In most cases, trustees make the claim on behalf of the scheme and are our main point of contact.
Scheme members, a beneficiary, a person connected with the administration or their authorised representative can also make a claim.
We only need to receive one application, so if you know a claim has already been made by a trustee, you don't need to submit another online form.
Check scheme eligibility
To be eligible to make an application:
- the scheme must be an occupational pension scheme
- the employer must be insolvent (or in a small number of cases meet other specific criteria)
- the scheme must be an eligible scheme as set out in regulation 2 of the 2005 Regulations
Check the dishonesty offences
There are a range of potential offences involving dishonesty.
Prosecution is not required, but we need to be able to reach the conclusion that there are reasonable grounds for believing:
- there was a reduction in scheme assets; and
- that reduction was caused by a criminal offence involving dishonesty.
More information on dishonesty offences.
Check the deadline
The authorised period to submit your claim is 12 months from the latest date of one of the following:
- the date of the scheme failure notice for defined contribution schemes
- the date of your employer’s insolvency or when your employer stopped being a going concern for defined benefit schemes
- the time when the trustees, scheme managers, accountants or scheme actuaries discovered that the scheme assets had been reduced as a result of offences involving dishonesty
In exceptional circumstances we may be able to accept applications outside the authorised period, but you’ll need to provide evidence to support the reason for the delay.
Consider scheme recoveries
Scheme recoveries are claims made against third parties that may lead to schemes getting money back.
If trustees can obtain scheme recoveries that are worth pursuing in terms of cost and time, legislation requires them to do so.
They don’t have to pursue every potential recovery, but they do have to explore the options. These recoveries take time as they are often complex and can involve litigation or overseas elements.
Information required from trustees includes:
- What potential recoveries have been considered? Which are not being pursued, and why?
- The source of any potential recovery, information on the likelihood of success (if available), expected timeframes, and expected fees.
Submit evidence
You’ll need to supply evidence that supports dishonesty – and explain who was dishonest, against who - and why you consider this links to the reduction in scheme assets.
If you’re a member and transferred into the scheme, please send us any letters, communications or information that you received around the time of the transfer. This may have been from the trustees of the scheme, an introducer, or an administrator. You can also let us know of any calls or other correspondence regarding your transfer and what you expected to happen next.
We’ll get in touch with the scheme trustees and may need further information from them to progress the claim. It’s useful for us to see the scheme’s bank statements, if available.
If you’re a trustee or administrator, please send us any member statements that you’ve obtained.
We can’t assess your claim unless we have all the information and documents required. If you’re not able to provide all the necessary information, please let us know why.