How to appeal a compliance or penalty notice issued by The Pensions Regulator in relation to a defined contribution scheme.
This page is aimed at people interested in reviewing decisions relating to defined contribution (DC) schemes. If you want to appeal an automatic enrolment enforcement notice go to apply for a review.
Key points
- If you believe you should not have been issued a notice, you can apply for a review.
- You must apply within 28 days of the date of the notice.
- If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the tribunal.
Apply for a review
Under the Occupational Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) Regulations 2015 you can apply to The Pensions Regulator for a review of a decision if you have received one or more of the following compliance penalty notices:
- Compliance Notice
- Third Party Compliance Notice
- Penalty Notice (issued under the Occupational Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) regulations 2015)
A review must be submitted to us by the person (or persons) that the notice was issued to, or a third party representative acting on their behalf.
You must apply within 28 days of the date of the notice. This means we must receive your application within 28 days of the date of the notice you wish to be reviewed. We may consider applications received later than 28 days in exceptional circumstances.
There is no charge for submitting a review.
You can apply for a review by completing and submitting the review form, along with any supporting documents.
It could help your request for a review if you include records you have kept to demonstrate you have complied with your duties, or other information in support of your application, such as:
- the completed chair's statement
- information illustrating that the scheme is exempt from the requirements
What happens next
We will conduct an internal review and decide whether to uphold, overturn or change the notice. We will write to you to inform you of our decision.How to appeal
If you disagree with the outcome of our review, and the notice includes a penalty, you can appeal to the tribunal.
Most appeals are likely to be dealt with by a tribunal in the General Regulatory Chamber. There is no charge for making an appeal.
Find out how to make an appeal to the tribunal.
What happens next
The tribunal will write to you about the next steps.
Find out more about tribunal hearings and decisions.