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The Thorny Issue of Pension Liberation
Allison Wu of Wilberforce Chambers looks at Brambles Administration Ltd v Harvey , an appeal from a Pensions Ombudsman determination involving pension liberation which considers the time limits for bringing complaints, the test for dishonesty and contributory negligence. To read the article, click on the pdf below.
Transfers and due diligence: The latest instalment
Paul Newman KC looks at a very recent DPO determination on the scope of an occupational scheme trustee’s due diligence duties in respect of a non-statutory transfer made under the rules of the scheme. To read the article, click on the pdf below.
New amendments to Virgin Media clauses in pension Bill
New amendments have today been tabled to the Pension Schemes Bill, including changes made by the Secretary of State to the clauses which remedy the problems caused by Virgin Media decision. Most of those changes are relatively minor. The only three of any substance are: Gov 58, which amends the definition of “positive action” that will trigger the exclusion of the scheme from the remedial provisions, so that any step taken by the scheme trustees or managers to alter benefit p
The meaning of "accrued rights or interests"
Paul Newman KC considers the recent High Court decision in 3i PLC v Decesare , in which a fetter in a scheme amendment power which prohibited changes diminishing the accrued rights or interests of members was held not to protect members’ future service rights. To read the article, click on the pdf below.
APL Wallace Medal award for pensionsbarrister.com
We are incredibly proud to announce that Paul was awarded the Wallace Medal for this website at the Association of Pensions Lawyers annual conference dinner last night. A huge thank you to all the contributors and readers who have supported the site for the past 3 years.
It's APL Conference time!
Paul is looking forward to seeing some of you in Leeds this week. In the meantime, Pensions Barrister will be back with more content next week.
Appeal Court treats UURBS as tax avoidance scheme
In AD Bly Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 1443, the Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the Upper Tribunal that a company’s liabilities representing its promise to provide future pension benefits to key employees via an UURBS were incurred for the purpose of a tax avoidance scheme rather than expenses incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the company’s trade, so that those liabilities were not deductible from the company’s pr
Court dismisses appeal from pension liberation determination
In November 2024, the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman issued a 768-paragraph determination in which he found the trustees and managers of 3 pension schemes liable for dishonest breaches of duty with regard to the investment of scheme assets as part of a pension liberation exercise. An appeal from that determination has been dismissed by Richards J: Brambles Administration Limited v Harvey . The appeal was on limited grounds, relating to the time limits for bringing complaints, the
Pensions and the UK sanctions regime
Samuel Fulda and Eoin O’Shea of CMS ask whether it is time for trustees and scheme employers to implement sanctions screening into their pension scheme administration. To read the article, click on the pdf below.
Talking Pensions Ep25 talks investment fraud
In a special edition of Talking Pensions (recorded in November 2025), Paul talks to Carly Barnes-Short and Sue Flood (pictured below), who are members of the Advisory Panel to the Parliamentary Investment Fraud Committee. They discuss the impact of pension and investment fraud on victims and on the changes to law and regulation that are needed to make the system work better. To read a transcript of this podcast, click on the pdf below.
Pension transfer claims: the saga continues
Edward Sawyer of Wilberforce Chambers considers a recent determination of the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman on a pension transfer claim, deciding that scheme trustees owed no general duty to undertake due diligence on behalf of the transferring member, and declining to follow the High Court’s decision in Hughes v Royal London . To read the article, click on the pdf below.
Bursting the Bubble
Naomi Kilcoyne of Wilberforce Chambers looks at KO UK Pension Trustees v Barker , in which the High Court recently authorised the unlocking of surplus assets in the Coca-Cola pension scheme. To read the article, click on the pdf below.
