Southwark Council has been ordered to pay a complainant seven and a half months worth of pension payments after her complaint was upheld by The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Mrs I, who was diagnosed with advanced cancer in September 2015, did not have any income until February 2018 once her sick pay ended in October 2016, although her pension was backdated to June 2017.

TPO said that the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) did not manage the situation “appropriately or in a timely manner”.

Southwark Council was ordered to pay Mrs I her pension payments for between October 2016 and June 2017, and £3,000 for the “severe distress and inconvenience she has suffered at what would have been a very trying time for her”.

Mrs I said that she believed that she had missed out on pension payments and should have been assessed for ill health retirement much earlier.

Between April 2016 and February 2018, Mrs I “suffered immense financial strain” as she has two young children and had to attend hospital regularly.

She began a course of chemotherapy in June 2017 and the lack of communication from Southwark Council and her lack of income meant that she had to rely on her savings to support herself and her family.

TPO criticised Southwark Council for its lack of urgency, communication and management of Mrs I’s transition from employment to ill-health retirement.

The complainant tried to raise the pensions issues through the internal dispute resolution, “but her requests were ignored”.

She also asked an independent financial adviser (IFA) to review her options, but they were not able to as Mrs I’s request for a letter of authority from Southwark Council is still outstanding.

A home visit was arranged for September 2016, although it did not take place until December 2016. This “again demonstrates a lack of urgency and care from Southwark Council”, according to TPO.

The ombudsman added: “The advanced nature of Mrs I’s illness was known well before the end of the sick pay period and, as her employer, Southwark Council had a duty of care to ensure that it took all reasonable steps to provide support.

“But Mrs I’s transition to ill-health retirement was not seamless and no action was taken to either consider or instigate ill-health until September 2016, when her sick pay had almost finished.

“Furthermore, the lack of action by Southwark Council, in the period that Mrs I was receiving sick pay, represents a failure in its duty of care to Mrs I and is tantamount to maladministration.”

Southwark Council has been ordered to pay Mrs I within 21 days and issue a letter of authority to Mrs I’s IFA within 14 days.

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