Pensions
Our expertise
Our specialist pensions law team advises clients on all types of registered and unregistered pension arrangements, aiming to reduce jargon to a minimum and ensuring that our advice is straightforward and practical. As well as providing focused advice, we keep our clients up to date with our monthly pensions update, topical briefing notes and news alerts.
We offer a comprehensive pensions law service including:
- Acquisitions and disposals - pensions aspects of all corporate transactions including pension transfer provisions, due diligence, warranties and indemnities
- Pension scheme documentation - we provide ongoing support by drafting trust deeds, booklets and announcements to members
- Product documents - we advise on the establishment and maintenance of insurance company pension products, in conjunction with our tax and insurance colleagues
- Pensions Regulator - general advice on dealing with the new Pensions Regulator and particularly the implications of moral hazard. We aim to help our clients minimise the risk of liability under contribution notices and financial support directions
- Pensions regulation - advising employers and trustees on compliance with often-changing pensions legislation and regulation, particularly the ongoing impact of pensions “A” day, age discrimination and trustees’ new responsibilities for cash equivalent transfers
- Establishment of new pension schemes - we offer a comprehensive service on the establishment, structuring and documentation of new pension arrangements
- Disputes and litigation - all types of pensions dispute resolution including complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman, mediations, arbitrations, claims made through TPAS and litigation
- Investment - all aspects of pension scheme investment, including both legal and regulatory obligations and custodianship and advice on investment management and custody agreements
- International pensions - we advise in relation to offshore and third country national plans as well as on multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions.
Highly experienced pensions law team
The team is headed by leading pensions lawyers Lesley Browning and Peter Ford, who are both cited as legal experts in pensions law by Legal Business and have been described as “highly rated professionals” within their specialisation by Chambers which also describes the team as “sensible, down-to-earth and practical”. The Legal 500 describes the pensions practice as “having an excellent reputation on mainstream corporate and pensions restructuring work”. Lesley and Peter are both active participants in the Association of Pension Lawyers, with Peter being a member of the association’s main committee. Peter has also worked closely with the Department of Work and Pensions Simplification Review, coordinating the legal input for the Pickering Report. Lesley is currently a member of the NAPF City and Eastern Group and the CBI Pensions Working Group.
Pensions litigation
When contentious aspects of pensions issues arise, the team works closely with pensions litigation partner Charles Evans who led our team which assisted the FSA in its review of the regulation of Equitable Life.
More information on our global pensions practice.