If you’re unhappy with your pension provider, or a financial adviser has given you poor advice, you might be able to claim compensation for any money you’ve lost and the stress it’s caused. Here’s how to do it, step-by-step.

Step 1: Complain to your pension provider or adviser

Let your pension provider or financial adviser know why you’re unhappy and what you’d like them to do to put things right. Include as much detail and evidence as you can.

You’re more likely to be entitled to a compensation payment if:

• you've lost money due to a mistake or poor financial advice
• the problem has taken up your time or made you feel stressed and upset.

It’s best to make your complaint in writing so you can keep track of everything. If you speak to anyone, make a note of their name and the date.

You can find pension contact details at GOV.UK. If your pension provider or financial adviser has gone out of business, you can complain to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) instead.

Step 2: Wait up to eight weeks for a reply

Your pension provider or financial adviser will investigate your complaint and let you know what they intend to do, including how much compensation they think is fair.

If you’re happy with this, you can accept their offer and close your complaint. If you don’t agree with them, explain what they still need to do to put things right.

Before eight weeks have passed, your pension provider should send you a final response, which means they won’t change their offer. You can either choose to accept it or take your complaint further to an Ombudsman.

Step 3: Take your complaint to a free Ombudsman

If you’re unhappy with the provider or adviser’s final response, or you haven’t received it within eight weeks of making your complaint, you can refer your complaint to an Ombudsman.

This is a free and independent service where someone impartial will look at your case and make a decision. They might agree with your provider or adviser, or decide they need to do more to compensate you.

It can be a long process, but your provider must usually do what the Ombudsman decides, so it can be worth the wait.

Pension provider complaints

If your complaint is about a pension provider, take your complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman. You usually need to complain within:

• three months of receiving your final response, and
• three years of the problem first happening, unless you weren’t aware of the issue when it started.

Financial adviser complaints

If your complaint is about a financial adviser, take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You usually need to complain within:

• six months of receiving your final response, and
• six years of the problem first happening, unless you weren’t aware of the issue when it started.

If you don’t agree with the Ombudsman’s decision

If the Ombudsman agrees that the company’s decision is fair, this is usually where a claim ends. If you still don’t want to accept it, you could choose to go to court. This can be expensive, and there’s no guarantee you’ll win your case.