Pensions Ombudsman Paul Kenny says his office received 515 new complaints during 2007, up 17% over the previous year.
Launching the office's annual report, he says that it also dealt with about 3,600 telephone enquiries, up 16%, while website hits to the end of October stood at over 282,000, up 27% on the same time last year.
The office closed a total of 584 files, up 90% on 2006's total and Paul Kenny predicts that the present state of the economy and the 'chaotic' situation in investment markets will make 2008 even busier.
The number of new cases opened in the year to the end of October is 49% up on the same time last year, he says.
In the report, Mr Kenny says that the 'old regulators' - target benefit schemes and employers in the construction industry - feature heavily again this year. Another source of complaints were pensioners who 'mis-bought' the SSIA pensions incentive, which was not really intended for them in the first place.
He also comments on how many contentious issues could be defused by an apology offered early enough in the process, or by a simple explanation.
Mr Kenny says that one third of cases closed in 2007 were closed by mediation. However, he says that there will be probably be always the 'hard core' of people who refuse to engage with the office's investigators.
'Some people seem to believe that if they simply fail to co-operate with my investigators, the problem will go away. It will not. In such cases I have not been slow in applying the full rigour of the law,' he stated. He adds that his office has been involved in three court hearings in the past eight days.
