RadcliffesLeBrasseur's Pensions team primarily advises on occupational pensions with client schemes ranging from 90 to 6,000 members. However, the range of matters on which we are consulted also includes personal pensions and other funded and unfunded arrangements.
We regularly advise on the following:
- creating new schemes to replicate pre-existing schemes following acquisition.
- creating funded and unfunded unapproved schemes.
- Preparing and negotiating scheme documentation, including revisions to trust deeds, advising on announcements and ancillary documents and preparing new scheme documentation.
- advising on final salary, money-purchase, mixed-benefits, funded and unfunded schemes.
- Advising employers and pensions trustees including advice on statutory compliance and members' rights.
- handling the merger or winding-up of schemes.
- advising on the pensions aspects of mergers and acquistions.
- due diligence investigation and reporting on behalf of prospective buyers.
- drafting and negotiating disclosures against pensions warranties.
- negotiating and recording obligations and undertakings for participation in existing schemes.
- advising transferring/receiving trustees.
- advising on communications with employees.
Some examples of recent work are:
- advising and preparing the documentation for the establishment of a new contracted-out mixed-benefit scheme for an employer in the financial services sector.
- handling the merger of two pension schemes involving total funds of approximately £80m.
- carrying out a detailed due diligence exercise into the company pension scheme operated by a manufacturing company, revealing a failure to equalise benefits and negotiating a £1m (11%) reduction in the purchase price paid by our client in the acquisition.