feel the service & advice received from Coffee Brooks warrant the fee they charged

which has been taken without her permission. She is unhappy that they failed to give her information about

the investment. She is also unhappy they sent someone else’s confidential information.

Complainant is unhappy with the service received by the company. He has been trying to get funds released,

however, the business are saying that he is unable to withdraw the full amount and he is unable to

drawdown due to only having £30,000 in the pot which is not enough.

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer decided to surrender the pension in light of the Government

changes and advised the firm accordingly. It took some time to receive the form which he then sent back. He

then had to complete a questionnaire which he sent back. He then received another questionnaire which

asked the same questions, this resulted in there being a considerable length of time to pay out on the policy

resulting in financial loss

Not happy that the business have put obstacles in the way of cashing in the pension fund.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant is unhappy that the firm have

released his pension without his permission. The matter is being investigate for fraud by the police.

The consumer is unhappy with advice he was given by a financial advisor. He has explained he was told if he

were to cash in both his pensions, he could do this to pay his bills, but it would take around 6 weeks. it has

now been around 6 months and he still doesn't have the money. He is also unhappy that he has now been

billed £2500 for the advisors help, however he has not agreed on any figures. He was going to use the money

to pay off debts and has incurred further charges.

Consumer initiated a 25% drawdown on pension. There was a 9 day delay in the re-investment of the funds

into the new portfolio. Consequently, the fund lost out 3% of potential growth

Complaint relates to a personal pension. The consumer wanted to take 100% of his pension as he was

advised that it could not go anywhere else. The consumer spent a large amount of time dealing with this, but

initially missed out on a ticking a box. Due to the amount of time taken by the business however, the total

amount had dropped by £500.

The consumer was advised to transfer his occupation pension to another provider. At the age of 55 he asked

for the whole amount to be transferred to his bank but was told this was not possible. When he again asked

for this transfer to be made when he was 57 he was advised this could never happen and he had to take a

monthly income only.

The firm wrote to the customer advising he had a guaranteed amounted up until 17/04/2015 - so the

customer transferred the funds to a cash fund to safeguard it, on 17/04/2015. However the amount the firm

paid out was less than the guaranteed figure. The firm state this is because the transfer happens 2 days later

from when he requests this. The customer is unhappy with this as he was never made aware of this before

and their letter does not explain this either.

Consumer is unhappy with the time it took Friends Life to issue his personal pension funds. He was assured

his funds would arrive on 11 May but only got them on 16/10/2015 and as a result it has has lost value.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer requested a flexible drawdown and submitted the relevant forms.

The firm has refused the request as he needs to pay out for a financial advisor. This is unsuitable for the

consumer and feels his request should be accepted. The consumer has received very poor service.

Customer filled in a form to enable him to cash his pension in a lump sum. The pension firm advised that he

could not cash the pension as he has ticked a box stating he wanted an annuity.

Complaint regarding advice given to take his 25% TFC and keep the remaining pension invested. He is

unhappy that there has apparently been no action for six months.

Unhappy that pension provider is refusing to action request to release funds from pension. Company will

only release the funds if complainant provides a signed authority from a financial advisor.

Complaint relates to the consumers personal pension.The consumer approached the business about 2-3

months ago to make arrangements to cash in her pension early.The consumer received illustrations and

paperwork to complete which the consumer completed and returned. The consumer then completed a

further questionnaire. The consumer never heard anything and when she called them they have advised her

that she cannot take the pension in full.

Unhappy that pension provider is refusing to allow complainant to withdraw the funds following the recent

government legislation. Was never sent a letter advising that the minimum qualifying age had increased.

Complaint relates to the possible options available to consumer following the pension freedom rules in April

2015 – Aviva section 32 policy.

Consumer feels that the advice charge she incurred to start your income drawdown plan was inappropriate

as she did not receive financial advoce from Prudential's Financial Planning partner. It also took over three

months to set up the income drawdown

Complainant is unhappy that his pension is not part of the Governments legislation.

Consumer is unhappy with the service received from the firm with regards to a pension freedoms. When

consumer contacted the firm to take her pension lump sum, she was unable to speak to a member of staff.

Case now converted

Relates to personal pensions. The consumer is unhappy with the way in which the firm have handled their

pension and their request for information. The consumer has not been supplied with a final valuation and

has therefore been unable to decide what he would like to do with the funds. The firm have also not

provided the expected level of service.

Unhappy funds not yet released

Complaint relates to firms decision not to transfer the complainants final salary pension.To manage my final

salary transfer and place the monies into my portfolio and for me to drawdown 25% of the pot into my bank

account.

Complainant had £23,000 in his pension which he wanted to cash in and now has found out that the amount

has reduced to £3000 and the business is unable to provide an explanation for this.

Consumer is unhappy that the business is insisting on them seeing a financial advisor before they will release

the consumers pension funds under the pensions freedoms regulations

The complainant is unhappy that the firm is unwilling to release their late husband's pension as a lump as the

total value of the pension is £18,273. The firm states that their limit for releasing pensions as a lump sum is

£18,000. The consumer has offered to forfeit the extra £273 or for this to given to charity but the firm is

unwilling to changes it's position.

Complaint in relation to firm not releasing the consumers fund from the personal pension. The consumer

contacted them via his IFA on 25 July 2015 and despite assurances from the firm he has still not received the

funds. The consumer is finding this very frustrating as he and his family have just moved house and had to

find funds from elsewhere for moving costs. He is also having to take time out work to contact the firm.

After a number of phone calls with Prudential spread over several weeks, extended written correspondence,

and additionally a home visit by a Prudential Representative to discuss the matter, I decided to take my

Pension fund as a cash lump sum. At no stage during any of the negotiations was I informed either verbally

or in writing that I would incur any charges for taking out the lump sum, in fact to the contrary.

Requirement for advice & IFA charges plus delays

I have been trying to move my deferred pension to a drawdown pension. The company I was recommended

by the teacher pension company was BBT asset management following a course I attended in Feb/ March

2015. To put it bluntly they have been negligent in their conduct as they do not communicate with me, I am

left to check and act as the go between between ICI and BBT I have to email the consultant and I am obliged

to use a financial advisor and pay them £3600 for this shoddy non-service.

The complaint relates to the consumer not receiving confirmation in writing that he had been given advice

relating to his Occupational Pension.

Retired with small pension with L & G. Pay out due in August 2014 and was advised to set up a small annuity

as I did not understand pension agreed. Pension set up for 10 years and in this period I do not get half of

what is in the pension pot. Serious financial problem and no proper income. Contacted L & G advising I wish

to drawn down policy, but they are unable to change agreement of annuity

Complaint relates to the firm's delays in paying out monies due to the consumer and not intending to pay the

full benefits and interest due whish has resulted in costs to the consumer.

Complaint regarding problems/delays in drawing benefits from her Aviva personal pension. She wished to

move benefits to another provider where they could be drawn down. Delays led to a drop in the value

Consumer's complaint is that the business have said that they cannot get in touch with his employer to find

out if he still works for them. This will delay his payment. They cannot proceed with the claim until they can

get in touch with his employer

am writing on behalf of my 80 year old father who has recently made enquiries in respect of claiming his

pension due to the recent pension changes in legislation which states anyone over the age of 55 is able to

withdraw their pension He currently receives an annual payment from Standard Life when he was employed

for British Steel, however they have informed him he has to wait until 2017 for his pension pot to be

released; he is very disappointed Could you tell me who I need to contact for him

Firm is refusing my request to withdraw cash from the consumer's existing policies [removed] and

[removed]. Firm is stating that the consumer must employ a Financial Advisor and pay his fees (which the

consumer does not need or wish to do. Consumer knows what they would like to do and all it's

ramifications). The firm has also told the firm that they must use one of the firm's new policy platforms and

reinvest his funds in a restricted list of funds of the firm's choosing.

Wants to make sure firm pays lump sum rather than switch to drawdown

The consumer is unhappy that he has been trying since 28/07/2015 to take his pension. He states he has

been told the business need to wait for the annuity to be released but he states he hasn't asked for anything

to do with an annuity as he just wants his funds.

Complainant unhappy with firms unwillingness top pay out settlement as requested, are also unwilling to

deal with [consumer rep] where [consumer] has previously given permission for them to do so

Contacted the Firm in April 2015 to request a draw down of a quarter of my pension. Completed and

returned paperwork but advised that they did not have the completed investment forms, even though they

had been returned in the same letter. Valuation drop of £3K

Complaint in relation to delays with firm transferring the consumer pension to a new provider. The consumer

requested the transfer 13 weeks ago and the firm have given him excuses the whole way through the

process to why there are delays. He feels this is not acceptable. The delays in the transfer has caused a delay

to him accessing his lump sum.

Complainant is unhappy that the business gave them an incorrect figure that they would be able to draw

from their pension without being taxed, resulting in a tax liability of £1382.92

Pension Annuity dispute: following a request for a commutation of the annuity due to incapacity and

disability [consumer] states she has experienced nothing but difficulties. Having contacted Standard Life in

August 2015 she was constantly refused the request (being told nothing could be done until 2017). She has

also forwarded details of the new legislation she has also not received a response from the provider.

[consumer] complains that he was put onto an annuity & was not aware of this product. He is told that the

value of the pension pot is less than the threshold & therefore no funds can be released. Meanwhile he

cannot pay back the Inland Revenue & has been threatened with possession of his home.

Complaint relates to a pension. The consumer feels that he has been mis sold this pension. The money in his

pot is £56,044.76 and he waited until the new freedom pension laws were due to be enforced. He was under

the impression he could take his pension as a lump sum or a least a percentage of it. However Phoenix Life

said he is only entitled to take £144.28 and the rest at £286.79. They say this is because of a guaranteed

minimum pension clause on the policy which he was not aware off.

Complaint relates to receiving payments from a personal pension. Delay, misinformation & charges

The fund was held in cash with RBS. Each January, Hornbuckle withdrew £300 inwrongly deducted but £300

was eventually refunded. Following the pension reforms, I decided to take the entire fund. The information

on Hornbuckle's website recommended completing their HI99 form to withdraw & close the entire plan. I

had to sign a "non advised letter" before Hornbuckle would process my request. They will not refund the

fees wrongly charged. advance for annual administration fees. This year £600 was

Complaint relates to a flexi pension policy. He was contacted by Prudential to let him know the policy was

maturing and advising him of the options. He opted to defer until 2015. He requested to draw down on his

pension but the business have not issued his requested documents and he has called them on several

occasions to get this resolved. He is unhappy with the poor level of service from them.

The consumer is unhappy about the delay that occurred in processing their Uncrystallised Fund Pension

Lump Sum claim. The consumer feels their plan has decreased by £860 due to the delay and he wishes to be

compensated for this.

I retired in 2012. I asked for the full amount to be released to me in one go but they refused and are instead

paying me annually. I am also being taxed on the payments.

Complaint relates to firms refusal to take lump sum from policy.

Consumer took a 25% tax free lump sum and set up an annuity but then the laws around this changed so she

cancelled the annuity to consider the effect of the change on her situation. She was unable to repay the TFLS

as the money had been used. She can now repay the TFLS but is informed by Aegon it is too late and that the

funds are being held in a non-interest bearing account. She does not want the money at the moment as will

incur 40% tax. She feels Aegon are being irresponsible.

Personal Pension-Complaint relates to the consumer approaching the business in April 2015 in order to

arrange partial withdrawal to his pension fund. On the advice given he completed the necessary forms.

When he contacted the business in August 2015 he has now found out that he was given incorrect advice

about the partial withdrawal option. As a result of the initial advice the consumer paid for refurbishment of

his kitchen on his credit card believing that he could repay from the withdrawal

Complaint relates to the consumer having difficulty cashing in her pension due to her name being changed by

deed poll. The consumer is unable to obtain a copy from a solicitor because they only keep records for ten

years. The consumer's surname changed from Walsh to Horrigan.

The consumer has been trying to convert his two funds into a new flexi-plan as they need to withdraw

£20,000. The first request was received on 08/04/2015 but did nothing. Since then the consumer has been

fobbed off with numerous excuses and now the firm has stated that they're unable to do so because the FCA

restrict them to do business only within the UK.

Complaint relates to the lack of communication and dialogue the business have entered into with the

consumer following him wanting to withdraw a pension under the new pension rules.

Complaint relates to mis-advice surrounding an annuity. The consumer is in poor health and asked to take

the annuity as a lump sum. The consumer was informed that this would not be possible due to the limits of

the policy held.

Complaint regarding the firm delaying in paying out the consumers pension as a lump sum. He feels as

though the firm have tried to bribe him to cover their error.

Consumer recently cashed in his pension and is unhappy with the customer service he received and with the

fact that he received £4118.90 less than he was originally quoted.

Consumer's complaint is in relation to the level of service he has received fromFriends Life when wishing to

take advantage of the new pensions freedoms introduced in April 2015.

Complaint relates to consumers pension. Consumer retired in May and asked Countrywide Assured to pay

his pension as a lump sum. The business have insisted that the consumer seek financial advice before

drawing his pension and refused to release the funds without a signed advisor statement. The consumer has

spoken to financial advisors and CAB who have advised him this is not a legal requirement.

Customer is unhappy as they feel they have been miss advised over their annuity. Customer feels they were

never told that they could not access cash from the pension, also it was never explained that the next of kin

benefit would end in 2017. Customer was led to believe it would be indefinite.

Complaint related to the firm's failure to return the customer's annuity funds to him as he is blind and

required the funds for equipment. The firm say there is nothing left in the fund but the customer believes

there should be around £4k.

Complaint related to the firm's failure to return the customer's annuity funds to him as he is blind and

requires the funds for equipment. The firm say he can not access his funds until the laws change.

Complaint relates to a pension, where the consumer is unhappy that the firm have said that they need to

gain financial advice before they will release the funds

Complaint regarding his voluntary pension scheme. He has experienced problems in trying to drawdown his

pension on the back of the new pension freedom regulation and is not happy with the service he received

regarding this.

The complaint relates to SERPS. The consumer transferred his pension to the firm and was expecting

payment of the lump sum on 31st October. This did not happen so the consumer queried this and was

advised the firm had mis-placed his transfer form and cannot make the payment until a new one is received.

Complaint relates to administration of pension. Consumer feels they were mislead over illustration after

making enquiry

Customer contacted Aviva regarding pension drawdown. She received a pack that did not include the

pension drawdown facility. The firm advised her existing policy did not include this facility so they could

transfer the product. When she contacted them again the firm advised that she would need to transfer to a

different provider. She decided against the transfer and to draw on the the existing fund but they could hold

on to it for 6 months. The fund is now less than it was originally.

Complaint regarding the firm paying the consumer 25% lump sum of £16,228 and putting the remaining

amount (approx £45,000) in an annuity of which she receives £206 a month. The consumer has informed

them that she cannot live on this amount however the firm have refused to pay her out anymore then what

has been agreed.

The consumer is unhappy with the way they handled the transfer of his pension from LV. The company did

not record his P45 therefore it was rated as emergency tax. He was told to contact the tax office who

referred him back to the firm. He eventually obtained his refund in October after starting the process in June.

This situation caused [consumer] to delay paying off his mortgage. He has made 20-30 calls about this.

Complaint relates to the withdrawal of cash from consumer's pension pots. See attached

Not happy that the business are stating he cannot get to his funds as they are locked but they are going

against the government rules.

complainant believes that firm did not provide him with appropriate financial advice in a timely manner

relating to the transfer of his Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) to another provider. AFPS provided

business with a transfer value on 4 March 2015 and they included in there the proposed changes to

government legislation and that fully completed forms to transfer funds must be sent in by 2 April 2015 but

business did not contact complainant in time regarding this until the deadline was past.

The consumer contacted the firm to obtain his 25 percent lump sum of his pension pot more than 3 weeks

ago. He was told he had to speak to an advisor. He did this but has not received his lump sum and has been

asked to provide identification and bank statements . The consumer believes the firm is trying to delay

remitting his money. He was previously told his money would be with him in 10 days from his interview with

the advisor. His bank account details have not changed.

Complaint relates to a pension plan and firms delays in converting to a drawdown pension which has

resulted in a financial loss.

Consumer is unhappy that he had to acquire the services of a specialist IFA in order to withdraw his pension.

He also incurred losses in his business as a result of a delayed payout.

I have not lived in the UK for many years and have no intention to return to that country. After leaving.

France some years ago I now reside on the island of Mauritius on a permanent basis. I am not a UK tax payer.

I have made many telephone calls to Friends Life over a considerable period of time i.e. some years,

requesting they cancel the above policy and pay to me monies owed. I have been Increasingly frustrated by

their lack of action and cooperation and many emails have been exchanged be

Consumer is unhappy with the amount of tax that has been deducted from her policy benefits

Complaint relates to annuity. Consumer took 25% lump sum a few years ago but is struggling financially as

he is unable to secure employment and has bills outstanding. He has asked to withdraw further funds from

his pension. Business have refused this request.

Consumer has spent over 2.5 hours on the phone to Aegon to access his drawdown money and there system

is still not working. He has raised a formal complaint and has also mentioned to them that he feels that they

should have never referred him to a financial adviser as the value of his pension was under £25000.

Complainant is unhappy that firm insist that he seeks financial advice before they allow him to take a lump

sum and invest in other financial vehicles.

Complaint relates to an early payment of his pension. Due to being unable to return to work [consumer] has

applied to withdraw his pension.

Complaint relates to annuities. Consumer received information regarding an annuity from Zurich. He asked

for advice regarding his options but they could not provide this. This came at the same time as the

consumers wife becoming ill and him leaving work to look after her. [consumer] was not aware that he

would be able to access the funds when required and now feels he was not in the correct frame of mind to

have made such a decision.

The consumer took out an AVC through his company [name removed]. The last payment was made end of

June 2015. The appropriate paperwork to request the lump sum has been sent but as of yet the transaction

has not been completed. The firm say the paperwork has been sent to Aviva but no meaningful information

about the progress.

complaint relates to an early exit charge in respect of pension drawdown

Complaint relates to a personal pension plan and firm providing the incorrect information in respect of

pension freedoms.

The consumer's complaint is in relation to her being given conflicting information regarding the new pension

legislation. She was advised she could withdraw 2 of her 5 pots without incurring a charge by pension wise

however he business have declined this request stating she would need to transfer all pots and cannot chose

just the 2 as this is their business decision.

Customer is unhappy that they are unable to cash in their pension despite making numerous requests.

I am unhappy that the provider. Standard Life, is imposing conditions which, in my view, are unreasonable

and which place a financial burden on me. They are also demanding sight of advice given to me, when that

advice is confidential. The true purpose of the requirements they seek to impose appears to be for their own

protection, at my expense.

Complaint relates to consumers annuity. Consumer believes the annuity was arranged without his consent.

Consumers pension was with Save & Prosper, it was then transferred to J.R Morgan who transferred the

funds into the annuity with Legal and General. Consumer wants to withdraw his funds but believes that

some of the funds have been retained.

The consumer's complaint is in relation to the delays caused by prudential in relation to cashing in his

pension. They have requested further id which the consumer has provided and still his pension has not been

cashed in as per his instructions.

The consumer wanted the money transferred from the SIPP and the business are trying to deduct a transfer

fee

unhappy with the value of pensions received as business did not freeze the value of pension at the time of

request.

Consumer is unhappy with company as he feels he has been duped into signing for his money to be placed

into an Annuity. Consumer did not believe company would put his funds into an Annuity. Consumer is

unhappy as it was so close to the 9th April deadline. Consumer believes he was mis-sold the policy.

Consumer feels she was given incorrect advice about her pension options which did not correctly reflect the

change in pension legislation this year.

Complaint relates to he consumer unhappy as he feels he was mis led over advice given to him about his

pension. nothing was explained about potential penalties if he moves money across. No mention of how he

gets access to the plan.

Unhappy with the £960 fee being charged re advice concerning s32 policy. The firm advised that they would

be able to get the policy funds released but this was not correct & Prudential had already advised the client

that the funds could not be released

The complaint is in relation to a personal pension. The customer is unhappy because Legal and General has

agreed to pay out his pension and requested proof of his bank account details which he has provided but

they still have not transferred this to him. He has been waiting for this since April. He has tried to contact and

has sent emails but he has not received any reply from them. He is unhappy with how they have dealt with

the matter.

Unhappy with service provided regarding little information given regarding the cashing of his policies there

have been various maladministration's to which the firm has accepted. In addition to this he was not

informed of all the exit penalties that he would incur

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider has not followed his instructions to drawdown his pension

in full and instead extended/deferred the term of the pension to the age of seventy years of age. The

customer is incensed that this has transpired without his authorisation.

Complaint relates to a pension. Consumer submitted an application to withdraw funds from his pension.

The firm requested documents which were provided however, they responded stated they didn't have the

relevant information. The firm will not withdraw the funds without a financial advisor but no financial

advisor does not want to take the risk. This has caused an inconvenience as the consumer is unable to get

the monies.

Unhappy that Phoenix Life sent incorrect information about her pension advising her that she could take a

cash lump sum. However they are now saying that this was incorrect & the only option for her is to take out

an annuity. They failed to clearly explain the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) & also they did not tell

her that she could take out the pension at 60.

Complainant is unhappy with his pension provider for a multitude of service issues in relation to his personal

pension.

The consumer's complaint is in his relation to them failing to pay out his pension policy. The provider keep

promising the consumer he will receive payment within a few days however this has not happened. The

consumer is experiencing financial hardship and he is incurring charges on his bank account as the pension

fund is to repay the debt on his account.

Complainant states that he applied for his pension lump sum from the firm. He is unhappy with the way this

was handled, the delays and the process. As a result he lost £1200. It offered him £188 compensation.

relates to pension policy which was changed in December 2010 , I was told I could take money from my

pension if I needed to.Pru are now saying that I cannot take money from the plan

Complaint relates to a delay in transferring a pension fund due to a missing form. The delay result in a drop

in the value. The consumer feels it is unfair they have lost out due to no error of their own.

I approached a company called the Pension Specialists to ask about my options and get advice as to what

would be a good investment strategy for my pensions funds. I then took a greater interest in my pension

since the budget and announcement of pension freedoms. I asked about my pension, how was it invested,

where, with whom and how these pension freedoms would affect me and i was disturbed at the response I

received.Settlement: To get my pension funds back so that I can arrange to have this investment in

something within the UK that I can have a better understanding

Consumer is unhappy about the amount of time the business have taken in order to issue her pension The

consumer argues that they have been sending her and her daughter back and forth in regards to this and she

would like her money.

Complaint relates to the transfer of his navy pension into his Scottish Widows account. [consumer] is

unhappy with the handling of the transfer and there has been several mistakes which has resulted in him

losing the transfer and the 25% tax free lump sum which he would have received had the transfer gone

ahead,

The consumer's complaint is in relation to his pension provider delaying in paying out his pension. He chased

them on several occasions to have the funds released but Friends Life failed to send out the correct forms.

The consumer required the funds to purchase a caravan and had to take out a loan due to the delay in

receiving his pension.

Complaint in relation to the service received from the firm when he came to retirement age. The consumer

had requested his cash allowance at the age of 65 however due to firm not sending correct forms there were

significant delays from July to September. Due to the amount of time taken the amount paid was 3% less

than what was advised originally.

Complaint relates to the consumer who contacted their pension firm about their pension, which is just over

£23,000. the consumer contacted the firm, and found that the market value to take the funds now will mean

the consumer will only get £15000. The consumer is very unhappy with this, as the consumer does not know

why this is the case

Complaint relates to a pension plan and firms refusal to allow the complainant to take a lump sum.

Complaint relates to the business failing to pay the consumer's pension. The policy matured on 09/11/2015

but a pay-out has not been made. The consumer is unhappy as he has tried to contact the business various

times but has had no response.

Complaint relates to consumers pensions. Consumer requested a valuation on 18/5/2015, this was provided

and consumer was advised no charges were due on encashment. On 10/6/2015 consumer sent written

instructions to cash in both plans. Consumer received a amount substantially less than first advised.

Consumer had not been advised that the fund had decreased in value and no statement was supplied.

Consumer has since been advised that most of this shortfall was an early withdrawal charge.

I sought part encashment of an Aegon pension plan with a view to taking the cash free sum. Instead the

company liquidated the entire policy and paid over £3,000 to the Inland Revenue. They argue that I

misunderstood the options, but on a number of occasions I emailed and wrote to them specifying the precise

amount and making clear what my instructions were.

Complaint relates to the problems consumer is having getting firm to release his pension as a lump sum due

to the fact the solicitor that was involved when it was written into a trust merged with another firm and no

longer holds records on it.

I was sold an annuity by 'The Annuity Bureau' in 2013 in respect of my private pension benefits. I was not

made aware of any other options that were available to me and now find I can not get access to my money.

The customer had an AVC and when it matured gave written permission to his accountant to inform the

company that he wanted the option of taking the pension as a lump sum. The company would not accept the

authority for the third party to deal with this. When the customer returned from Thailand he contacted the

company who stated the request was too late. They have been sending cheques annually for the pension

payment which the customer has refused to cash.

Complaint relates to firms refusal to release consumers pension top him. They keep asking for the same

information like passport that he has already provided

Complaint relates to the delay in consumer having access to her pension funds.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the service received from the firm when the customer

tried to take their pension lump sum. The customer was made to jump through hoops in order to release the

funds. The customer was asked to get a certified copy of their passport, The customer got it certified by a

police officer who put down their badge number and other details but the firm insist this is not acceptable

as the officers home address and other personal info is present

Letter received re pension policy value now at £22,889.50 and as my chosen retirement date is just a few

weeks away and options that might work for me. Also received a letter informing me that because of a

Bankruptcy Order made in 1997 and unless I could prove hardship I would not be able to claim pension

Complaint regarding pension. The consumer's requested a claim form for his pension, and the firm have

requested documents to verify his identify. The consumer's supplied various documents which the firm

aren't happy with. The consumer's also unhappy with the complaints handler, and feels patronised by them.

Due to the delay this caused the fund value has dropped.

The consumer's complaint his annuity was purchased after his 60th birthday without his consent. The

business is currently holding the funds in an account, but has not given him information as to how to access

the money

This complaint relates to a pension. The consumer states they wish to cash in their pension, but have been

told that they cannot. The customer gets a payment of £119.58 every 3 months and feels that he would get

more benefit from having the pension in a lump sum.

As the law had changed, I contacted Friends Life again by phone this year to confirm it was still ok to take a

lump sum and they confirmed that it was. I wrote to them to ask them to go ahead and arrange for me to

take 50% December and 50% in the next tax year, as I didn't hear anything back from them I called them and

they told me that I could only take 25% or 100% (which would mean a lot of tax). Then now say I cannot take

out 25% either.

Not happy that the business state she has to keep in touch with the financial advisor but this is costing to

much money. She wants access to the pension funds as her bills are increasing each month.

Unhappy that the business failed to payout his pension policy using a corresponding HSBC account.

[consumer] explained to Phoenix Life that Russia does not use IBAN number. Unhappy with the poor service

received.

The consumer feels that he has been given bad pension advice. He stated that the advisor told him to cash in

his pension (incurring 40% tax) and he would invest with HSBC on shore bonds.

Consumer is unhappy that the pension plan they purchased with their mortgage was changed from a

personal pension plan to a retirement annuity plan without it being made clear to them and that they are

now unable to cash in their pension as a result.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider are making it difficult for him to drawdown on his personal

pension.

Complaint in relation to firm not discussing the pension with her due to her not being able to confirm who

she had named as beneficiary. She would like to cash in the policy and have access to this.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider have not enabled him to drawdown on his personal

pension in a timely manner.

Customer is unhappy with the firms poor handling of their pension transfer and draw down. Six months

have passed since the customer made this requests and they have complied with all of their requirements

but no progress appears to have been made.

Consumer is concerned that his pension lump sum is £7000 lower than what he was quoted when he

enquired. He has been advised that the incorrect figure was quoted due to a system fault; however, figures

in this region were quoted on several separate occasions. Consumer is concerned as had he been quoted the

correct figure, he would have been able to make a different choice for his pension.

Complaint relates to a personal pension plan and firms advice with regards to an annuity.

Complaint regarding mal-administration on pension policy. Complainant is unhappy that the firm state that

he has to get independent advice before they will allow him to take his pension. He has also been given

conflicting information over the value of the plan and they cannot tell him who the £30,000 is calculated.

I wish to complain about Abbey Life vesting the above pension policy without my instruction. It appears once

the plan had reached its normal retirement date Abbey Life vested the plan applying the proceeds to

purchase an annuity with them. I have not retired & continue to work within our Family business.

my policy matured on 02-12-2015. I have been unable to retrieve information and a date for this to be paid

to me.

The consumer is unhappy she has been trying for 7 months to withdraw money from a retirement plan. The

consumer has had to borrow funds needed through a larger than intended mortgage. The firm have provided

a poor service.

Complaint relates to Friends Life not offering pension drawdown. Consumer is also concerned he has been

overcharged and should be due some compensation for this.

Complaint in relation to firm refusing to pay the consumers lump sum without him taking advice from an IFA.

The consumer believes this advice is not required for the value of the plans and will cost him up to £2000

which he cannot afford to do. His health is not very good so an annuity option isn't suitable for him. Due to

his ill health he has requested case to be looked as a priority if possible.

Complaint relates to a pension with Phoenix Life. The consumer is unhappy he is unable to transfer the fund.

The consumer feels the firm are sticking to old rules to try and get around new rules that were implemented

in April 2015.

Complainant "cashed in" a private pension policy with Scottish Widows - I (apparently) paid 20 % tax on the

sum - however I have now received a letter from HM Customs & excise stating that the amount of tax that

should have been deducted was 40 per cent - and that I now owe them a sum of almost £4,000

I have cashed in an Abbey Life pension and have been charged £974.63 in fees on a Fund Value of

£24,662.60.

Complainant is unhappy that his pension provider has not processed his request to drawdown on his pension

in full in a timely manner.

The pension matured on 6/12/2015 and the firm advised the customer as he lives in Spain, he can send them

a copy of his driving licence, birth certificate, utility bills for his Spanish Bank - a month before maturity.

However the firm advised because the driving licence has his UK address on it, they wont let him have the

money. The customer needs the money prior to Christmas. The customer is chasing this but getting no

solution.

I forwarded all application forms to withdraw a lump sum on

09/11/15 by email and post. I have also sent all of my Bank details. They have everything requested. I was 75

on [date removed] On 07 December I received a letter from Phoenix dated 13/11/15 saying that as I was 75

on [date removed] the sum had been reduced from £57,390.62 to £56,265.91 They have promised to

return my calls and emails but are yet to do so.

Regarding the delays & poor service experienced since firm received request to take benefits from FSAVC &

feels was lied to by the firm

With the changes to the Pension rules since 1993 and in correspondence received from Lloyds Group in

March of this year advising that "Pension Pots" can be drawn down before State Pension Age, I made enquiry

with the Company to find out why I was not informed of the options available to me and instructed Lloyds to

dose the Policy. During my enquires I became aware that what I thought I signed up to was not what Lloyds

was providing and their failure to carry out my instructions confirmed this.

A lump sum was freed up and my pension was converted into an annuity without my written consent.

Landmark did not obtain a signature from me to go ahead with the procedure at any point. No paper work

was received by me at any point regarding this matter. I only discovered this after making enquiries after the

change in the law (April 2015) to liberate the money held in the fund

Has been advised that cannot take the funds from the pension plan, which at current rates will take over 30

years to pay out what was invested

The consumer's complaint is in relation to the delays his pension provider have caused in paying out his

pension. The firm have agreed several dates for the funds to be paid and this has been ongoing since March

and is still not resolved.

Personal Pension dispute; having enquired about taking funds after 6 April 2015 [consumer] was told he

could not take out funds beyond the drawdown cap. Having then been advised of a newer flexible product

he was then told he could not have it due to it not being available to existing customers until around the end

of 2015 or beyond. He finds this unfair as it would mean he would need to leave AEGON and could reapply

through an IFA as a new customer (losing out financially in the process).

Complaint relates to firm's inability/unwillingness to let the consumer drawdown on their pension.

The consumer's complaint is in relation to the delay the business have caused in paying out the benefits of

his pension. The consumer has requested the transfer since November 2014 and is still not in receipt of his

funds.

Complaint in relation to firm not allowing the consumer to withdraw the full amount of his pension funds

from the account. The firm have blamed the existing holder of the Annuity ( Legal and General) but they are

blaming this firm. The consumer has another annuity with a separate company and they are allowing full

access. He feels the new legislation should mean he is allowed to withdraw the funds from all his annuities.

The customer was looking to withdraw the amount as a lump sum following the change in April. The

customer contacted the firm previously regarding this and they advised that he will be able to do this.

However the firm are now advising the customer he is unable to do this. The only way the customer can do

this is by receiving financial advise, which will cost him money. The firm have offered £100 compensation but

the customer remains unhappy with this as has been given wrong advise.

Relates to several problems experienced regarding the release of my funds held in a personal pension with

firm.

I approached my pension provider AEGON with a request to take a 25% tax free lump sum from my pension

pot in April 2015 and was advised this option was not available at this time, but would be in October 2015.

When I contacted AEGON again in October, they informed me that my type of policy did not allow for this.

Following all this conflicting information from AEGON I now feel I was mis-advised and have lost faith in

AEGON.

Consumer is having great difficulty in getting her lump sum pension from firm. he has had to continually

chase and been given assurances that it would be paid which they have failed to adhere to, now she is being

told that there is a back log and she will have to wait.

Consumer is unhappy that the business are not operating a drawdown scheme on their pension but are also

not allowing them to access their pension at all until they are 65. Consumer feels this is incorrect as when

they originally took the pension out in 1985 their retirement age was 60 and they feel that if this was unclear

on the paperwork the business received when they took the pension over they should have verified with her.

Complaint relates to a personal pension where the firm have said the consumer can take his 25%

entitlement, but now say he cannot as his pension is in segments. The consumer has been dealing with a

[name removed] and was given an offer of a flexible drawdown facility in June 2015, but has now been told

that the offer was incorrect. This now means taking 25% of the segments will result in him having to pay a

large amount of tax.

Complaint regarding private pension. The consumer would like to take £27k in lump sum to avoid paying tax,

however this was refused.

Complainant has had a pension with the firm since 1987 and the pension has now matured. He was told he

could take his pension between the age of 60-70 and he decided to cash in on it after he turned 60. The firm

have now refused to pay the pension because it has been deferred to age 75 which he is unhappy about. He

has been complaining for months and still has not had his money yet.

Complaint relates to the problems the consumer is having with his pension provider and the release of funds.

Complaint relates to the consumer unhappy he has not been able to cash in his pension when he reached the

retirement age of 65. He has since seen his fund lose £1000.

I have spend lots of time on the phone to Phoenix Pension, and each times the came with the same reply (

need an IFA ). I have ask Phoenix to give me my lump but the are not prepare to pay me until I get the form

sign by an IFA .

Complaint is in relation to the handling of their pension by Clerical Medical regarding the delay receiving

funds due to negligence.

I asked Aegon to pay in full the full amount under the above plan number. From their letter dated July 2015

they advised me that the then current plan value was, (£209,833.36), to the date of payment, the total value

of the plan decreased to £190,465.27.1 did write to Aegon to query why the loss of some £19,000 and they

said it was due to market fluctuations.

Complaint in relation to firms mis-advice regarding the maturity of the consumers pension. They had advised

he could take a tax free lump sum and set up a yearly payment thereafter. He was happy with this and

confirmed the process with them several times over the year however he has now been advised the type of

plan he has doesn't allow the lump sum to be paid. He feels they should have picked up on their error a lot

earlier and is now not able to transfer to another provider.

Complaint relates to a pension and the firm's refusal to pay this out as a lump sum.

States they failed to communicate, misrepresented facts, The reduced transfer value should have been

communicated to me and my instructions sought. In effect I would not have allowed the transfer to go

through then. The market had just fallen and I had no need for the money at that stage Friends Life

confirmed to me by letter dated 1/10/2015 that they did not insist on Advice under this type of product and

therefore they are that [name removed]'s representation was not correct, see letter17/12/2015

The business are refusing to provide the consumer with information concerning his pension provisions held

with them.

Complaint relates to drawing down on a pension. The consumer contacted them to draw down on his

pension. They sent him forms which he never received and have admitted to sending him the incorrect

documents. It has been over 2 months and it has still not been processed and he is also unhappy with their

customer service.

The complaint relates to pensions. The consumer has been told by the firm that in order to change their

pension plan and withdraw lump sums they will need to engage a financial advisor. This will cost the

consumer a significant amount and they feel this is unreasonable as they are attempting to access their own

money.

Consumer is unhappy that the business is not following their instructions on paying out their pension as a

25% lump sum and then £10,000 per year thereafter.

Annuities arranged about 5 years. Due to health reasons I need to move houses. Money in the annuities

needed to fund the move

The complaint is about a pension draw down, the consumer is unhappy the way they handle it regarding the

new pension legislation. Friends Life have not applied an appropriate level of professional conduct as laid

down by the FCA regarding skill care, diligence, customer's interest, communications with clients, customer

relation of trust.

Complaint regarding annuity/lump sum and tax relief. I am nearing my retirement date and feel I am being

bullied in to taking an annuity.

Complainant is unhappy that firm will not provided any information as why he is not getting his lump sum

payment despite his pension pot is being far below the 18k limit.

The consumer has a pension with the firm which matured in 2014. The consumer has claimed the funds in

February 2015 but the firm are refusing to give the consumer the funds. The firm have advised the consumer

needs a UK bank account but the consumer lives in Kenya and does not have any identification to open a UK

bank account. The firm have advised they can send the funds to the consumer if he provides a signature from

a financial advisor but none are willing to do this.

Firm declined request to release 25% of the pension plan advising that the plan will need to be changed to a

different policy for which financial advice will need to be taken & paid for.

Customer requested to withdraw his pension in a lump however the firm have rejected this.

Consumer is unhappy that he is unable to make a lump sum withdrawal from his pension. He is specially

unhappy with this as he is only a few days from retirement and all along the information provided by AVIVA

suggested that he is able to make a lump sum withdrawal from his Section 32 plan. This is having a huge

impact on his retirement planning as he was hoping to use the money to pay off his debts.

Unhappy that business will not allow him cash in his pension early as per the new rules.

Complaint relates to service received in relation to his pension.

Unhappy that the business failed to acknowledge additional certified copies & originals of correspondences

i.e. Council tax bill and proof of address in Spain, she sent to them. Unhappy that the payment fro Drawdown

pension took so long , from the point she was told the money would be paid within 10 working days &

instead it took over 2 months. She states it took many emails & phone calls from he r& her IFA to sort this

out.

Complaint relates to administration of pension. Consumer is unhappy with the delay in receiving the forms

necessary fro him cash in the pension

he consumer has a policy with the firm worth £36000 and the consumer was take 25% tax free and the

remaining £27000 was to be reinvested in another fund. The consumer is unhappy that it has taken 7 months

and the process is still not complete. The consumer is also unhappy with being charged £1000 for the

process to be carried out.

The consumer initiated drawdown from Prudential on April 3rd and was advised a time scale of 6 weeks. By

October the consumer wrote the customer services about the delay and 21 October the consumer finally

received their tax free lump sum and their first monthly payment of £5 annual drawdown.

The consumer has requested information regarding the withdrawal of a small lump sum from their pension,

but has received no response regarding this. The consumer is in need of the funds in order to make

adaptations to their home.

Personal Pension (lump sum request) dispute: [consumer] states he was advised to ask for £47,000 lump

sum to be deducted from his pension on grounds of serious illness (serious back injury). He was advised by

Prudential Assurance at the time the lump sum could be claimed tax free. When the payment was finally paid

the amount was in fact taxed and he finds this unfair given the circumstances. He states he would not have

taken the amount had he known (£14,000 has been deducted from the amount).

Complainant is not happy with delays in processing application to draw down pension

Complainant commenced pension plan in June 1988. As pension was a small value complainant took

advantage of flexible access and ask for a commutation payment. Complainant requested a quotation for the

funs in June 2015 and was told to expect a gross, pre-tax, amount of £2657.54 from a fund value of

£4216.89. Was told that the difference in amounts was due to an administration charge

The consumer has a pension with the firm. He was contacted by the firm but they were writing to his old

address and he was not aware that he could take a lump sum. Now the firm have told him he no longer has a

number of pension options available, he can only take the annuity. The annuity equates to approximately

£500. The consumer could take the lump sum in 4 years, but due to his current financial and health situation,

he does need access to these funds.

Complaint relates to consumers pension. Consumer has been advised that living abroad means that he is

unable to transfer his pension or take a drawdown as previously advised. Consumer feels he has been mis-

led by the business.

Consumer is unhappy the firm are not allowing him to take his pension as one lump sum. Consumer is now

over 65 and has requested for the pension to be sent in one lump sum however the firm have refused.

Consumer has a personal pension with the business. He decided to take a lump sum of 25% from the policy.

At no point was he advised of what an annuity was, its features benefits and exclusions. The consumer was

led to believe the remaining funds would remain in the pension allowing him to have the income as a

drawdown but this has not happened.

Consumer is unhappy that after he signed the agreement to take a lump sum from his pension, the firm have

advised him that he is not eligible. Consumer was advised on 24/12/15 that the cheque was on it's way to

him so consumer agreed with his bank to repay his mortgage, however it now transpires that the funds were

never sent.

Complaint regarding the firm delaying the consumers request to drawn down some of his pension funds.

He is trying to claim on his occupational pension but he has been told that he cant take a lump sum because

his GMP is insufficient by around £200. They have said that half the pension must be given to his wife as a

widows pension. He is ill and that is why he wants the claim.

Relates to pension. Complainant unhappy with firms failure to respond to queries being made to his pension,

the first relating to fund valuation from 2008 onwards, the other was querying obtaining a drawdown, as not

clear answer was given.

Pension complaint - the customer said he first called Friends Provident in Feb 2015 as his retirement age was

due in April 2015. He said that they first refused to pay his pension and are now agreeing to pay just over half

and invest the rest in an open market option but he is yet to receive any money.

He is trying to move his pension from A-On to Aviva, but Aviva have been dragging their heels. Has been

going on six months.

He is trying to claim on his occupational pension but he has been told that he cant take a lump sum because

his GMP is insufficient by around £200. They have said that half the pension must be given to his wife as a

widows pension. He is ill and that is why he wants the claim.

He is trying to move his pension from A-On to Aviva, but Aviva have been dragging their heels. Has been

going on six months.

he consumer is unhappy that the firm have split their policy into two policies, the consumer also feels that

the firm are placing barriers in regards to pension freedom.

Complaint relates to a pension fund that the consumer wanted to drawdown completely on maturity. The

consumer still has not received the paperwork to enable him to do this.

Complainant is unhappy that the company have sent his pension to him as a lump sum. This has resulted in

needing to pay £8000 in tax. He did not request that they send a lump sum and does not know why they

have done so.

Complaint relates to a personal pension plan and firms refusal to allow the complainant to withdraw a lump

sum and costs incurred in seeking an IFA.

Complaint relates to a pension. [consumer] has been trying to cash in his pension, but the firm have been

obstructive. Communication has been unacceptable, eventually leading him to raise a complaint.

Business have have insisted upon a signed declaration from an independent financial advisor before a

pension transfer can be actioned.

Unhappy with the inability for the flexibility to transfer his pension scheme in to his SIPP fund.

C had pension with Clerical medical approx 25 years ago. Now has pension with Standard life. Clerical

contacted him after realising that they had made an error and advised him that he was due approx. £40k.

They have said that he must get independent advice, in line with the new industry rules, before they will

make the funds available. They have agreed to cover the cost. Standard life have also said that he must get

independent advice before they will receive the funds.

Consumer is unhappy that the business would not let him take his full pension to invest and only allowed him

an annual sum instead.

Complaint unhappy about how business handled instructions regarding a withdrawal from a SIPP

he consumer cashed his pension in due to financial difficulty, however the business miscalculated the

amount he was due (under taxing) and overpaid him. They are now demanding this money back, but the

consumer cannot afford to repay them as he has spent it; causing further financial difficulty.

Consumer is unhappy with advice given on releasing funds from her pension. She took 25% in January 2014

(paid in May 2014) at a time annuity was compulsory. Now she would like further funds but has been told

this is not possible. [consumer] has explained that this is not possible and verbally referred her to the

Financial Ombudsman Service.

The consumer was given her ex-husband's pension as part of their divorce settlement. She is unhappy that

she can't take it out as a lump sum.

The consumer's complaint is in relation to her pension value decreasing from the original quote she was

issued.

Pension Transfer dispute: [consumer] had requested My Pension Expert arrange a transfer of his pension to

an alternative provider in order to facilitate a drawdown however, he is unhappy with the fees applied for

the services provided. Having initially agreed to the fee he now feels this was too high.

Complaint is regarding delays in processing pension - he is out of pocket and this has been going on since his

draw down in Feb 2015.

Complainant contacted Aegon to advise her Husband [name removed] had passed away and to enquire

about the options available in relation to the pension reforms i,e drawdown, lump sum fund or annuity as

she is the nominated person to continue receiving drawdown. She was asked to send in the death certificate

which she did however she is now being told she is not entitled to drawdown as the fund is shut. Each time

she calls regarding this she is given different and conflicting information

Complainant is unhappy that firm will not allow him to take out his annuity as a lump sum in line with the

new government legislation.

Complaint is in regards to the lack of service and advise provided by IFA in regards to a pension drawdown.

Feels that firm is failing to provide a fair mechanism re the transfer value

Customer is unhappy with the firms handling of their requests to make a lump sum withdrawal from their

Friends life pension. Customer feels that IT failings and poor service have delayed the customer twice.

Consumer is unhappy with company as he wanted to draw his pension down and was expecting company to

give him a quote regarding the drawdown of his pension. Consumer was advised company had sent the

quote out, but consumer stated this was not received. Consumer asked for a copy of the letter by e-mail, and

was stated they could not do this. Consumer has now received the letter but his fund has diminished by

£1,200 which he believes is company error.

Consumer transferred her pension to LV, in order to release a lump sum for the purchase of an apartment.

However, this has now resulted in the loss of her personal allowance and a 50% tax rate for the financial

year. She is now having to make monthly withdrawals from her pension fund just to meet her living costs.

The consumer feels that the firm are being obstructive and unhelpful in regards to pension freedoms - they

won't let her take a lump sum and didn't advise her of her options.

I am trying to get my stakeholder pension cashed. I was told (when I rang them) that I could get the forms, fill

them in and return I would get the matter resolved. I rang on Jan 6th and today (Jan 23rd) stillwaiting for the

forms. I also have 2 unanswered e-mails. 17 days and NO forms or information is to my mind not acceptable

I have a retirement policy with Phoenix life which is due to mature in February. The full value of the policy is

£13,500 and the policy was taken out almost 50 years ago and I stopped paying into it at least 25 years ago I

have just received a letter to say that a form must be signed by my financial adviser. I have spoken to several

people who have had much larger payouts and this wasn't requested. I plan to use the money to clear a

mortgage.

his complaint relates to difficulties the consumer has experienced since she tried to withdraw her pension

totalling £42,000.

Contacted pension provider to access funds. Unhappy that has been told that will have to wait until the age

of 60 to withdraw the funds. Also feels that the funds performance has been extremely poor.

Complaint relates to delays with paying out the funds from a personal pension

I have a pension policy with Zurich Personal Pension Plan [removed] I'd paid in a total of£760.58 up to 1st

July 1991 at which point the policy was made Paid Up and I made no further contributions. Having just

reached 55 yrs old I contacted the company to request information about taking the cash out under the new

pension rules. I was informed by the company that the policy had lapsed in 2012 with no value as they had

been taking there fees off since 1991 and had spent all my money,

Complaint relates to a private pension with Aviva. The consumer recently retired and requested the pension

funds of £37,000 from the firm. The firm have not released these funds and are not providing the consumer

a reason as to why this is. The consumer has tried to speak with the firm but they have not responded.

The customer is unhappy with the firm in relation to the release of a lump sum from the pension rather than

a payment

The consumer approached his financial advisor to help him in taking benefits from his pension plan. In order

to obtain a tax free lump sum, he was advised he would need to move his plan to another provider. The

documentation sent to the financial advisor was confusing, resulting on a number of occasions them having

to contact the pension provider to get clarification of the value of the fund. It was confirmed that £80,000

would be transferred to the new plan, however a lower amount was sent

Consumer asked HSBC to transfer pension to Advantage 6 and take 25% lump sum but HSBC will not do

anything until he has spoken to an IFA. Consumer has already transferred 4 of his pension pots so doesn't see

why this should be different.

Feels she wasn't advised by Phoenix Life she would incur a penalty if she cashed out her pension early.

Delays from Santander with providing lump sum from pension.