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The Court of Appeal (CoA) addressed a critical question of the interplay between creditor rights and the protection of occupational pensions under English Law. #companylaw #creditorrights #pensions #pensionlaw

An important case for judgment creditors seeking to access funds in the judgment debtor's pension via a s 37 SCA 1981 order. This is no longer an option in an occupational pension scheme, it's precluded by section 91(2) of the Pensions Act 1995. This point wasn't taken in Bacci v Green [2022] EWHC 486 (Ch) (which also concerned an OPS) and the decision in Manolete v White [2024] EWCA Civ 1418 represents a significant development in the law which judgment creditors need to be aware of. Not only is a judgment creditor prohibited from going after sums in an OPS directly (unless a statutory exception applies), it is also impermissible to seek to do it by two steps by (1) seeking a s 37 order compelling the debtor to draw down their pension and place the proceeds in a bank account and then (2) the judgment creditor taking enforcement steps against that account. Well done to my excellent colleague Reuben who acted (with others) pro bono for the successful appellant.

A lot is being written about yesterday’s Budget. So here is a different subject:TPO. Click below for a 2 minute update.

Well what a week: 1) retained tier 1 for Pensions Litigation in the Legal 500 (and a name check recommendation to boot) and 2) finally published in Professional Pensions - a long held ambition (and objective). Check out my article below on the lacuna for life insurance only schemes. (Props well and truly due to my colleagues Helen Hanbridge who helped write it and Christina Bowyer for editorial input and encouragement plus Neil Kennedy and Caroline Le Ruyet in PR and comms). I just need a idea now for my next piece............ #pensions #professionalpensions #pensionsdisputes #pensionslitigation #legal500 #pensionsforlife

*** R-Day 🎃 +1 *** Feathering NEST? Yesterday I made a series of announcements on R-Day 🎃. It was mid 2013 when I first identified a systemic failure in Pensions La La Land, which had been triggered by the DWP's Auto Enrolment Law (AE). In 2023 I called out Corruption in Public Office. On Budget Day Rt Hon Rachel Reeves called out the previous Tory Cabinet Members as having misled the Houses of Parliament, Voters and Taxpayers. She suggested she had inherited a £22bn blackhole. She said that the Tories had made no provisions for Compensation amounts of £11.8bn (Infected Blood Scandal) and £1.8bn (Post Office Scandal). Despite writing to Rishi's Cabinet and Jeremy's Office, 4 Pension Ministers and the DWP since 2013, no one within the UK Government has acknowledged the serious Financial Harm that has been caused to 1 in 3 UK Workers. The Financial Conduct Authority Small Firms Unit (SFU), and the FSA Directorate before them, had confirmed concerns of mass failure due to Firms not completing adequate Due Diligence on the most Effective, Efficient and Relevant steps for workers facing income shortfalls in retirement. Most of my Peers in UKFS are happy turning a blind eye to the Flat Earthers in Public Office who block innovation and prevent better outcomes for Taxpayers getting parity with 'Gold Plated' Pensions. Gold Plated Pensions are the real 5 🌟 Pension Outcome. Not only do those Most at Risk (MaR) pay for Senior Civil Servants, Judges and Ministers getting privileged treatment, they also have to pay for the Corruption and Cover Up costs caused by their Dishonesty and Negligence. Well I'm not like my UKFS Peers. My ADHDer super power has been calling out BS and Dishonesty in Pensions and Savings since 1997. But I don't just call out PROBLEMS, I dig deep into why they arise, eliminate the root causes, and propose an alternative SOLUTION. I privately responded to CP20.9 AFTER the Public Consultation had closed. This approach confirmed the biggest Firms in UKFS, and Public Office employees, had been complicit in Anti-Competitive Behaviour and Corruption. The FCA has now regained control of Pensions La La Land. My 2020 analysis revealed £600bn of Financial Harm would escalate towards £2.5trn by 2030. NOTE: the GFC was £2.4trn! Someone very powerful made the call that protecting 'Gold Plated' Pensions is morally ethical, whilst knowingly causing serious Financial Harm to 13m Taxpayers, who have now lost £1 trillion. TODAY IS DAY 2 I'm calling this out publicly because these double standards are unethical and do not represent Value for Money for the 13m Taxpayers who have lost £1trn in future retirement benefits. People enjoying 'Gold Plated' Pensions have helped block innovation. Compensation liabilities are 100x worse than have been disclosed to Global Investors, which I'm fairly certain the OBR would say is 'materially different'. It's TIME to level the playing field. It's #BUOMTIME #RDay 🎃 #BUOM

In our article below, I reflect on pensions law implications of the Trust and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 enacted earlier this year and, along with my colleague Magnus Miller (a Partner in our growing Edinburgh-based Burges Salmon LLP Dispute Resolution team) consider some key differences between Scots law and English law as they apply to pension schemes and their members. https://lnkd.in/ecMz75a6

Taxpayers are placing their bets on where the axe will fall in the #budget The new government could use the opportunity of a big majority to set out a long-term plan to keep the welfare system for pensioners sustainable and ensure the #tax system incentivises saving for retirement. The cost of the state #pension in its current form is likely to be unaffordable within a decade or so as the population continues to age, and most people's pension pots lag behind where they need to be for their intended quality of life in retirement. This is an issue that won't go away. Cutting popular incentives such as higher-rate tax relief with one hand whilst slashing winter fuel payments with the other risks sending mixed messages. That being said, forcing people by stealth to wait longer before retiring might be one (albeit cynical) way of mitigating the rising cost of state pension as they continue to work and boost tax revenues, and would be less politically damaging than raising the state pension age outright. Given pensioners are such a vocal demographic, the long-term plan of the government will probably be found by looking at the details of who the winners/losers of any changes are, as well as long-term changes in behaviour by savers and those nearing retirement. After recent backlash, the government may try boiling the frog slowly this time. Crowe UK

A little-known administrative hurdle is prohibiting tens of thousands of poorer Australians from accessing account-based pensions via the country's biggest super funds. Aleks Vickovich writes this seemingly widespread practice is shameful and threatens the grand bargain underlying compulsory super. Aleks Vickovich The Conexus Institute David Bell Geoff Warren AustralianSuper Russell Investments Super Consumers Australia #compulsorysuper #sca #fiducian #financialadvisers #financialplanning #financialservices

In this article we take a look at a recent #Pensions Ombudsman determination in which the Ombudsman considered the extent of scheme trustees' rights to reduce pension payments to recoup past #overpayments.

After months of speculation Labour have now confirmed that they will not be reintroducing the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) for pensions, meaning that there is no upper cap on the total amount of pension savings people can make. This is a relief to many as concerns have been raised for some time about how complicated this would be to reintroduce, as well as the wider implications of this whilst public sector pension schemes are still grappling with implementing the McCloud reforms. This does at last provide some certainty for pensions, particularly for those of us advising and assisting our clients to understand these in the context of divorce/dissolution of civil partnerships. https://lnkd.in/ehdAb8Zq