Trivial Commutation Delay
Posted: July 6th, 2019, 6:30 pm
An appeal for help please.
My sister died recently aged 55. My brother in law survives her, he is 66, he has learning difficulties and very poor health and few assets, I am helping him to try to sort out his finances.
My sister had an occupational pension and we contacted the provider to find out what was there and the options. They have written to my brother in law and said that he can take a pension of just over £1,000 p.a. They then say that "as your payment is under a certain level then you can take a one-off cash payment in exchange for the pension benefits in this scheme. This is called trivial commutation." They go on though to tell him that because of a recent High Court ruling involving Lloyds Bank they are unable to calculate this cash sum. Timescales are said to be unknown and it may be "some time before we are able to calculate the amount due."
In his situation my brother in law is probably going to prefer a cash sum now that could really help him now. However if the sum is unknown and there is a possibly lengthy delay there is a problem for him at an already very difficult time. I plan to call the pension provider next week but wondered if anyone had any knowledge of this case and any idea of what the impact could be and when it might be resolved? I wonder what my chances are of getting an estimated amount for him and a payment on account perhaps? His age, very poor health and financial situation put him in difficult position.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help
My sister died recently aged 55. My brother in law survives her, he is 66, he has learning difficulties and very poor health and few assets, I am helping him to try to sort out his finances.
My sister had an occupational pension and we contacted the provider to find out what was there and the options. They have written to my brother in law and said that he can take a pension of just over £1,000 p.a. They then say that "as your payment is under a certain level then you can take a one-off cash payment in exchange for the pension benefits in this scheme. This is called trivial commutation." They go on though to tell him that because of a recent High Court ruling involving Lloyds Bank they are unable to calculate this cash sum. Timescales are said to be unknown and it may be "some time before we are able to calculate the amount due."
In his situation my brother in law is probably going to prefer a cash sum now that could really help him now. However if the sum is unknown and there is a possibly lengthy delay there is a problem for him at an already very difficult time. I plan to call the pension provider next week but wondered if anyone had any knowledge of this case and any idea of what the impact could be and when it might be resolved? I wonder what my chances are of getting an estimated amount for him and a payment on account perhaps? His age, very poor health and financial situation put him in difficult position.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help