Pensions disputes are increasingly common. They can be between:
- members and trustees or any of the professionals involved in administering a scheme
- trustees and employers
- trustees/employers and professional advisors
The approach we adopt to resolve a dispute depends on who it is between and its value. Disputes between members and trustees should be dealt with in a different way than disputes between trustees and an employer. We have categorised pensions disputes into the following four areas and provided further information on each:
- Applying to the court for directions
- Disputes between employers and trustees
- Member disputes
- Professional negligence
Our pensions disputes team is ley by Justin Briggs - recognised as a leader in his field by both the Chambers and Legal 500 directories. Justin is a full APL member and holds the University of Bristol Certificate in Pensions Law. Read more specifically about pensions litigation.
Applying to the court for directions
We can help if you, in your role as trustee or employer, encounter difficulty in interpreting or applying the rules of your pension scheme. This may involve applying to the court for directions on how to administer the scheme.
We have considerable experience of making such applications. This includes stand-alone applications under the Administration of Justice Act 1985 and more complicated applications requiring the involvement of representative beneficiaries and the employer.
We have extensive experience of dealing with applications to rectify errors in scheme documentation.
If you would like to find out if we can help you with your issues, please contact us.
Disputes between employers and trustees
We can act on behalf of trustees or employers during pension disputes. We have supported clients during disputes over issues such as funding, errors in scheme documentation, the scheme and/or changing the scheme's benefit structure.
We recommend addressing the dispute in correspondence by mediation before escalating it to the courts. If referral to the courts is necessary, we have experience of managing complex direction applications and are used to dealing with, or acting for, representative beneficiaries. We also have experience of making Beddoe applications to protect trustees in relation to costs.
If you would like more information, please contact us.
Member disputes
We can advise both individual members and employers during pensions disputes. Whichever party we're advising, our aim is to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible with minimal fuss. This usually means dealing with the dispute by correspondence and/or holding an early meeting with all parties. We are strong supporters of mediation and would recommend this before proceeding to court.
We are finding that the Ombudsman process is becoming more effective with determination times being improved and we would recommend the early referral of complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman.
We support the work of the Pensions Advisory Service and will use their services where appropriate.
To find out more about how we can help with pensions disputes, please contact us.
Professional Negligence
We have experience of supporting clients through a variety of professional negligence issues covering:
- administration errors
- negligent actuarial advice
- negligent asset investment advice
- negligent funding advice.
Our approach is to investigate or defend claims under the pre-action protocol for claims against professionals, then to attempt to resolve them by mediation. We see proceeding to court as a last resort, but we are experienced in doing so.
If you would like to know more about how we could help you, please contact us.
All Partners and Associates in