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

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?
 
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?
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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.
 
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
 
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?
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Did you get addresses for them?
 
Re: Mercer - Pensions.

SlugBreath said:
I Now I am beginning to think that these might just be employees of Mercer? Is this possible?
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I guarantee that this is not the case, most probably people within your company.
 
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"?
 
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"?
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Don't tell Brendan - he'll want to .
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
gearoid said:
I want to cash in my small pension from a previous employment and move it to a PRSA.
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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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