Annual review 2016 - 2017 - The Pensions Advisory Service · 4 ¦ The Pensions Advisory Service The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) is here to help people with their pension questions

Annual review 2016 - 2017

2 ¦ The Pensions Advisory Service

Looking back 3

Our services 4

Our team 5

Stepping forward 6

What we have done 7

Facts, figures and numbers 8

TPAS service: 3 year journey 8

People first, pensions second 9

What we have been asked 13

A changing world 16

Testimonials 17

How we deliver our services 19

Delivery of TPAS 20

Online: self-service 21

Outreach 21

Working with us 22

Volunteers 23

Volunteer awards 23

Making a difference 25

Work with us 26

Contents


On 16 December 1982, Margaret Grainger spoke on Moneybox about

“the idea of an independent advisory service that gave people the

opportunity to raise their pension queries away from the work place”.

This initial idea that she and a small band of pension industry people

had been working on during 1982, developed into the formation of The

Pensions Advisory Service (originally known as The Occupational

Pensions Advisory Service), that has assisted thousands of people

who needed help with pension problems and “had no comparable

source of free expert individual advice”.

Looking back

The need for this service today is as great as, if not greater than, it was in 1982 when we were formed with the foresight and enthusiasm of Margaret Grainger and colleagues. Over the last 35 years, we have been able to help many customers and we are grateful for her drive to turn an idea into an organisation that means that nobody has to make pension decisions by themselves.

Michelle Cracknell, Chief Executive

Michelle Cracknell, Chief Executive

Michelle Cracknell

Chief Executive

The Occupational Pensions Advisory Service was originally set up as a charity with the prime objective set out in

rather Victorian terms as “to relieve elderly people by the provision of an occupational pensions advisory service

proffering advice and assistance on all matters relating to occupational pension schemes by individual elderly

members of the public requesting such advice and assistance”.

The Department for Work and Pensions, the sponsoring department for our service, uses more modern language,

to set out our aims as:

Providing Information and Guidance to the public by;

o general information on planning and saving for retirement;

o general information on occupational and private pensions matters.

Dispute resolutions:

o endeavouring to resolve specific problems an individual may have with their pensions provider.

Margaret Grainger’s vision was to build a service that helped people with their pension so that no one had to make

decisions about their pensions without the help and guidance they needed. The highlights in 2016-2017 for the

service that she built, 35 years on, were:

a yearly increase of 9% in number of customers who contacted us to 205,400 (188,500 2015-2016);

a yearly increase 1% in number of customers helped to 180,500 (177,900 2015-2016); and

a reduction of 14% in our cost per customer to £31 (£36 2015-2016).

The need for our service is as great, if not greater, today as it was in 1982. We hope that Margaret Grainger would

be proud of the organisation that she founded.


The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) is here to help people with their pension questions and issues by:

We offer our service through a variety of channels including a telephone and web chat helpline, online and

written enquiries. Our website provides information and we use social media platforms to spread messages

about pensions. We speak at industry and consumer events and conferences, plus we attend shows to raise

awareness of our services. We support employers and partner with organisations such as the Pensions

Ombudsman, Citizen’s Advice, the Money Advice Service, the Financial Ombudsman Service and other third

sector organisations that refer their employees and customers to us.

Our service offers impartial guidance to individuals seeking help with their pensions. This is done by providing

information, guidance and answering questions. We also act as an informal resolution service on pension

disputes involving occupational, personal and stakeholder pensions. Additionally, we have been providing the

telephony channel of Pension Wise since it was launched in March 2015.

We are an independent non-departmental public body, operating at arm’s length from the Department for Work

and Pensions (DWP). We are funded by a grant and a grant-in-aid paid by the DWP. The service is free to the

public.

Our services

Our website and

leaflets cover all

aspects of

pensions in the

UK

delivering pre-booked

telephone

appointments for the

Government service,

Pension Wise

giving personalised

information and

guidance on pension

matters

resolving problems an

individual may have

with their pension

sharing our knowledge

and insight to

contribute to

Government and

industry thinking on

pensions


I love the variety of the work in

Policy and Technical: researching

queries from colleagues on all

aspects of pensions; drafting

technical briefings and website

content on a wide range of

pensions topics; running internal

training sessions; doing Quality

Assurance on calls to help us keep

improving the service we provide to

customers.

Our team Our service is free at the point

of use. This is important as

there should be no barriers for

anyone needing help with their

pension. Our service is

delivered by a team of technical

specialists who are supported

by their colleagues who ensure

that the service is up to date

and available.

At the end of 2016-2017, we

had a headcount of 85 full time

equivalent employees and 372

volunteers delivering the

service.

Being the Casework and Volunteer

Manager enables me to promote

the benefits of being a TPAS

Volunteer Adviser and making a

difference in the lives of people by

helping them resolve their pension

problems. Showing empathy

towards others is at the heart of

TPAS’ services and this positive

vibe permeates the organisation

making it a good place to work.

Paul Day, Casework &

Volunteer Manager

I enjoy working at TPAS as a Shift

Supervisor in the Information and

Guidance Team, as it allows me to

support our staff and volunteers to deliver

the best service possible across all our

channels. My role, much like our helpline,

is very reactive which provides no two

days the same. The most rewarding part

of working for my organisation, however,

is the valuable help we’re able to provide

to pension savers, which all too often can

be life changing for them.

Alistair Elliot,

Technical Specialist,

Policy and Technical

I like working at TPAS,

because it provides a great

working environment with

lovely people, who really

care about what they do.

Karen Boyes, Accountant,

Corporate Services

Daniel Tinmouth,

Shift Supervisor,

Information & Guidance

“ “


Stepping forward

We are delighted that the Government has stated that there is a continuing need for public financial guidance,

which will offer impartial information and guidance, delivered through the new Single Financial Guidance body.

The key principles for the new Single Financial Guidance Body will be:

consumer focus;

value for money; and

sustainability.

In the lead up to the new body, we in the Pensions Advisory Service will continue to develop our services to

embrace these 3 key principles.

Customer focused by:

maintaining the specialist knowledge and experience to be able to diagnose the customer’s issues, particularly

in retirement savings where multiple product types, legacy issues and changing legislation create complexity;

dealing with the initial issue and then integrating related issues that should be considered;

addressing the issue that the customer needs answering, being accessible and approachable at key life

events; and

ensuring that the guidance is actionable by the customer.

Offering value for money by:

using technology and channel management to make the service delivery economic, effective and efficient;

using signposting by the industry to our service as a cost effective and efficient way of increasing customer

awareness; and

maintaining our volunteer programme, to reduce our cost per customer.

Being a sustainable organisation that can meet the growing demand by:

working closely with the industry that pays our levy funding, so they may benefit from engaging with better

informed customers thanks to the assistance and guidance that we deliver;

sharing the insight that we collect with Government and industry to help develop the long term savings

landscape; and

helping to fill the market gaps, so that customers can get the help and protection that they need.

The Pensions Advisory Service will continue to deliver and develop its services so that today’s customers continue

to be served and also, to work with the Department for Work and Pensions, on the successful formation of the new

Single Financial Guidance Body.

Ann Harris OBE

Chair

The Pensions Advisory Service will continue to deliver and develop its

services in order that today’s customers are served and also to work with

the DWP for the successful formation of the new Single Financial Guidance

Body.

Ann Harris OBE, Chair


Anne Harris OBE

Chair

What we have done


Facts, figures and numbers

In 2016-2017, 205,400 pension savers contacted us seeking help with their pension(s), this represents a

12% increase from 2015-2016. In addition, we have had 3.3 million website visits.

Our cost per direct customer (i.e. excluding customers to our website) was £31 in 2016-2017 (£1.59 per

customer if website visits are included) compared with £36 in 2015/2016 (£2.20 per customer if website

visits are included).

TPAS Service: 3-year journey

The above charts highlight the journey and development our service has taken over the last 3 years.

Not only have we seen a significant increase in consumer contact, but we have continued to help more

pension savers year on year. We’ve been able to exceed our own expectations by building new channels

for service delivery and significantly increasing the size of our Technical Specialist and wider team.

Throughout all of this change, we have kept the customer at the heart of our business and have

continued to drive the cost per customer down, without impacting on the quality of pension guidance

provided.

We believe that many people will benefit from pensions guidance so, whilst we are proud of the number

of customers that we have helped, we still work on more customers being aware of our service and

developing our model so that we can look after more customers.


People first, pensions second

Putting people first and pensions second is more than a strap line for us; it is the way that we operate our

service.

Purpose

We start our work by understanding what the customer is trying to achieve. Often the customer doesn’t know

the totality of the pension pot that they have, what options they have and the decisions that they need to make.

On the frontline, our experts in the Information & Guidance team will listen to the customer in order to

diagnose the issue.

Where customers have issues, our Dispute Resolution team will assist by obtaining all the information

necessary to determine what the problem is and where it sits.

The Policy & Technical team monitor our customer insight, so that they can support, through the

information published on our website, the technical knowledge provided to the team and share it with

Government and Industry.

Process An understanding of the customer’s purpose helps inform the design of our service. Our service design is a

three step process.

1. Create Awareness – We do not advertise. Customers are made aware of our service through our

website, sign posting by schemes, providers and our partners, the media and ”friends & family” who

have used our service.

2. Customer Engagement – We have multiple channels in which customers can engage with us 24/7. The

biggest channel is the helpline (telephone and webchat) where we have extended our hours. Out of

hours, our website helps people self-serve plus they can submit an online enquiry. Our outreach work

now includes webinars, which enables us to reach more people in more locations.

3. Providing Help – It is important that our work meets the customer’s needs. Here is how we help

customers:

a. We can empower customers by giving them confidence by knowing the questions that they should

be asking of themselves and others.

b. We can guide customers by spending time explaining the options that are relevant to them and

the actions they need to take

c. We help some customers by writing to their scheme or provider or talking through an on-line tool

with them.


People The design of our service needs to work for people; our customers, our staff, our volunteers and our sponsors (the

industry, the Government and partners). Our design has the following key elements.

Expertise – Pensions are complicated and we use specialists to ensure that we can help remove a customer’s

confusion. Our staff and volunteers have typically ten years’ experience of working in a technical role in

pensions. We have a training & development programme to ensure that staff are up to date.

Adaptable – Our service is continually developed to adjust to changes in the pensions landscape and our

customers’ needs. For example; we have recently introduced divorce appointments, after identifying that

customers with this type of query were struggling with handling so much information in the first call. By

arranging longer appointments, we can spend more time discussing the options and the implications specific to

our customer’s circumstances.

Communication – We quality assess our work ensuring technical accuracy, but just as importantly, to make

sure that we communicate in a way that helps the customer. During the year, our staff attended a Samaritan

lead training session on customer friendly writing

Reliability – It is important that our customers can contact us as and when they wish. Our corporate services

team ensures that our channels are up and running throughout the working day and that aspects of our service

are available out of hours or during peak periods. We now operate a call back system at peak times so that

customers can hang up but keep their place in the queue.

We monitor our performance by:

quantity of customers – we increased the number of customers who contacted us by 9%;

quality of the service – we achieved 98% customer satisfaction;

service level - abandonment rate was 15%, time answering online enquiries averaged 6 days, time taken to

allocate cases was 21 days; and

costs – our cost per customer was £31.

We are very proud of our performance in growth of customer numbers, high customer satisfaction and reduced cost

per customer. It has been a challenge to meet service levels with the huge growth in demand. It is our focus in 2017-

2018 to find ways of helping more customers that contact us


Top 5 written topics

1. Retirement Planning

2. State Pension

3. Contract terms and eligibility

4. State Pension: VNICs

5. Freedom & choice legislation

Top 5 call topics

1. Retirement planning

2. Legal rights

3. Entitlement

4. Freedom and choice

5. Pensions and Taxation

1. Retirement Planning

2. Contract terms and eligibility

3. State Pension

4. Legal rights

5. Lifetime and Annual allowances

Top 5 webchat topics

19%

up

29,214 webchats

answered

6%

up

109,690 calls

answered


75%

22%

88%

67%

44%

of decision-making complaints related to ill health

retirement or injury benefit decisions

of investigated complaints were resolved by The

Pensions Advisory Service

of delay complaints were about transfers

of decision-making complaints were against public sector

schemes

of all Defined Contribution complaints were about delays

Top 5 reasons for investigated complaints

1. Delay

2. Scheme entitlement

3. Mistakes

4. Decision-making

5. Overpayments


What we’ve been asked


Questions: What we’ve been asked

Our team of Technical Specialists get asked a variety of questions, from the straight forward to the very complex.

However, the conversation frequently ends, by not only answering the original question, but by exploring more

avenues of information and guidance that we can offer, particularly to those aged 50 and above.

To showcase the plethora of pension topics and highlight the areas that our team has dealt with in the last 12

months we have put together some specific case studies. These have been received over a mixture of our

channels and are anonymous; they contain no personal or sensitive information about customers or pension

providers/ administrators but provide an insight to the service we provide.

Case: The presenting question is not always the real issue

We were contacted by a customer who wanted to cash in their pension. They had

been told that they could do so by Citizens Advice. By asking them questions, we

discovered that it was an annuity payment that could not be cashed. On hearing this

information and that they could not sell it until April 2017, the customer said “But

dear, I will be 82 then! The issue is that my fridge freezer has broken. I have had it

for 17 years and I cannot afford to buy a new one as I only have a State pension

apart from this pension.” We carried on the conversation only to discover that tax

had been deducted from the annuity since it was set up despite the fact that the

customer was not a tax payer.

The outcome of the conversation was that the customer did not need to sell their

annuity but instead they needed to apply for a tax refund, from which they could buy

a fridge freezer.

Back in August 2016, a 75 year customer called us who had been in receipt of a

pension from a large defined benefit scheme for 12 years. They also had a

sizeable additional voluntary contributions (AVC). Their question to the pension

administrators was simple; “May I take my AVC as cash with the new rules?” the

customer was told “No!”

While, it used to be the case that an AVC did not have a cash option, our

specialists thought that this was no longer the case. We helped the customer to

draft a letter to the scheme to see if it had changed its rules and, if not, how they

could transfer their AVC entitlement to another provider and then cash it in. The

pension administrator replied that, as the pension was already in payment, the

Scheme Rules did not permit payment of their AVCs as a cash sum and, for the

same reason, a transfer was not possible.

As these cases do not happen every day, we double-checked our understanding

of the legislation and we sent a further email to the administrator, who again

replied that a transfer of the customer’s AVCs was not permitted. We were still

convinced that they were entitled to a statutory transfer of their AVC under

Pension Schemes Act 2015. The administrator checked again and agreed that

they could transfer.

Case: Older legacy products require specialist knowledge


Case: Guidance when things go wrong

A customer contacted us for help, regarding their late husband’s widower’s

pension. On the death of the customer’s husband, the customer had notified the

pension scheme. The scheme subsequently contacted the customer to explain

that their late husband’s pension should have stopped on his remarriage. They

requested that the customer repay £31,000 pension overpaid to their late husband.

The customer explained that they were unaware that the pension should have

stopped. The husband had taken out a number of loans, which the customer had

been unaware of, and there were insufficient funds in the estate to meet their

demand. The scheme suggested that the customer had indirectly benefitted from

the overpayment and proposed placing a claim on their house. Despite the

intervention of the customer’s MP, the scheme refused to drop or reduce their

demand.

We confirmed that the scheme’s rules meant that their late husband’s pension

should have stopped on remarriage. We explained the scheme did have a right to

seek recovery, but also explained the defences against repaying.

We drafted an appeal on the customer’s behalf, explaining their circumstances,

including how the customer and their husband managed their finances, and noted

there was no link between the husband’s pension and the purchase of the

customer’s home. It was therefore unfair and inequitable that they be liable for the

whole overpayment. We suggested the scheme accept the balance of the estate

(£6,000). After the some months considering our appeal, the scheme agreed to

the proposal

Case: Importance of impartiality

A customer contacted us to complain that their pension provider had blocked

their transfer. We asked the customer about the transfer. They explained that

their pension was due to be transferred into a different type of fund with the

main investment in property and renewable energy. We asked the customer

how they had come to hear about this new fund, if they had received any

regulated financial advice on the transfer and if the company who they had

been dealing with were regulated. The customer revealed that they had been

cold called by a company offering them guarantee rates of return, they had

not received regulated advice and it turned out that the company was not FCA

authorised.

We explained to the customer that the likely reason for the block on the

transfer was because their provider had conducted due diligence on the

receiving scheme, we explained to the frustrated customer that their provider

was protecting their money from what sounded like a potential scam. We

explained the tell-tale signs of a scam and talked to them about their pension

and what they wanted to do with it. The customer decided to not deal any

further with the company in question and would seek regulated financial

advice before thinking about transferring in the future.


The UK pension system has been subject to unprecedented levels of change in the last few years. The State

pension has been reformed, defined benefit pension schemes have closed with many getting into financial

difficulty and automatic enrolment has been increasing the number of new members within pension schemes.

It is because of these changes that as a society, we need to make a cultural adjustment from being recipients

of pensions to informed and engaged consumers. It’s evident that the societal shift is already taking place.

From 2030 individuals will have to rely on a significant part of their retirement income being provided from

Defined Contribution pensions and other long term savings. In order to achieve these types of adjustments,

we need to look to technological advances that can help facilitate the cultural change that is required.

Examples of such technology include, the “pension passport” (i.e. the common method of communication

information) and the “pension dashboard” (i.e. the access to information about pensions), as well as the

utilisation of other technology products to help individuals self-serve or access valuable services more

efficiently and at a lower cost.

In this changing world, it is essential to improve people’s ability to save for the long term and to reinforce their

financial resilience. Therefore, the provision of independent and impartial expert guidance on pensions and

long term savings has become an essential component of this because:

1. people have to take responsibility for their own financial future; and

2. people need help to move from being recipients of savings products to active consumers

People need to engage with confidence in the long term savings world in order for there to be a well-

functioning market. Similarly, engagement is essential to have any hope that people will save sufficiently for

their later life. Therefore, it is important that people have access to information and guidance, helping them to

make informed financial decisions, especially in areas such as pension saving, where it is most needed.

A changing world


Testimonials We regularly work with other organisations and partners to help reach even more customers who may

benefit from our guidance and help where possible. This has included:

An Age UK joint WebEx pilot;

Providing dedicated helpline support to large schemes going through benefit changes;

o Tesco

o Royal Mail

Answering all pension queries from the Money Advice Service;

Inviting the pension and financial industry to our industry open days; and

Providing member protection when considering a transfer with Zurich.

We continue to work with the above and others on new projects as we go into 2017-18, but below we have

highlighted feedback received both directly and indirectly regarding our services and the work we’ve done

with others.

“TPAS hosted an afternoon event that let us see how guidance is delivered and better understand

the issues that people have with their pensions. Resulted in much greater insight and lots of debate.

Thank you.”

– David Sinclair, International Longevity Centre, Industry open day feedback

“The Association feels that the Pensions Advisory Service currently provides a high standard of

guidance in a cost-effective manner. TPAS is well led and has responded effectively to the changed

environment for the provision of pension’s guidance. As a policy success, we feel that TPAS should

be preserved as far as possible within the new structure. It contains the kind of expertise that adds

real value and would be very difficult to replicate from scratch if dispersed. Furthermore, some of

TPAS’ services that do not fall within the scope of guidance are very valuable. The assistance TPAS

may provide in the event of a dispute between member and scheme is often valuable and may

prevent a dispute escalating. If there are opportunities to enhance TPAS role then these should be

considered carefully.”

– Tim Gosling, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, consultation response

“TPAS enjoys a justifiably strong reputation as a well-managed organisation, especially following its

own successful delivery of the Government’s pension freedoms reforms. The organisation is

regarded by many including ourselves as the one part of Pension Wise that succeeded and it would

be a public disservice to lose that capability in the merger into the SFGB.”

– Laurence Baxter, The Chartered Insurance Institute, consultation response

“The sessions we have had have worked well. The one I was involved in with Anne Mahon from

TPAS was really useful, I think that my client found it easy to talk through his options and I had

emailed documentation to Anne beforehand which I think she found useful to have. I think it is a

useful option to have for our clients for the future, and we would be happy to continue being part of

the pilot.”

– Mark Norris, Age UK, joint pilot feedback


As well as industry and partners, the most satisfying feedback we receive is directly from our customers.

Being able to help empower and improve an individual’s pension positon or general understanding is very

rewarding for our Team. Below are some snippets from a handful of customers who we’ve helped through

our various channels over the last 12 months.

““I have received excellent service. My case is now referred to the Pensions Ombudsman and I am

hoping that I will receive a similar service. Keep up the good work. Initially I was apprehensive

about contacting TPAS. I wish I had contacted you earlier. [X] was very professional and

knowledgeable; she made me feel good and comfortable.”

“I wanted to let you know that I had a very positive outcome when I went back to [X] and advised I

had received advice from yourself. Within a day my decision was reversed and I am to get an

"additional payment" for the missing 10 months that my pension was not implemented due to my

forms being "lost ". I have also agreed to pay my own contribution from a future salary for the same

period. Thank you very much for your advice.”

“[X] imparted very clear and concise information and guidance. Communicating in a simple way to

understand language. She’s very thorough, listens and is a fountain of knowledge, whilst extremely

professional and engaging. [X]’s knowledge is an asset to Pension Wise.

Thank you for a valuable service.”

“Thank you for your very helpful response to my question. I now realise that my problem doesn't

really fall under your remit - however, you certainly simplified the search process regarding

government sites and telephone numbers! With my very grateful good wishes.”

“I am writing to thank you for your detailed reply. I have to say that I admire anyone who can

understand the system of calculating the new state pension and so I include you in that admiration.

We are told that this new system makes things easier for everyone to understand, I can assure you it

isn't for people like me! I appreciate I didn't give you all the facts in my case but nevertheless you

were able to answer the question I had asked. It did take me a while to grasp the detail and I had to

read your answer a few times! Not because it was badly written, just for me to 'get my head round it!'

I felt I should thank you because I have sent numerous letters over the last few months regarding my

state pension and your reply has been the only one that has actually addressed the question I was

asking. Once again thank you! ”

“This is an incredible service for which I am extremely grateful to have had access to. My appeal

was successful and a stressful time was made less so by the help and expertise of the advisor who

was clearly very knowledgeable. My husband is now intending to contact the service for advice.”


How we deliver our

service


Delivery of TPAS

Helplines

09:00 – 17:00

Main responsive

national line

Money Advice

Service

DWP

Women and

Pensions

Self-employed

+ Partnership and

pilot dedicated

lines

Webchat

09:00 – 18:30

+

Tuesday late

night until 21:00

Available through

our website or

partners websites

Accessible on

all devices

Enquiries

Available 24/7

Online form

(over 80%)

Hard copy

correspondence

Referrals from

Financial

Ombudsman

and The

Pension

Ombudsman

Includes 1st and

3rd Party

complaints

Appointments

08:20 -18:30

Telephony

delivery of

service

Pension Wise

Divorce

Pension

scams

Outreach

Aimed at target

groups delivered

in person:

Scheme specific

issues

Charities

Community

engagement

Virtual outreach

via WebEx

Age UK

Housing

Association

Pilots

Pre-divorce

sessions

Post Pension

Scam help

Tesco – scheme

changes

British Steel-

scheme changes

Zurich – pension

transfers

Royal Mail –

scheme changes

Royal London -

GARs


Online: Self-service

Over the last 12 months we have been

active in exploring new ways of getting

pension savers to ask questions and seek

guidance with their pension provision. We

recognise that retirement for many seems

far away and pensions can be a

complicated subject, but by making

information accessible via our online

channels we hope to encourage more

people to seek out and explore the

information themselves, requesting further

guidance as and when required.

We have increased the number of technical

products designed for self-service users,

including the development of new spotlight

documents, focusing on key pension issues

that our customers have contacted us

about, these include saving into a pension,

maternity leave and automatic enrolment.

We have also implemented three new

interactive tools designed to encourage and

empower users to investigate their own

circumstances themselves before taking

further action. The tools include helping

users to spot and stop pension scams,

tracking down lost pension benefits and

exploring tax relief.

Additionally, the promotion of news stories

and Chief Executive blogs that reflect

consumer interest pieces, but reflect

pension topics, have been helpful in

directing traffic to our website and providing

users with specific next steps.

Therefore, we have increased our website

engagement by 22% compared year on

year, recording over 3,300,000 website

sessions. Similarly, we are pleased to see a

23% increase in unique visitors to the site,

in 2016/17.

As an organisation we already utilise a multi-

channel approach when delivering guidance to

customers. However, we are aware of customer

needs and preference and continuously strive

to find new ways to reach vulnerable or ‘hard to

reach’ groups. Therefore, we have taken part in

over 24 outreach events across the UK since

January 2016.

These included road shows, community group

and charity information sessions covering a

wide range of pension topics. Many of the

organisations we worked with included those

who provide vital services for individuals who

are either living or working with a disability and

groups who offer services and support to ethnic

minorities. We also worked closely with Age UK

to support their advisers in offering pension

help from across their offices in the UK. This

was done through online web applications

which allowed our Technical Specialists in

London to provide helpful guidance to Age UK

customers without needing to leave the office!

We believe that by working with and reaching

out to these types of groups and organisations

allows us to provide essential pension guidance

on a “one to many” level. Not only is this cost

effective, but it allows our service to reach

further and add value for many people whom

we may not have previously been able to

engage with.

Outreach


Working with us


Adviser of the year

Volunteers

In addition to our paid staff based in London Victoria, we also benefit from the invaluable support and time

of our national network of Volunteer Advisers. Our Volunteer Advisers offer time out of their own lives to

help our organisation deliver pensions guidance and resolution. They have typically worked in the pensions

industry for a long time, often in roles that require a high level of advanced technical pension knowledge.

They help with our dispute casework, answer the national helpline and provide support with various

pension activities.

Our volunteer network, as at 31st March 2017, stood at 372, with our volunteers taking on 61% of our 3

rd

party complaint cases (3rd party cases are those that we believe require contact with the party complained

about), with the added contribution of our London Office Advisers helping to answer the national helpline

on a regular basis. Not only do our volunteers provide us with essential resources, they also provide our

service with the knowledge, experience and links to the pensions industry, assets that we believe to be a

critical aspect for our service delivery and development.

The value that our volunteers add to the TPAS service is roughly £2.5 million, but this figure does not

include the personal value and difference they add to the customers they help each and every day. To

recognise their dedication and passion, we have been presenting a selection of long standing and

committed volunteers each year, with well-deserved awards.

We are delighted to announce that Sally Hannington is our adviser of the

year.

Sally joined The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) in 2015 working as a

Volunteer Adviser on dispute resolution cases. This followed her retirement

from an insurance company after thirty years, working as both an actuary and a

change programme manager. Designing products in the 1980s and 1990s and

leading the Pensions Simplification programme for her company in the 2000s

has proved to be an excellent training for her volunteering work.

She finds the variety of cases and the need to research elements of the

legislative and regulatory background, to be an excellent way to extend her

pensions knowledge and keep her brain active. Sally appreciates that working

in the financial services industry is very beneficial to one's own finances and is

keen to help those who find financial matters more daunting. She finds the

ability to make a difference, particularly when individuals are facing challenging

circumstances such as bereavement or financial difficulties, very rewarding.

When not working on TPAS cases, Sally is an avid walker, walking most days

in rural Norfolk.


TPAS Fellowship

The Fellowship of TPAS is awarded to recognise the achievement of those advisers who have provided

outstanding service over a sustained period. It is a special award, which is very difficult to achieve and a small

token of public recognition of the time, expertise and commitment given by this select group. This year we are

pleased to announce that Fellowships have been awarded to:

Brian Tatch

John Wilson

Fellowship has previously been awarded to:

Ian Aitkin

Mike Anthony

Jaqui Bamford

Ian Bateman

Francis Bowden

Wally Burgess

Mike Cabbett

Vivien Cockerill

Derrick Colby

Ken Cole

Tony Copp

John Corcoran

Gary Davies

Chris Dimmock

Anna Edgeworth

John Freer

Diana Geneen

Tom Gilmore

Roger Gould

Kim Gubler

Norman Hart

Colin Hartridge-Price

David Hughes

Martin Johnson

Alex MacIntyre

Ken MacIntyre

Mike Mackenzie

Brian MacMahon

Neville McKay

Nigel Malpass

Simon Mayho

Tony Mansfield

Ian Martin

Michael Mawdsley

Phillip Moores

Andrea Morris-Conway

Terence Noton

David Prescott

Bob Pye

Richard Ralph

David Read

Michael Robinson

Martin Rogers

Brian Simister

Neil Skinner

Brian Smyth

Margaret Snowdon OBE

Tony Spiers

Douglas Steer-Smith

Robert Stenlake

Colin Steward

Richard Stroud

Dennis Strudwick

Tony Tollerton

Keith Wallace

John Watkins

Derek Woodgate

Peter Woolsey


As an organisation, we are incredibly proud to

have volunteers working as part of our team,

striving to help deliver our service and aid

customers in making the most of their later life

savings; pre, during and post retirement. We are

very grateful to all of our volunteers and offer our

sincere thanks to all of them for the last 12 months

and their continued commitment to our

organisation.

We would like to also extend our thanks to the

employers who actively encourage their

employees to volunteer with us.

The adviser had

excellent knowledge and

experience. Without his

support and input I would

probably have given up the

case. However, because of

his knowledge and support I

had a successful outcome.

Highly recommend this very

professional adviser.

Without the intervention of The

Pensions Advisory Service I would

have lost nearly £5000. The financial

institution concerned was previously

resolute in its refusal to recognise its

error and compensate me. Your

Advisor was superb! Three cheers for

them and the Pensions Advisory

Service!

I have found the support from

your service, and particularly

[X], who completed the report

on my behalf invaluable. I do

not feel that my application

would have been successful

without the support, time and

knowledge of the service and

it’s advisors.

“ “

Making a difference

“I decided to become a TPAS Adviser after a

considerable period of professional life

advising companies and their employees

about all matters relating to pensions. During

this period, I led many staff meetings and I

learned that employees rarely fully

understood the substantial value of their

benefits, and often confused their

expectations with their rights. I felt that I

could use my experience to help members

of the public who seek help and advice from

TPAS to become better informed about

pensions generally. 25 years later, I continue

to get the satisfaction of helping people

understand their benefits and rights, and of

guiding them to bring about the successful

resolution of their formal complaints.” Roger Gould, Volunteer Adviser


Become a volunteer

“ We all know that pensions can be complex bafflingly things and one of the most

rewarding things I’ve done over my years in public service is helping individuals navigate

the complexities of the pensions system. That’s why being a volunteer adviser with The

Pensions Advisory Service appealed to me; trying to help people who’ve had problems with

their pensions, to sort them out, to get a resolution, to get things working and to get people

to understand.”

Sir Steve Webb

We are proud of what we do, we are proud of our service and we are proud of the high quality expertise our

volunteers bring to bear. We hope more pension professionals can join us to help deliver our service.

You could help with our casework

Help answer questions on our helpline in our London office

Be a volunteer in another area of our business, such as Policy and Technical

Whatever your pension background, your expertise and skills could help many more pension savers.

If you are interested in helping others and would like to know more about becoming a volunteer at TPAS,

please contact Paul Day on 020 7630 2252 or email: [email protected]

Working in partnership

Do you want to stop pension scams?

Help people going through a divorce or dissolution of marriage?

Need independent expert guidance on pension options?

We work with a number of organisations who help us to increase our reach to people who may benefit from

the services we offer. Organisations include the Money Advice Service, Citizens Advice and Age UK. We

have also worked with pension schemes going through exercises affecting member benefits and provided

direct guidance around scams and transferring,

If you are interested in working with us or want to find out more about how we might be able to work with you

and your members, employees or specific audience please email:

[email protected]

@TPASnews

/pensionsadvisoryservice

Work with us

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Annual review 2016 - 2017 - The Pensions Advisory Service · 4 ¦ The Pensions Advisory Service The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) is here to help people with their pension questions