Pensions

One of the many factors that sets us apart from other pensions practices is our ability to offer not only practical and commercial pensions law advice and support, but also market-leading pensions litigation and pensions investment experience.

We can also draw on the experience of the wider Firm both in the UK and internationally to provide our clients with the full range of support on pensions issues – from negotiating commercial contracts, deal support, financing and restructuring, data protection, employment, to regulatory and tax.

Whatever the pensions issue your organisation is facing, we have the experience and bench strength to help.

Our core pensions services include:

• Strategic advice on managing and de-risking pension liabilities
• Compliance and regulatory
• Investigations by the Pensions Regulator - the Pension Protection
  Fund and HMRC
• Acquisitions and disposals support
• Funding negotiations
• Advising on contentious issues - including rectification claims,
  actions to recover overpayments and claims involving professional
  advisers
• Establishing, revising and terminating international pension
  arrangements
• Pensions investment – including corporate governance, risk
  management, outsourcing, the conduct of business and trading and
  investment issues

Our experience:

We have a wealth of experience of advising major trustee and sponsoring employer clients on all aspects of pensions, pensions litigation and pensions investments and examples of our experience are set out below:

• De-risking DB liabilities – our team is highly regarded and recognised for its expertise in advising sponsoring employers and trustees on the full range of tools to de-risk, and finally settle, legacy DB liabilities

• De-risking investments – we have advised a number of trustee clients on the legal aspects of a de-risking “flightpath”, including documenting the triggers for re-balancing the portfolio and negotiating agreements with fund managers.

• Transfer-out exercises – we have significant experience of enhanced transfer-out exercises, from assisting with the selection of financial advisers through to drafting the suite of member communications, and project managing such exercises, working well with the other advisors involved to achieve cost efficiencies and a “pain-free” experience.

• Pension increase exchanges – we have advised the sponsoring employer of a GBP multi-billion legacy DB scheme on a pension increase exchange exercise (PIE) – under which the member forgoes future “excess” pension increases in exchange for a one-off uplift to their pension.

• Buy-ins - we have advised the Trustees of a GBP 250m+ senior executive pension arrangement on the buy-in of all pensioner and deferred liabilities with an external insurer.