Failures in member communications are a common source of member disputes and Ombudsman complaints.
Incorrect or misleading information can, for example, give members grounds to argue that they are entitled to a greater level of benefit from the scheme.
With suitable care the risk of disputes can be significantly reduced.

Trustees should try to keep their communications with members as simple and accurate as possible.
They should focus on being factual and avoid reassuring commitments or statements about the future which could be used against the trustees in the future.
Trustees should keep an accurate record of all communications with members as this will be invaluable in the event that a member dispute arises.
Where the communication has been over the phone or in a meeting, it is advisable to keep a record of that conversation.
In some cases, the content of an oral conversation should also be confirmed in writing to the member.

Scheme booklets are intended to give members a brief summary of the benefits that are set out more fully in the scheme's trust deed and rules.
Errors can emerge in booklets, as they are updated over the years, and members can be led to believe that their benefits will be higher than those set out in the rules.
However, an incorrect statement in a booklet does not automatically entitle a member to any higher level of benefit, even where it constitutes maladministration.
Members will have to show a change of their financial position in reliance on the incorrect statement to bring a successful complaint.

Scheme booklets normally include a disclaimer stating that the rules will prevail in the event of any inconsistency between the two documents.
A disclaimer can be helpful to trustees in establishing that any such reliance on the scheme booklet was unreasonable.
The courts have held that a disclaimer in the booklet stating that the position set out in the rules will prevail if the booklet is incorrect will prevent members from successfully arguing that they have relied on the incorrect statement and are therefore entitled to the higher level of benefits.
The disclaimer should be clearly expressed and visible.

Trustees will not necessarily be protected from a successful claim simply because a communication has been sent by the employer rather than the trustee.
The courts have, on occasion, held that the employer has the trustees' implied authority to send out communications, even if the trustees have not actually seen or authorised that specific document
To avoid this issue, best practice is for draft communications to members about pension issues to be shared between the trustees and employer.

The employer’s central legal duty to its employees is the duty of good faith / mutual trust and confidence.
This is the duty of the employer not to act irrationally or perversely towards its employees or breach the trust and confidence between them.
This duty also applies to the employer's actions towards its pension scheme for its employees and ex-employees.
In deciding whether there has been a breach of the good faith duty the court must ask, first, whether only relevant matters (and no irrelevant matters) have been taken into account by the decision-maker: and, second, whether the result was such that no reasonable decision-maker could have reached it.
Care must be taken in communicating with members to avoid providing misleading information which potentially breaches the duty of mutual trust and confidence.