# Mercer : Pensions managed by Mercer- Very poor non existent customer service.



## IsleOfMan

Most of us have our pensions managed by Mercer. I am having terrible difficulty dealing with these people. At the moment they say that they cannot deal with a query for 6 weeks!
I would be interested in the views of other people regarding their customer service.


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## theresa1

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Customer service is poor I agree. You will have to just keep at them to resolve your query.


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## Towger

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

15 years ago the company I worked for transferred all the pensions from them to another company, as we were not happy with their costs/service.


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## Mpsox

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

my team have a lot of issues getting their on line system to work. Having said that, given the amount of redundancies out there and the fact that most people's pension funds have declined, they are probably getting swamped with queries


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## Bronco Lane

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

My wife was given an online password so that she could view her pension. It doesn't work. The excuse given was it was "defunct".  Because she no longer works for her company she is not allowed to view her pension.


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## Bronco Lane

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Why do they take 1 month to respond to a letter? I read somewhere in literature from the Pension Ombudsman that they must reply within a month.  They are taking the full month!!!  It is even worse that when you get your reply after a month to find that they haven't answered the specific questions that you asked so you have to re write the letter over again to ask the same question. Then wait another month.


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## Irishchappie

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

The company I work for stopped dealing with them at the start of this year and transferred the employee pension scheme to another company. Only stayed with them one year and pretty much decided after about 6 months they had enough.

Kinda says it all for me really.. no idea what the in's and outs of it all were but they announced in the last quarter of 2008 they were doing this and that was that.

I.C


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## IsleOfMan

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I contacted an individual by email and waited and waited and waited for a response. When I got no response I phoned looking for the individual only to be told that she doesn't work here anymore. Further investigation revealed that she did in fact still work there but had moved to another section. I tried to find out what happened to my original email as it was not "bounced" back to me. I wanted to find out did this person simply ignore the email because it no longer had anything to do with her or why she didn't forward the email on to the relevant section to deal with.
The staff at Mercer "closed ranks" and I never found out. For me, I lost 5 or 6 weeks of wasted effort writing to this company and to this day my original query still hasn't been sorted one year later.


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## Guest128

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

They are rubbish, took them 8 months to send me an exit statement from my pension when I left my last job. When I rang them to complain they asked me if I knew was I defined benefit or defined contribution as they could find the info


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## Don_08

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Can I ask you all to write a letter of complaint detailing your issues to the HR department of the company you work/worked for - they will be able to put better pressure on Mercer to deal with your queries and would appreciate knowing the level of service they are getting for the fees they are paying


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## LoisLane

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

On a positive note, I called a member helpline number in Mercer a few months ago for a query I had on my pension and found them really good. They were able to help me straight away and made it all seem very clear. It was a 1890 number - am sure it's on their website.


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## BOXtheFOX

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Welcome LoisLane. I note that this is your first posting. Have you a connection with Mercer?
My own dealings with Mercer have been very poor. Waiting a month for a response to a query. Constant changing of staff. I can never seem to deal with the same person on follow ups. 
I am looking for an annual statement of my pension performance to be posted to me automatically. This was refused. I was told that I had to contact them each year to get this posted to me.  
I rank them in the top five of worst companies that I have ever dealt with.


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## Verdun

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

My company changed to Mercer about a year ago and so far I have found them to be pretty good. I have used the helpline a few times and they always steered me right.


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## BOXtheFOX

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



Verdun said:


> My company changed to Mercer about a year ago and so far I have found them to be pretty good. I have used the helpline a few times and they always steered me right.


Congratulations Verdun on your first 4 posts all made one after the other. I see you joined AAM yesterday. Have you any connection with Mercer?


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## lou2

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I find Mercer just fine. I always get a clear yearly statement of my pension sent out automatically to me.


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## Verdun

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Hi BoxtheFox
Sorry, I wasn't aware there was a minimum number of posts you had to submit! Have just joined becasue I love the site and I get lots of useful info from it. No connection with Mercer, except for the fact that they manage my pension. Just because I found then good to deal with doesn't mean you should doubt my character. 
I just came accross the post and decided to give my opinion. I thought thats what this site was about! I try to be more negative in future!


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## artful dodge

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. And i say that as an employee with a pension, and as a hr person who had to deal with them on an admin basis. Our company moved away from them recently, and the anecdotal evidence we have from other companies in our industry is that people are leaving them in droves.


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## Complainer

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I had my battles with them a couple of years back (i.e. before the current round of mass redundancies) when they abused a facility provided by Dept Social Welfare to contact members of their schemes. The Minister rapped their knuckles.

See [broken link removed] and [broken link removed].


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## Bronco Lane

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

My wife cannot even get a reply from them at the moment. She is trying to get a breakdown of both her employers pension contributions and her own contributions for a specific year.


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## WaterWater

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



FLANDERS` said:


> They are rubbish, took them 8 months to send me an exit statement from my pension when I left my last job. When I rang them to complain they asked me if I knew was I defined benefit or defined contribution as they could find the info


 
They won't send you an Annual Benefits statement if you leave your company during the year because you are no longer an active employee. They also don't seem to be automatically sending you an exit statement either unless you chase them for it.

Why is this company so bad. Pensions are a huge part of their business.


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## Odea

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I am constantly getting a reply of "on annual leave back such and such a date" but when I contact that person again after their due return date I am getting the same email but with different holiday dates?


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## WaterWater

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I cannot get the administrator of my pension fund in Mercer, the person directly dealing with it, to answer a couple of simple questions. These questions were asked over a month ago and a reminder sent recently.
They are absolutely dreadful to deal with.


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## alanya

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I had a pension with Mercer. I was dealing with one person from Mercer for 2 months, just after that every time I rang I was transferred to voice mail. 3 weeks later I find that they have actually left the company so I had to post in all my info again. This happened to me 3 times and after almost 9 months I got sorted. All post was sent via registered mail. Very poor service indeed ...


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## IsleOfMan

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I find that they will answer the basic questions, just about. However when you look for a little more detail about *your* pension policy, they are suddenly very difficult to get hold of. I am waiting for a reply for over a month now to two emails sent.


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## IsleOfMan

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



IsleOfMan said:


> Most of us have our pensions managed by Mercer. I am having terrible difficulty dealing with these people. At the moment they say that they cannot deal with a query for 6 weeks!
> I would be interested in the views of other people regarding their customer service.


 
Just an update on my posting. I still have not received a response from Mercer about my pension.
Does anyone know the name or email address preferably of someone senior in the organisation that I can complain to?
As a previous poster said, it appears that people are leaving the company, being transferred within the company and just walking away from their file cases. Email addresses are not being closed or emails forwarded for these people. Voice mails are not being closed either. Their queries are not being passed on it seems.
Like fools we are left sitting at home thinking that our queries are being dealt with when in fact nothing is happening to them.


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## StevieC

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

You could try getting in touch with Deirdre Cantwell. Its a few years since I have dealt with her but she was very good to deal with (hopefully she still works there, she was a manager in the group pensions area last time I had dealings with her). If its not her area in Mercer, she could certainly point you in the right direction to lodge a complaint.



www.CheaperLifeAssurance.ie


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## IsleOfMan

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/06/worlds-expensive-food-lifestyle-wine-fast-food.html

I wonder is this why Mercer can't deal with pension queries?


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## Dunphy

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Long time lurker first time poster, in my previous job one of my add-on duties involved the day to day managing of the Groups Pension Scheme. I can agree with the poster who puts them in the top 5 worst companies to deal with. To the original poster perhaps you should contact the trustees of the Plan or the Pension Ombudsman and you might eventually get some joy out of this tension provider (sorry just a joke we had in my place regarding this pension provider)


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## SlurrySlump

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I have waited for 6 weeks for a reply to a query to be told that they don't offer tax advice on pensions. The thing is I didn't ask them for tax advice I simply asked them to clarify something that they had written in* their* blurb that they sent me. I have since written back for clarification and I am back to waiting for a reply.
 What sort of fees do Mercer charge companies to administer their pension schemes and do companies even care about the service that Mercer is giving?


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## Bronco Lane

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



Odea said:


> I am constantly getting a reply of "on annual leave back such and such a date" but when I contact that person again after their due return date I am getting the same email but with different holiday dates?


 
This is what is happening to me. I am regularly getting an automatic response of away on annual leave message. It seems my contact is taking holidays every month!!


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## Patrickf

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I agree with all negative sentements above. Found them very unhelpful and dismissive of my queries. Still waiting for a reply to a query lodged with them 2 years or more ago. 

Patrickf


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## mercman

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Why don't a number of posters get together and make a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman. You might then start to get answers instead of the run around.


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## Mpsox

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I'm finding from some of my ex staff who left on a redundancy package that they get little or no response. However if I raise the query on their behalf, I tend to get a response far quicker. Might be an idea for anyone who does have an issue to ask their boss or HR dept(if they have one) to raise it with Mercers


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## Grizzly

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I am absolutely disgusted with these people. I sent a private query *direct* to an individual in Mercer.

Separate to this I was raising an issue about my pension with my ex employer totally seperate from Mercer. No doubt he had to contact Mercer looking for information.

However when the person from Mercer was responding to my *private* query to her she CC my ex employer as well. What gave her the right to do this?


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## asho

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Again first time poster but I felt that this was something I sould post to as well.  Had the same problem dealing with Mercer, at the time I worked for a company that has their plan with them approx 500 members so it's a decent sized plan that you'd think they'd take care of but there was nobody available to deal with queries whenever you ring, I then sent 3 different letters with no reply so I had to get onto the HR manager who gave them a call on my behalf and I finally got an email from them but no action from it.  I then resorted to emailed this person back everyday asking for a call and after about 2 weeks of this I finally got to speak with him and would not allow him to end the call until I received a copy of my leaving options into my inbox.

I'm really at a loss to understand how things can be so bad is it that they don't want people to transfer their funds due to the loss in AMC's or is policy to put everyone through to voicemail in the hope that they won't have to answer to query regarding the default strategy, fund switching etc


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## Complainer

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Those who are having problems should make sure to let their pension fund trustees (particularly staff rep trustees) know of these problems. Find out when Mercer's contract is up for renewal.


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## Dunphy

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Might me a bit pointless complaining to the trustees if they are the same company as Mercer. Head against a wall comes to mind


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## Complainer

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



Dunphy said:


> Might me a bit pointless complaining to the trustees if they are the same company as Mercer. Head against a wall comes to mind


How could the trustees be 'the same company as Mercer'? The trustees are part of the company whose employees are members of the scheme. The members are legally entitled to elect a trustee if they wish.


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## Dunphy

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



Complainer said:


> How could the trustees be 'the same company as Mercer'? The trustees are part of the company whose employees are members of the scheme. The members are legally entitled to elect a trustee if they wish.



Many Schemes have a Corporate trustee (no internal company trustees, save on costs of trustee training and who wants to give their time for free as pension plans take up quiet a bit of time) Mercer are the same company as Irish Pensions Trust.


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## JoeRoberts

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



Complainer said:


> How could the trustees be 'the same company as Mercer'? The trustees are part of the company whose employees are members of the scheme. The members are legally entitled to elect a trustee if they wish.


 


Not necessarily true - depends on size of the scheme. I think 50 members may be the threshold needed.


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## SlugBreath

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Interesting post. I contacted Mercer to ask them who were the trustees of my pension. I had assumed that it was Irish Pensions Trust. I received an email back with just two names on it and absolutely no reference to who these individuals might be. Now I am beginning to think that these might just be employees of Mercer? Is this possible?


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## Don_08

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



SlugBreath said:


> Interesting post. I contacted Mercer to ask them who were the trustees of my pension. I had assumed that it was Irish Pensions Trust. I received an email back with just two names on it and absolutely no reference to who these individuals might be. Now I am beginning to think that these might just be employees of Mercer? Is this possible?


 

No very unlikely - if they were from IPT they would have said IPT.  They are either employer representatives so would be from the management of your company or member's reps - which could come from current, former or retired employees  ( unlikely to be former employees though) 

For other posters - IPT are a separate company to Mercer although related.  They will treat any complaint about a professional administrator in a professional way.  I've never seen them treat Mercer favourably compared to any other provider.  

NO connection to IPT, other than working in the industry.


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## Dunphy

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

"Hobbs pointed out that Mercers owned Irish Pensions Trust (IPT) which acts as pension trustees to many Irish pension funds. As trustee, IPT is responsible for resolving pension policyholder disputes. If Mercers advises on the choice of pension fund and the policyholder subsequently has a dispute regarding the fund value where IPT is the trustee, there is potential for a conflict of interest. 

Mercers argues that IPT is a separate entity which operates independently but accepts that it is wholly owned by Mercers."

I really don't see how a 100% wholly owned Company can be considered independent of the parent, as an accountant this scenario is foundation level learning in possible conflicts of interest. I am sure our financial regulator is on the ball though


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## Complainer

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



SlugBreath said:


> Interesting post. I contacted Mercer to ask them who were the trustees of my pension. I had assumed that it was Irish Pensions Trust. I received an email back with just two names on it and absolutely no reference to who these individuals might be. Now I am beginning to think that these might just be employees of Mercer? Is this possible?


Did you get addresses for them?


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## Dunphy

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



SlugBreath said:


> I Now I am beginning to think that these might just be employees of Mercer? Is this possible?



I guarantee that this is not the case, most probably people within your company.


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## BOXtheFOX

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I am having difficulty getting responses to emails from Mercer. It seems that they will answer those type of emails that they can put a standard reply too but go deeper and suddenly "silence"?


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## Complainer

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*



BOXtheFOX said:


> I am having difficulty getting responses to emails from Mercer. It seems that they will answer those type of emails that they can put a standard reply too but go deeper and suddenly "silence"?


Don't tell Brendan - he'll want to .


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## Brendan Burgess

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

This level of complaint is unacceptable from a company which presumably is regulated by the Financial Regulator and maybe by other agencies. 

If I was a client, I would certainly complain them for their level of service. 

What surprises me is that their employer client don't move from them. I wonder is this just Mercers in Ireland or is it Mercers worldwide? 

Brendan


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## Don_08

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I too think its atrocious. Just to declare, I am an ex employee and now work for a competitor.  People should complain to their HR department - these are the people that can put the pressure on Mercer and review their provider.

Mercer Ireland are very short staffed at present, so I would think it is only confined to Ireland  - but I still can't understand why clients are putting up with this level of service, unless they do not realise how bad it is.

There are plenty of competitors out there more than willing to do a much better job.  The major issue in Ireland is that Mercer have 80% of the business and sometime clients just do not look at the alternatives.


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## BlondeBeaut

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

Until recently I worked for Mercer and i'm suprised at how some members feel. It is often difficult for members to get instant replies due to the fact that all calculations have to be checked to make sure the correct figures are quoted, you can imagine the situation if a member is informed they are allowed a Pension of €10k and then when it comes to retirement Mercer say, sorry about that your actually only allowed €8k. Also in the current climate they are getting a lot of worried people querying their pension, Mercer has the tools in place to deal with these but with so many pension schemes its not always possible to give an immediate answer.

Groengoen, with early retirement nearly all pension schemes say 'at the discretion of the company or trustees'. 3 years ago if you enquired about early retirement it was very likely that you where told it would be possible, now as the times have changed no early retirements are being allowed, despite the early retirement reduction factor it is still too big a strain on the pension fund, having to pay your pension for a longer period of time and hence increasing the liability of the pension scheme to the detriment of other members.


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## Grizzly

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

The problem I have with Mercer is that you start off talking to one person and then you are "passed on" to another person. Questions get unanswered in the process.

I wonder what happens when all members on a deferred pension come to claim their pension together. I worked for a company where a lot of the staff were of similar age. There is going to be a big drain on the scheme all of a sudden in a few years time.
It is often at the discretion of the trustees whether they allow a person take their early retitement package or not. How does anyone know what guidelines are used to arrive at a decision?


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## Johnweber

*Re: Mercer - Pensions.*

I recently dealt with Mercer on behalf of a client and found them to be professional and very prompt in replying to my questions and issuing of funds. I can't say that about all the institutions that I have dealings with though.


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## Dunphy

The NY Times has a very interesting article on Mercer today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/business/20gret.html?_r=2


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## sector_000

My company changed pension managed from Mercer to Watson Wyatt. No idea why. We have a defined contribution plan 
Anybody got a good or bad experiences with Watson Wyatt?

My only direct grumblings with Mercer were to do with a "Share Participation Plan" that they managed for us. There were multiple issues with it. Not sure if it was how much was Mercer's fault... but twas frustrating.


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## SINED

My company closed last year on JB I have been offered a pension of 44000eu tax free and 3000eu per year.Very confused with present pensions market would I be best to take and run or take a chance on PRSA I am 53 Yrs of age Mercer has been no help not ansewing the phone.


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## Crill

First time poster and not associated with mercer in anyway(other then my pension). i know this thread is getting old now but reading all these issues about mercer i started getting very nervous. i paid into my company pension for over 4 years and left that company about 3 years ago without contacting mercer at all. just rang them there, no problems. answered my queries, had all my details, knew my situation, sending my out a statment and details of my options now that i'm no longer with said company.


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## iskender

The company where I am working has a very tempting partnership with Mercer, matching the individual contribution. Inspite of this tempting offer I did not enrolled with Mercer because I had't got any guarantees that if I am leaving Ireland I will be able to transfer my pension funds abroad. 

Is there any other alternative to Mercer on the Irish market that is more European-friendly? At the moment I opened in my home country a private pension with Generali.


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## Complainer

Are you really sure you want to turn down the option of an immediate 100% return on your investment (i.e. their matching contribution)? You are leaving a lot of money on the table here. Even if you can never transfer the funds to your home country, you could always leave it in Ireland until you retire and then get some benefit. 

You might be cutting off your nose to spite your face here.


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## gearoid

*Mercer - Pensions*

I tried to contact Mercer Pensions today. 
As a pension scheme member I was directed to a voicemail facility. 
I'll keep you updated how long it takes to get them to provide customer service.
I want to cash in my small pension from a previous employment and move it to a PRSA.


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## LDFerguson

gearoid said:


> I want to cash in my small pension from a previous employment and move it to a PRSA.


 
You can only do this if you have less than 15 years' service. 

If the transfer value is €10,000 or more you'll need to arrange and pay for a Certificate of Benefits Comparison before you'll be allowed to transfer from an Occupational Pension Scheme into a PRSA, unless the old scheme is being wound up.


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## gearoid

*Cashing in Pension*

Thanks LD,

I was 4.5 years in a defined contribution pension scheme and left before the five years vesting. That was in 1999. So, I lost all the money my employer added. It is just the accumulated value of my AVCs. It was worth about 6,000.00 euros in 2006 and I believe I will receive current value minus 25% if I encash. I can then invest that is in my self-employed PRSA with the 41% tax allowance.

Still no word from Mercer . The story seems to be :- leave a message on our answering machine and we will ignore it.

Regards,
Gearoid


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