UK - Hundreds of members of the Pearson Group Pension Trustee Limited are facing yet more delays to requested occupational pensions transfers, even though administrators are understood to have repeatedly indicated members' transfer values would be calculated and dealt with months ago.
The ongoing delays centre around how calculations of the transfers are made, the so-called 'GNII' test and a guide to calculate such values as this was reviewed by the scheme actuary.
Approximately 280 plan members are still awaiting confirmation on when transfers out would be made.
A letter from Pearson sent to one member on 20 October last year via a new provider, read: "On the advice of the plan actuary, the Trustee has suspended production of transfer values due to changes in legislation in October 2008. Your request will be held until such time as these changes have been fully implemented."
Debra Soper, a manager at Pearson Group Pensions in London, acknowledged the delays by stating: "The transfer figures have been re-configured. Our systems had to be updated, which was quite a lengthy process and probably took a little longer than we expected. This has now been completed and our team are dealing with the backlog of requests."
A transfer value usually has to be issued within three months of a member making the request.
Soper has now hinted the transfers should be finalised by the end of February, although no specific date had been set.
James Joll, chairman of Pearson Group Trustee Ltd, and Annette Scott, Pearson pensions manager at Pearson, were unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
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