Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
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Delay in processing retirement papers
Early Resolution | 18 October 2022
Public Service Pension Board (PSPB)
The complainant retired from the police service after 21 years. She stated that her application to receive her pension funds was deferred for several months due to delays in processing. She states PSPB staff informed her that they had up to six months under the current Public Service Pensions Act to process these retirement claims.
The allegations of unreasonable delay in processing the retirement records do fall under the Ombudsman’s remit, however, it was not immediately clear whether this delay could be considered unreasonable if the current Act gives the PSPB up to six months to process these claims. We accepted the complaint and sought to resolve the matter informally with the PSPB.
Our office received a prompt email after raising the matter with the PSPB which indicated the matter had been brought to a resolution and that the applicant would receive their first pension payment at the end of the month.
Given that no investigation was undertaken, the Ombudsman made no recommendations regarding this matter.