Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Annual Report 2024

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (“FSPO”) is an independent statutory body established under the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017. Its role is to resolve complaints from consumers against financial service providers and pension providers. Complaints may be dealt with informally through mediation or, where necessary, by formal investigation and adjudication resulting in a binding decision.

The FSPO’s annual report for 2024 highlights another significant year.  The year was marked by a record number of complaints, increased complaint resolution activity, continued investment in staffing and systems and important legislative and strategic developments.

We have set out below some of the key points arising from the 2024 report:

Key statistics

In 2024, the Office received 6,185 complaints, the highest annual number recorded to date. During the same period, it closed 5,907 complaints, representing a:

• 14% increase on 2023
• 27% increase on 2022

These figures reflect both the continuing demand for the FSPO’s services and the Office’s efforts to increase throughput in response to growing complaint volumes.  There is anecdotal evidence to the fact that in 2024, parties were experiencing delays of between 9.5 months (for matters that commenced the adjudication process in quarter 2 of 2024) and 13.5 months (for matters where a preliminary decision was issued to the parties in quarter 2 of 2024).

From an insurer’s perspective, delays in the progression and resolution of complaints can prolong the overall lifecycle of claims and increase operational costs.  However, the report suggests that the FSPO is actively addressing capacity constraints.  The appointment of 45 new staff members, and the running of 13 recruitment campaigns in 2024 and investment in a new complaint management system, should assist the FSPO in concluding complaints more efficiently and may help reduce the time taken to bring disputed claims to a final resolution.

Complaints trends

As in previous years, banking complaints remained the largest category, accounting for 3,404 complaints and 55% of all complaints received in 2024. Insurance complaints were the second largest category at 1,818 complaints, representing 29% of the total. The FSPO also received 411 investment complaints and 348 pension complaints, which accounted for 7% and 6% respectively.   One of the most notable themes in the report is the continued rise in complaints relating to disputed transactions in the banking sector. The report records 1,015 such complaints in 2024, a 12% increase on the previous year.

The report also gives some useful insight into the conduct in respect of which complaints have been made.   Customer service remained the most common issue raised in 2024, accounting for 22% of complaints, followed by maladministration. This suggests that a substantial proportion of complaints continue to arise not simply from disagreements over products or entitlements, but from communication failures, delays, administrative errors and poor complaint-handling at provider level.  This is an important point for regulated firms.

The report indicates that providers who have managed to reduce complaint volumes have generally done so by introducing positive changes to avoid complaints arising or by resolving them effectively at an earlier stage. Conversely, where complaints remain high, the implication is that internal complaint-handling processes, customer engagement practices and operational controls may require closer attention.

Strategic and operational developments

2024 was also the final year of the FSPO’s 2021–2024 Strategic Plan, “Connecting and Innovating”, and saw the development of its new Strategic Plan for 2025–2027, “Delivering for our Customers”.

A central part of that strategy is also the modernisation of complaint-handling systems.

Legislative and regulatory developments

In 2024, the Office continued to engage with the Department of Finance in relation to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2023, which was enacted in April 2025. The amendments were designed to ensure that the FSPO could continue to discharge its statutory functions in a manner consistent with constitutional requirements.

A further notable development was the review of the financial services industry levy.

Decisions, referrals and wider influence

The report underlines the FSPO’s role not just as a dispute resolution body, but also as a source of information and influence within the wider regulatory environment. By the end of 2024, the FSPO had published over 2,500 legally binding decisions concerning financial service providers.

Key takeaways

The 2024 report reflects an organisation operating at increasing scale in a complaints environment that remains both active and evolving. Record complaint volumes, rising fraud-related disputes and the continued prominence of customer service and maladministration complaints all point to the importance of effective operational controls, clear customer communications and well-resourced internal complaint-handling processes.

For financial service providers and pension providers, the report is a reminder that complaints are not simply an end-stage dispute issue. They are often an early indicator of broader governance concerns. As the FSPO continues to expand its capacity, modernise its systems and influence standards across the market, firms should expect continued scrutiny of how complaints are prevented, handled and resolved.

We await the publication of the 2025 report to give an indication of whether the FSPO’s investment in additional resources and process improvements is beginning to have a tangible impact on complaint resolution time.  For insurers, this will assist in relation to the resolution of matters and reducing the life cycle of claims.  If you have any questions regarding the information discussed in this article, please contact Sarah Conroy and Alexandra Wilde.