All legal articles
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NewsMore ESG reporting raises risk of legal challenges for trustees
Tougher reporting requirements for environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors leave pension schemes and companies more exposed to the risk of legal challenges, a senior lawyer has warned.
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OpinionOvercharged, over-litigious and over here: class actions in UK pensions
The possibility of US-style class actions hitting the UK pensions scene has long been talked about, but this phenomenon has yet to materialise. Legal, market and social developments may yet change that.
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OpinionWhy shareholder litigation is not just about restitution of losses
The role that asset owners and managers play as effective stewards of capital has come under increasing scrutiny over the past decade. However, despite this spotlight, we believe there is an aspect of effective stewardship that has continued to be misjudged by the industry.
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News18,000 teachers subject to ‘challenging’ McCloud choice
Some 18,000 teachers have been made retrospectively eligible for Local Government Pension Scheme benefits by the implementation of the McCloud remedy, presenting an “administratively challenging” task for both the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and LGPS-administering authorities, according to the Local Government Pensions Committee.
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NewsOmbudsman orders law firm to pay thousands in missing contributions
The Pensions Ombudsman has handed a £1,000 fine to a law firm and ordered it to repay thousands more in missing contributions, after it failed to engage either with the affected member or the ombudsman’s office.
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NewsOmbudsman hits Teachers’ Pensions with maladministration fine
The Pensions Ombudsman has fined Teachers’ Pensions £500 for maladministration after it failed to adequately inform a member about the rules around breaks in pensionable service, but dismissed the member’s argument that the fine should be increased to the minimum required in cases of employment discrimination.
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NewsDerbyshire among funds at risk in £138mn solar farm scandal
The Derbyshire Pension Fund is among a number of public sector institutions with members’ money invested in a scandal-hit council investment project that has seen £138mn in public money go missing.
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NewsTPR’s criminal powers ‘pose risks’ to universities
The Pensions Regulator’s new criminal powers could potentially pose risks to university sponsors of defined benefit schemes, especially in light of reforms at the Universities Superannuation Scheme, legal experts have said.
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NewsBT, Ford and M&S schemes consider appealing against RPI judgment
On the go: The trustees of the BT, Ford and Marks and Spencer schemes are considering whether to appeal against the judgment handed down by the High Court, which struck down their judicial review against the government’s plans to axe the retail price index.
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News‘Millions to lose out’ as court rejects RPI reform appeal
Industry commentators have warned that millions of pensioners stand to “lose out” after the High Court rejected a judicial review, brought by some of the country’s largest defined benefit schemes, against the government’s plans to replace the retail price index with the consumer price index including housing.
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NewsLGPS calls for ‘future-proofing’ benefits against discrimination
On the go: The chair of the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board, councillor Roger Phillips, has written to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities asking for reforms to discriminatory death and survivor benefits in the LGPS, and to protect the scheme against future legal challenges.
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NewsCourt dismisses trustee’s Barber window arrears claim
The High Court has ruled that members of the CMG UK Pension Scheme are not entitled to payment of arrears that fell due more than six years ago, despite the trustee’s attempts to continue paying them.
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NewsFirefighters’ options exercise requires ‘corrective action’
On the go: “Corrective action” is required for certain members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, after a number of Fire and Rescue Authorities failed to conduct an options exercise properly.
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NewsFBU receives more than 750 ‘immediate detriment’ claims
On the go: The Fire Brigades Union has received more than 750 ‘immediate detriment’ claims since June 6, despite being told by the Fire Chiefs’ Council that it should hold off applying immediate detriment until legislation is introduced next year.
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NewsGovt rejects appeal to make NHS scheme tax-unregistered
The government has rejected a petition to make the NHS pension scheme tax-unregistered, arguing that the loss of tax-relief and lump sums “would not benefit the vast majority of members”.
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NewsPublic sector retirees face higher exit payment scrutiny
Substantial exit payments resulting from pension strain arrangements in the public sector will likely see people nearing retirement having their cases referred to HM Treasury, under a proposed new regime.
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NewsScams action group gets six-figure budget to tackle fraud
On the go: The Pension Scams Action Group, a renamed and revamped Project Bloom, is to get a six-figure budget to tackle scams across the next year, with the prospect of more to come.
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NewsWaiting times a problem as demand for Pensions Ombudsman rises
The Pensions Ombudsman has been successful in its application for additional funding, part of which will go towards establishing its new pensions dishonesty unit, and tackling customer waiting times as demand is expected to rise by at least 10 per cent over the next year.
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NewsOmbudsman fines Capita for substandard administration
The Pensions Ombudsman has told Capita to pay £500 to a disgruntled scheme member as its communications “fell below the standards of good administration”, though the member’s substantive complaint was not upheld.
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NewsMcCloud incentives see hundreds of Scottish police retire early
On the go: Incentives introduced as part of the McCloud remedy have led to hundreds of Scottish police officers — many in senior positions — choose to retire early, leading to fears that the force is not sufficiently manned to tackle serious crime.