If you are in any doubt about your pension benefit entitlements or have a problem or question about your pension scheme membership or benefits, please contact us.
We will seek to clarify or put right any misunderstandings or inaccuracies as quickly and efficiently as possible.
If your query is about your contribution rate, please contact your employer’s HR or payroll section. They will be able to explain how they have decided which rate you should pay.
If you are still dissatisfied with any decision made in relation to the scheme or your benefits, you have the right to complain.
In the first instance you should write to the Avon Pension Fund with the relevant facts and the reason for your grievance.
Please follow the process in our How to complain - Guidance notes for members (PDF, 541.14KB) before any formal request is made under the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure (IDRP).
Our guide also explains the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure and includes relevant time limits and forms required to process your complaint escalation.
Moneyhelper is provided by the Money and Pensions Service. MoneyHelper gives independent and impartial information about pensions, free of charge, to members of the public. Moneyhelper is available to assist members and beneficiaries of the Scheme with any pension query they have or any general requests for information or guidance concerning their pension benefits.
MoneyHelper can be contacted:
Online enquiry: moneyhelper.org.uk
By telephone: 0800 011 3737
TPO deals only with pension complaints. They can help if you have a complaint or dispute about the administration and / or management of personal and occupational pension schemes. Some examples of the types of complaints it considers are (this list is not exhaustive):
You have the right to refer your complaint to TPO free of charge. Its determinations are legally binding on all parties and are enforceable in court.
Contact with TPO about a complaint needs to be made after a decision to has been given under Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the IDRP process and within three years of when the event(s) you are complaining about happened – or, if later, within three years of when you first knew about it (or ought to have known about it). There is a discretion for those time limits to be extended.
The TPO provide factsheets on their website to support the referral of complaints to them.
The Pensions Ombudsman Factsheet - The Early Resolution Service
The Pensions Ombudsman Factsheet - How we investigate complaints
The Pensions Ombudsman Factsheet - Complaining to the party/parties at fault
The Pensions Ombudsman Factsheet - Complaining to TPO on behalf of a deceased’s estate
The Pensions Ombudsman Factsheet - Complaining about receiving incorrect information
You can contact TPO:
Online enquiry: pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/making-complaint (where you can submit an online complaint form).
By telephone: 0800 917 4487