The Pension Fund’s preference is to resolve concerns quickly as soon as they are known about. In the first instance we would always encourage members, or their representatives, to contact the pension administrators directly to resolve any issue with the way that your pension scheme membership is dealt with, or the service received.
Compliments
If our staff or services have been helpful, please let us know.
Formal complaints procedure
If you want to make a formal complaint about the service that you or another individual has received from the Pension Fund or about actions or decisions of its officers as part of the administration of the scheme, you should write to the team using the email or address shown above and set out the complaint and what outcome is sought.
Supporting documentation can be provided to support the complaint. The team will acknowledge the complaint within five working days. The complaint will be investigated by a senior manager and a full reply will be provided within a maximum of 20 working days.
Sometimes, due to the complexity of the complaint, the team will not be able to meet this timescale. If this happens, the individual will be contacted and kept fully informed of the progress being made.
If the complaint is related to a decision made about a pension by you or another individuals current or former employer, the relevant employer’s complaints procedure should be followed.
Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)
A complaint can be made under the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) when the complaint related to a decision affecting you, or another individual, in relation to the scheme or if a decision should have been made but it hasn’t been.
If you disagree with a decision made by your employer or the West Sussex Pension Fund in relation to your benefits from the Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS), then there is a two stage complaints process in place known as the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP). However, if your complaint is related to a decision made about your pension by your employer, then you must follow your employer's complaints procedure instead.
More details concerning each process can be found in documents below.
Application forms under the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure are available below.