Making a decision and appeals

These pages are for employer use only. Member information can be found on the home page.

When you're making any decision you must issue a clear statement to accompany your decision which should tell the member:

• The decision that has been made
• How you reached the decision
• How the member meets or doesn't meet the rules under the regulations
• How you've referred to any professional opinion (such as an Independent Registered Medical Practitioner for ill-health cases)
• Information on how the member can appeal the decision (under regulations 74 and 76 of the LGPS regulations, the right of appeal under internal dispute resolution procedure (IDRP)), including the timescales and the job title and address of the person nominated at your organisation to deal with appeals.

Specifically for ill-health decisions, if benefits are being awarded, you should also tell the member in your decision notice:

• The tier of ill-health benefit being awarded
• If tier 3 benefits have been awarded, that there'll be a review at 18 months

You can find more information about ill-health decisions on the ill-health retirement for active members webpage.

If a member isn’t happy about a decision you’ve made about their pension, they've the right to make their complaint reviewed under the Scheme’s Internal Disputes Resolution Procedure.  Members should contact you (as their employer, if you're the decision maker) before following IDRP. Sometimes, if there’s a misunderstanding, or miscommunication, this can be explained and put right straightaway.

However if, after contacting you, they’re still unhappy, they should follow the IDRP. More detailed information about the IDRP process can be found in the appeals booklet (link under Related Documents).  

First stage appeal

To appeal under IDRP, the member should write to your nominated appeals person within six months of the decision and they should receive a written reply within two months of the date of the complaint. The reply should either provide a decision about the appeal, or will acknowledge the complaint if it hasn't been possible for the nominated person to issue a decision within the two month period. It should explain the reasons for the delay and provide an expected date for issuing a decision.

Second stage appeal

If they aren’t happy after following a first stage appeal, they've a further six months to make a second stage appeal. This should be sent to the person nominated at the administering authority. The appointed person is: Head of Legal & Democratic Services, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ND.