ABSTRACT
The Pensions Ombudsman is in a similar category, but his powers mark him out as a rather different animal. Set up under the Social Security Act 1990.84 his jurisdiction covers complaints about both private and public sector pension schemes, but the majority currently concern private schemes. He is unusual amongst ombudsmen in that his awards are not only binding on both parties, without the usual requirement that the complainant accepts it first, but also enforceable in the courts. He not only deals with complaints about injustice as a result of maladministration by the trustees or managers of an occupational pension scheme or personal pension scheme, but he also has the power to deal with disputes about fact and law between the trustees or managers of a scheme, or an employer.85 He is subject to the supervision of the Council on Tribunals in respect of his jurisdiction over such disputes. In many respects, he is closer to a tribunal than an ombudsman.
