Regulated firms paid out more than £59m on pension and decumulation complaints last year alongside a £70.6m compensation bill for investment claims.
According to the latest complaints data published by the Financial Conduct Authority today (April 16) firms paid an average of £673 against pension complaints upheld in the second half of 2019 and £952 against investment claims.
The volume of complaints received across the financial services industry, but excluding PPI claims, increased by 6 per cent between the first and second half of last year in a first increase of numbers since the beginning of 2018.
In the intermediary sector Coutts & Company, the high-net worth advice arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland, received the most pension and decumulation complaints with 65.8 per 1000 policies, of which 40 per cent were upheld in favour the client.
Skipton Building Society followed with 38.1 pension complaints per 1000 policies and OpenWork with 11.1, with uphold rates of 92.9 per cent and 25.5 per cent respectively.
The FCA's data only lists firms which reported 500 or more complaints in a six-month period or 1,000 or more in a year.
Data released by the Financial Ombudsman Service last month showed complaints against advisers had dwindled at the end of last year, with only advice giant St James’s Place making the ombudsman's list of most complained about firms.
St James's Place also featured in the FCA's complaints data, receiving five pension complaints per 1000 policies, with an uphold rate of 30 per cent.
Throughout the entire financial services industry complaints rose from 4.29m in the first half of 2019 to 6m in the final six months, but this was largely driven by a 75 per cent increase in the volume of PPI complaints received ahead of the deadline for submitting claims of this nature last August.
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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