FOI-03893

##Request 

<p><i>‘1. Is there a field on the compendium (equiniti) NHSBSA pensions administration software/other system used for this purpose that has to be 'ticked' or 'unticked' in order for members pensions in payment to be automatically uprated each year by CPI?</i></p>

<p><i>2. If not please explain the process by which this is achieved.</i></p>

<p><i>3. During the period from 1.1.2020 how many members have had this applied incorrectly?</i></p>

<p><i>4. How many of these have led to complaints?</i></p>

<p><i>5. How many of these complaints have been resolved a) informally/phase 1, b) phase 2, c) CEO and d) how many have gone to the Pensions ombudsman?</i></p>

<p><i>6. what is the speediest time to resolution from first contact?</i></p>

<p><i>7. what is the median time to resolution from first contact?</i></p>

<p><i>8. what is the longest time to resolution from first contact?</i></p>

<p><i>9. how many of these complaints were resolved within the target times according to the NHSBSA complaints policy?</i></p>

<p><i>10. Have any internal/external audits been carried out relating to this specific issue or that have included this specific issue?</i></p>

<p><i>11. If so can you provide copies of the audit reports and any action plans and progress reports?’</i></p>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 10 June 2026.  

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

##Our response 

__Question 1 - Is there a field on the compendium (equiniti) NHSBSA pensions administration software/other system used for this purpose that has to be 'ticked' or 'unticked' in order for members pensions in payment to be automatically uprated each year by CPI?__

There is a manual indicator which, when set by the administrator, would result in manual pensions increase being applied rather than automatically. 

__Question 2 - If not please explain the process by which this is achieved__

This question is not applicable. 

__Question 3 - During the period from 1.1.2020 how many members have had this applied incorrectly?__

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA. 

NHS Pensions is unable to provide this information as the only records held are those showing that pensions increase has been applied. 

__Question 4 - How many of these have led to complaints?__

We have considered this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and are issuing a refusal notice under section 17 of the FOIA.  

The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we estimate that the cost of compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the FOIA.  

We estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving, extracting and checking the information.   

We would need to manually interrogate each complaint received within this time frame to determine the reason for the complaint was due to CPI issues. There are 9,186 complaints for the requested time period and we estimate it would take 5 minutes to manually interrogate each case. 

Please see the following calculations which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request: 

9,186 x 5 minutes = 45,930 minutes (765.5 hours) 

Please see the following link to view the section 12 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/12 

__Question 5 - How many of these complaints have been resolved a) informally/phase 1, b) phase 2, c) CEO and d) how many have gone to the Pensions ombudsman?__

__Question 6 - what is the speediest time to resolution from first contact?__

__Question 7 - what is the median time to resolution from first contact?__  

__Question 8 - what is the longest time to resolution from first contact?__ 

__Question 9 - how many of these complaints were resolved within the target times according to the NHSBSA complaints policy?__

We have considered this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and are issuing a refusal notice under section 17 of the FOIA.  

The NHSBSA does hold the requested information; however, we estimate that the cost of compliance with the request would exceed the appropriate limit under section 12 of the FOIA.  

We estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving, extracting and checking the information.   

We would need to manually interrogate each complaint received within this time frame to determine the reason for the complaint was due to CPI issues. There are 19,930 total Complaints, IDR1, IDR2 and Ombudsman cases for the requested time period, and we estimate it would take 5 minutes to manually interrogate each case. 

Please see the following calculations which sets out the estimated cost for compliance with this request: 

19,930 x 5 minutes = 99,650 minutes (1,660.83 hours) 

Please see the following link to view the section 12 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/12 

__Question 10 - Have any internal/external audits been carried out relating to this specific issue or that have included this specific issue?__

There have been no internal or external audits regarding pensions increase (CPI). 

__Question 11 - If so can you provide copies of the audit reports and any action plans and progress reports?__

This question is not applicable. 

__Data Queries__

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a> ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data. 

__Reusing the data and copyright__

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented. 

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/  

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2026”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence. 

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.

Tags: NHS Pensions, Pensions complaints
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log