How to appeal
Who can help me if I have a query or complaint?
If you are in any doubt about your benefit entitlements, or have a problem or question about your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) membership or benefits, please contact the Pension Office of Nottinghamshire County Council. They will seek to clarify or put right any misunderstandings or inaccuracies as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Pensions Office
Employee Services Centre
Nottinghamshire County Council
c/o County Hall
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 7QP
or telephone 0115 846 3333
An appeals fact sheet has been produced and is available for you to download, print or read on-line on the Scheme Guides/Leaflets page in the Members Section of this website.
If you are still dissatisfied with any decision made in relation to the Scheme you have the right to have your complaint independently reviewed under the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure and there are also a number of other regulatory bodies that may be able to assist you. The various procedures and bodies are detailed below.
Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure
FIRST STAGE - Any complaint must be made within 6 months of receipt of the notification of the decision about which you are complaining. In the first instance you should write to your Employers representative, known as the 'Specified Person', who will review your complaint and make a decision on your case. If you do not know who this is you should be able to find out through your employer's human resources office.
SECOND STAGE - Following this review, if you are still dissatisfied with the decision, you may apply to have it reconsidered by an independent referee, known as the 'Appointed Person’. The Appointed Person is employed by the pension scheme’s Administering Authority and can be contacted at the following address:
Local Government Pension Scheme Appointed Person
Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure
Corporate Services Department
Nottinghamshire County Council
County Hall
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 7QP
Your application to this Appointed Person must be made within 6 months of receiving a decision under the first stage of the appeal or if you have not had a decision under the first stage within 3 months of making your appeal, you may then immediately appeal under the second stage.
The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS)
TPAS is available at any time to assist members and beneficiaries of the Scheme in connection with any pensions query they may have or any difficulty which they cannot resolve with their scheme administrators. TPAS can be contacted at:
11 Belgrave Road
London
SW1V 1RB
Telephone help line 0845 601 2923
Website www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk
Pensions Ombudsman
In cases where a complaint or dispute cannot be resolved after the intervention of TPAS, an application can be made, within three years of the event, to the Pensions Ombudsman for an adjudication. The Ombudsman can investigate and determine any complaint or dispute involving maladministration of the Scheme or matters of fact or law and his or her decision is final and binding (unless the case is taken to the appropriate court on a point of law). Matters where legal proceedings have already started cannot be investigated by the Pensions Ombudsman. The Pensions Ombudsman can be contacted at:
11 Belgrave Road
London
SW1V 1RB
Telephone 020 7630 2200
Website www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
The Pensions Regulator
Their task is to ensure that occupational pension schemes operate within the law. Their role is to investigate and take action where there is carelessness, negligence or dishonesty that could damage the security of occupational pension schemes. They can be contacted at:
Napier House
Trafalgar Place
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 4DW
Telephone 0870 606 3636
Website www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk