# When should my company write to me about my pension?



## Bronco Lane (26 May 2009)

How soon after you leave your company's employment is that company required to write to you with details of your pension choices?


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## cormacol (26 May 2009)

The Trustees have to write to you within three months of the Company informing them that you have left service


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## Bronco Lane (27 May 2009)

cormacol said:


> The Trustees have to write to you within three months of the Company informing them that you have left service


 
So if my company doesn't contact in this case Mercer's who administer our company pension then it is my company's fault and not Mercers fault?

What sanctions if any can be imposed on my company for not informing the trustees?


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## amtc (27 May 2009)

I left a company with a scheme administered by Mercers about five years ago and never heard a word. About three years ago I wrote to the trustee looking for transfer details and got the strangest letter back which said 'we do not as a matter of course nor are we obliged to enter into correspondence on your pension arrangements'. I replied to say in 2038 the trustee won't be of working age and I may not be at my current address! So they grudgingly accepted that I could change my address details! I since transferred this DB pension into my current employer's DB pension.


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## cormacol (27 May 2009)

If you ring up Mercer and tell them you have left then i would think that the three months would start from then. 

If you didn't contact Mercer and the Company didn't tell Mercer then how would Mercer know that you had left.


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## LDFerguson (27 May 2009)

Be clear on who the trustees are.  The administrator and trustee of the scheme are two separate roles.  You say Mercer are the administrator.  They may or may not be the trustee also.


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## cormacol (28 May 2009)

My understanding is that Mercer do not offer Trustee Services. Their sister company IPT do but i could be wrong


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## Bronco Lane (28 May 2009)

But is there a sanction that can be applied to a company for not informing the trustees that a staff member has left an organisation. I mean does a company not have a check list of things to do and legal responsibilities when an employee leaves a company?


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## LDFerguson (28 May 2009)

cormacol said:


> My understanding is that Mercer do not offer Trustee Services. Their sister company IPT do but i could be wrong


 
I think you're right - that different companies within the group provide different services.  My point is that Bronco Lane should get all the facts straight as to who is the trustee, who is the administrator etc., if considering a formal complaint.


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## LDFerguson (28 May 2009)

Bronco Lane said:


> But is there a sanction that can be applied to a company for not informing the trustees that a staff member has left an organisation. I mean does a company not have a check list of things to do and legal responsibilities when an employee leaves a company?


 
The Pensions Board have responsibility for policing the various pensions acts.  Give them a call - they should be able to help you.


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## Jester (28 May 2009)

You also note that it is within two months (8 weeks) of the trustee being notified by the company that you have left. If the administrator is not informed, then that's where it can fall down.


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## Bronco Lane (29 May 2009)

So you spend all your life paying in to your pension. You contribute a portion of your salary and your company contributes a portion also.
When you leave your job your employer doesn't bother to inform the trustees, let's say Irish Pensions Trust or your company does inform IPT who then fail to pass the details on to Mercer the administrator or both your company and IPT do all the correct things but Mercer fail to contact you.
Why is it so darn complicated?


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