‘I’m an ex-firefighter – should I be getting more from my public sector pension?’
Write to Pensions Doctor with your pension problem: pensionsdoctor@telegraph.co.uk. Columns are published weekly.
Dear Becky,
After reading the retirement articles in The Telegraph, I thought you might be able to help me.
I was a retained part-time firefighter for 15 years of unbroken service until the year 2000 when the Derbyshire fire service (DFS) doctor decided that, despite my wish to continue my role, I would not be able to continue because of an accident I had while working in my full-time employment.
I snapped my cruciate ligament in my leg, and so the service ended my employment on the grounds of ill health.
At that time the firefighter pension scheme was not available to retained firefighters. Several years later, following an employment tribunal, Matthews v Kent and Medway Towns Fire Authority, I was given the opportunity to join a modified section of the scheme along with all other eligible firefighters.
I applied to join and mentioned that my employment was terminated as mentioned above. The then-fire service doctor, along with DFS solicitors, decided I was not entitled to an ill-health retirement because, in their opinion, the previous DFS doctor who terminated my employment was wrong and I should have been allowed to continue in the service.
Under the circumstances, I paid the required amount of money so I could claim the maximum pension available to me. I have now been contacted again because of a determination by the EU court. A memorandum of understanding has been agreed and I have been informed that I am now entitled to pay contributions in order to receive a pension for the full 15 years’ service, which I intend to do.
If my employment was not terminated I would have continued in the service indefinitely so I feel I am not being treated fairly – if my service had not been terminated, I would have accumulated many more years of pension entitlement. Or, if they honoured the original doctor’s decision, my ill-health pension would have been paid from the date my employment terminated, rather than the official retirement date.
What do you advise me to do to get a satisfactory conclusion?
Thank you.
Regards,
Bernard
Dear Bernard,
You feel that your pension has suffered as a result of doctors’ decisions about your employment and the impact this had on your ability to build up years of service.
While I can’t advise legally on this, and can’t say for sure whether you have a claim or not, I can run you through the options.
It sounds as though you could pursue a claim for missed years of ill-health pension or for the missing years of pension you could have accrued if you had remained “wholetime” in the service.
The ACAS website has some guidance on how to obtain legal advice for employees – it might be worth considering getting some legal help, too.
I consulted Caroline Rayner, partner at Knights and specialist in employment law, who told me: “Employers who have pension schemes that provide early ill-health retirement benefits should ensure that employees are considered for such pensions before a decision to dismiss is taken, otherwise the dismissal may be unfair.” However, there are also time limits to claims that might affect you. It’s worth investigating.
On the pension issue specifically, there are a number of ways you can get further guidance and information on next steps.
You can call the Government’s Money Helper pensions service on 0800 011 3797 or use the web chat facility on the website. It can give you guidance on next steps, and more information on how to complain, should you wish to do so.
If you decide you want to complain, the first step would be to complain to your Fire and Rescue Authority.
The Pension Ombudsman Service has some helpful template letters for initial complaints, as follows:
‘Dear X,
I refer to my previous letter(s) to you about my pension. Please treat this letter as a formal request to consider my complaint.
Please respond to me at the above address.
My personal details are: Full name: Date of birth: National insurance number:
I am complaining about: [provide full details of your complaint, stating what happened, why you are dissatisfied and the effect of issue(s) on you].’
Depending on its response, the next step would be to follow the medical appeal process for the fire service – you could appeal to the Board of Medical Referees about the original decision.
Again, depending on any outcome from this, if you are still not satisfied you could then speak to The Pensions Ombudsman about pursuing a complaint.
This service deals with complaints related to public and private sector pensions and has handled many complaints relating to ill-health pensions. You can only contact the Pension Ombudsman after you have received a decision from the Fire and Rescue Authority, or if you haven’t had a response within eight weeks.
Time limits also apply – so before you complain, it might be worth making a phone call to make sure you are within them.
