The PDA yesterday (February 20) published an update for those in the Boots Pension Scheme - the closed final salary scheme – “who made a complaint under the scheme’s dispute resolution procedure”.
“We are now in the final stages of preparing and submitting the case, which will cover all issues impacting our members,” it said.
“This obviously includes whether the ability to take an unreduced pension at 60 was discretionary or a right and other issues related to this,” it added.
Read more: Boots pharmacists given Dec 5 pensions ombudsman dispute deadline
“The case will be submitted at the end of the month, and then we expect the ombudsman to communicate acceptance of the case using their website,” the body said.
“While we will do what we can to alert members to publications by the ombudsman website regularly, we would urge members to check the Pension ombudsman website regularly as once the lead case is accepted, we will not be able to issue our own updates as the case progress and until the outcome is unknown,” it added.
“Comprehensive and powerful”
The PDA thanked all members for their “patience” and reiterated that “as we said in an earlier communication... it would feel there were periods of inactivity as we work with all parties to agree the contents of the lead case to be heard by the ombudsman”.
But it noted that “we fully appreciate how frustrating this is” and said that “it is essential we take time to ensure that the case lodged with the ombudsman is accurate, comprehensive and powerful”.
Read more: Boots pensions dispute: ‘Secret rule change documents’ discovered
“An important part of this has been agreeing on a lead case approach [and] although there are in the region of 800 individual cases, the PDA union has taken the lead in persuading all parties to accept this approach and in putting together the details of that lead case,” it added.
“This will ensure the ombudsman will be able to make the legally binding decision we know members are keen to receive, as quickly as possible and much quicker than the current 2-3 years it can take,” it continued.
“Internal complaints”
It comes after the PDA in October urged “members who worked for Boots in or before 2010 and accrued benefits in the [pension] scheme” to submit internal complaints by December 5 so that they are “covered” by any “legally binding final decision” by the ombudsman on pension benefits.
Boots parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) revealed in 2023 that it had offloaded Boots employees’ pension scheme to financial service provider Legal and General (L&G) in a £4.8 billion deal.
Read more: Boots pensions dispute: PDA launches ‘first stage’ of formal complaints process
That December the PDA launched the “first stage” of a formal complaints process about the deal following concerns that it could lead to a pension reduction for Boots employees wishing to withdraw their pension before they turn 65.
And last July, it announced that it had made the “unexpected discovery” that Boots changed pension rules “in secret”.
Read more: WBA stock tumbles amid reports that sale deal is ‘dead’
Meanwhile, Boots parents company Walgreens Boots Association (WBA) has seen its shares soar after reports that its talks to “sell itself” to private equity firm Sycamore Partners are “alive”, Bloomberg reported this week (February 18).
It comes after the Wall Street Journal last month (January 27) reported that the rumoured talks of the sale were “mostly dead” and “unlikely to result in a deal”.
C+D has approached WBA for comment.
