Pensionsbarrister.com is back after its Easter break. This week, I’m looking at the limits on the validity of retrospective amendments to pension scheme documents, and the extent to which those limits may be overcome by careful drafting. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I consider a recent Upper Tribunal decision raising interesting points on service, what is being decided on an appeal, and the quality of material which the Regulator is expected to place before the First-Tier Tribunal. #pensionsbarrister #onthecase
New on pensionsbarrister.com: Allison Wu of Wilberforce Chambers discusses two recent cases in which the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has applied common law principles in pensions contexts. #pensionsbarrister #onthecase
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I look at a very recent High Court decision on how ‘protected persons’ pension provisions should be construed against the background of TUPE continuity and the Protected Persons Regulations. #pensionsbarrister #onthecase
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I look at how pension documents written for one purpose often end up being used for another, and what that means for those drafting them. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I look at a recent Court of Appeal decision which has potentially significant consequences for pensions negligence claims brought against the wrong defendant because liability had transferred to a successor entity. #pensionsbarrister #onthecase
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I consider the government’s proposals for the future of pension trustees set out in a recent DWP consultation paper, and ask whether it spells the end for the traditional lay trustee governance structure. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
It’s Talking Pensions time on pensionsbarrister.com. I talk to Bob Scott, senior partner at Lane Clark and Peacock. We discuss Bob’s long career as a consulting actuary and expert witness. #talkingpensions #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I consider the legal issues faced by trustees and actuaries when making and responding to requests for confirmation under the remedial provisions in the Pension Schemes Bill. #infocus #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com: Thomas Seymour concludes his personal reflections on pensions law and practice by considering how the Courts have dealt over time with scheme amendment powers. #infocus #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com: Thomas Seymour, who has recently left Wilberforce Chambers after 30 years at the pensions bar, reflects on his long career and comments on the legislative and judicial approaches to DB schemes during that time. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
New on pensionsbarrister.com: Zara Yusuf, of Three Stone, considers the recent Ombudsman determinations on the scope of trustees’ responsibility for statutory transfers of pension benefits, and asks whether the approach adopted is overly restrictive. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
Happy New Year from pensionsbarrister.com! In the latest post, I look at the recent High Court approval of a compromise in the long-running saga involving the Places for People Group Retirement Benefit Scheme.
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I look at a very recent important DPO determination on the scope of an occupational scheme trustee’s due diligence duties in respect of a non-statutory transfer made under the rules of the scheme. #pensionsbarrister #onthecase
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I consider the recent High Court decision in 3i PLC v Decesare, in which a fetter in a scheme amendment power which prohibited changes diminishing the accrued rights or interests of members was held not to protect members’ future service rights. #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com: Samuel Fulda and Eoin O'Shea of CMS look at the application of the UK sanctions regime to pension schemes, and ask whether it is time for trustees and employers to implement sanctions screening into their pension scheme administration. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I talk to Carly Barnes-Short and Sue Flood, members of the Advisory Panel to the Parliamentary Investment Fraud Committee. We discuss the impact of pension and investment fraud on victims and on the changes needed to make the system work better. #talkingpensions
New on pensionsbarrister.com: Edward Sawyer of Wilberforce Chambers considers a recent determination of the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman on a pension transfer claim, deciding that scheme trustees owed no general duty to undertake due diligence on behalf of the transferring member.
This week on pensionsbarrister.com: Naomi Kilcoyne of Wilberforce Chambers looks at a recent High Court decision authorising the unlocking of surplus assets in the Coca-Cola pension scheme. #pensionsbarrister #onthecase
It’s Talking Pensions time on pensionsbarrister.com. In this episode, I talk to pensions law legend Robin Ellison about his legal career, his role in establishing Perspective and in the College of Lawmakers, and his views on the Pension Schemes Bill. #talkingpensions #pensionsbarrister
This week on pensionsbarrister.com: I discuss a recent Hight Court case dealing with further issues arising from the enforcement of judgment debts against pension scheme assets. #onthecase #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com. The latest in our popular Remind Me About series, summarising particular areas of pensions law for newly-qualified practitioners or those wanting to brush up on the subject. This week, Andreas Giannakopoulos of Wilberforce Chambers looks at the Pension Protection Fund.
New on pensionsbarrister.com: James Walmsley of Wilberforce Chambers discusses a recent appeal from a PO determination concerning the “static” versus the “dynamic” construction of a pension scheme provision.
Pensionsbarrister.com is back from its summer break with an article from Edward Sawyer of Wilberforce Chambers looking at a recent determination in which the Pensions Ombudsman sets out his approach to claims by victims of transfer scams for due diligence failures by transferor scheme trustees.
I remain at work but Pensions Barrister is now on holiday...
Best holiday wishes to all our readers - we will be back with more content in September. In the meantime we will continue to update you with developments via our news posts as pensions news does not sleep and certainly does not sunbathe …
New on pensionsbarrister.com: in this special edition of Talking Pensions, our Assistant Editor Emily Campbell talks to ChatGPT ("Gip") about the role of AI, its potential in law and whether AI might ever need a pension. #talkingpensions #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I look at a recent decision of the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman on the legality of suspending/terminating a spouse’s pension on co-habitation/remarriage. #onthecase #pensionsbarrister
New on pensionsbarrister.com: I suggest some tips for how AI can help written advocacy in pensions cases. #infocus #pensionsbarrister
This week on pensionsbarrister.com: Jennifer Seaman of Wilberforce Chambers looks at the topical issue of accessing trapped surplus from pension schemes in winding up. #pensionsbarrister #infocus
It’s Talking Pensions time on pensionsbarrister.com. This month I’m talking to Margaret Snowdon OBE, Chair of the Pension Scams Industry Group and former President of PASA, about scams, dashboards and other topical pensions issues. #talkingpensions #pensionsbarrister