All Law articles – Page 2

  • News

    Industry unmoved by regulator’s DB funding arguments

    2020-08-27T00:00:00Z

    The introduction of a twin-track approach to regulating defined benefit scheme funding could stifle the creativity needed to navigate the current financial crisis, experts have warned.

  • Features

    New managing partner for Arc Pensions Law

    2020-08-03T00:00:00Z

    Boutique law firm Arc Pensions Law has a new managing partner, Rosalind Connor, who succeeds Chris Mullen, its co-founder.

  • News

    BA pension trustee urges against RPI changes

    2020-07-31T00:00:00Z

    The chair of Airways Pension Scheme Trustee Ltd, Roger Maynard, has warned that possible reforms of the retail price index could cause great injustices, as well as undermining trust in the issuance of index-linked gilts.

  • News

    Insolvency bill retains potential to damage DB schemes

    2020-06-29T00:00:00Z

    Government attempts to mitigate the risk its new insolvency legislation poses to defined benefit pension schemes have only been partly successful, and company moratoriums could still see schemes lose out on valuable contributions, experts have said.

  • Opinion

    TPR’s superfund green light is only the start

    2020-06-25T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions Regulator’s new interim regime for superfunds has sounded that starting gun for commercial defined benefit consolidation, but there are still significant hurdles to be overcome, write Rosalind Connor and Aneliese Sweeney of Arc Pensions Law.

  • News

    No-deal Brexit could deny thousands lifeboat protection

    2020-06-12T00:00:00Z

    As Covid-19 continues to wreak its devastation on the corporate landscape, dozens of pension schemes could fall into the Pension Protection Fund. However, a no-deal Brexit could scupper that option for up to one-fifth of distressed employers with an EU connection.

  • News

    Industry bodies lobby government to change insolvency bill

    2020-06-11T00:00:00Z

    Pensions industry bodies are lobbying the government to make changes to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, which unless revised will “inevitably lead to more pensioners not receiving their benefits in full and greater strain on the Pension Protection Fund”.

  • News

    Nest member waits two years to recover £80 in missed contributions

    2020-05-06T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions Ombudsman has finally brought to a close a woman’s two year hunt for £80 in missed contributions from her employer.

  • News

    Return of the zombies: Can trustees ‘game’ PPF?

    2020-05-01T00:00:00Z

    Defined benefit trustees linked to struggling employers face tough decisions about whether to tip their sponsors into insolvency or increase their burden on the Pension Protection Fund amid the onset of a global recession, in what experts have called a regulatory grey area.

  • News

    Premier Foods sets up tasty scheme merger

    2020-04-24T00:00:00Z

    Premier Foods, maker of Mr Kipling cakes, has reached a groundbreaking agreement to merge its RHM, Premier Foods and Premier Grocery Products pension schemes, a move that the company estimates could save it as much as £145m in contributions.

  • News

    Ombudsman’s Royal Mail decision opens up Pandora’s box

    2020-03-29T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions Ombudsman has upheld a complaint against the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme for refusing to pay a deferred pension, providing a salutary lesson for employers who fail to keep adequate records.

  • News

    Pension Ombudsman awards Police Scotland employee £2,000

    2020-03-29T00:00:00Z

    Lawyers have cautioned employers to keep their members fully informed of any pension benefit changes, after the Pensions Ombudsman awarded a Police Scotland employee £2,000.

  • News

    DWP: Government will not dictate schemes’ ESG investments

    2020-02-25T00:00:00Z

    The government insists it is not intervening in pension scheme investment strategies with a climate change amendment to the pension schemes bill introduced earlier this month.

  • Podcasts

    Podcast: Regulator should take ‘softly-softly’ approach to DC consolidation

    2020-02-19T00:00:00Z

    Podcast: The Pensions Regulator should take a “softly-softly” approach to defined contribution consolidation, similar to what happened with master trusts during the authorisation process, where subtle conversations occurred and schemes decided to exit in an orderly manner, according to Adrian Boulding, director of policy at Now Pensions. He and Rosalind Connor, partner at Arc Pensions Law, discuss the response from the watchdog to its consultation of the future of trusteeship and governance, among other topics.

  • News

    ESG amendments to give govt ‘unprecedented new powers’

    2020-02-12T00:00:00Z

    The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has warned that government bodies will have “unprecedented new powers” to interfere in pension scheme investment strategies if an amendment to the pension schemes bill is passed.

  • News

    Kent Council fund initiates revamp of its ESG policies

    2020-02-10T00:00:00Z

    Kent County Council is sprucing up its responsible ownership pension policy as climate concerns become mainstream.

  • Claire Goodby
    Opinion

    Schemes should be alert to Supreme Court’s part-time ruling

    2020-01-22T00:00:00Z

    The UK government is facing a compensation bill of hundreds of millions of pounds following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller and others v Ministry of Justice.

  • News

    Landmark vegan case could disrupt pensions industry

    2020-01-09T00:00:00Z

    A landmark ruling finding that veganism is a philosophical belief will have a wider impact in the pensions industry, experts say, but warn trustees to avoid making knee-jerk changes to their schemes.

  • Lloyds Bank
    News

    Lawyers demand simpler system to rectify drafting mistakes

    2020-01-02T00:00:00Z

    Lawyers are urging reform to ease the correction of obvious drafting mistakes in pension scheme rules, after Lloyds Bank was forced to go to the High Court to avoid a £25m hit to its liabilities.

  • News

    PPF only needs to hike benefits if member faces poverty risk

    2019-12-19T00:00:00Z

    The European Court of Justice ruling on the Bauer case has been described as a “welcome relief” for the Pension Protection Fund, as the lifeboat will only have to up member benefits if the individual is living below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.