Ms MaryRose McGovern:

Perhaps I will take that question. It is fair to say that in an occupational pension scheme, any benefit to which a member is entitled on retirement will be governed by the rules of that scheme. It is a matter for the trustees to calculate the benefits based on the payments in. In the absence of a specific requirement or obligation on trustees to take into account a period during which payments are not made, it would appear that someone in that position may well be impacted.

A complaint of that nature is something that will come within the jurisdiction of this office and we would be in a position to investigate such a complaint. It is fair to say that any entitlement pursuant to a pension scheme will be governed by the rules of that scheme whether they are based on historical documents or whether there have been deeds of amendment to those documents more recently. The trustees must take into account all those rules taken together when calculating or doing their sums, as it were.