The award winning pensions disputes team is recognised as a leading practice in the country and - together with the firm's complementary strengths in restructuring, pensions advisory, regulatory (including the FCA and the Pensions Regulator), high net-worth advice, and employment (amongst others) - the team is ideally placed to address and resolve any dispute arising from pension funds.
Our clients range from pension scheme trustees to sponsoring employers; from multi-nationals and banks to charities and not-for-profits; from actuaries and scheme administrators to lawyers and documentation providers. We regularly work with pension consultants to help them with remediation projects arising from systemic issues, such as advising upon scheme unauthorised payment issues, client-money issues, referrals to regulatory bodies (including the Pensions Regulator and IoFA), professional standards, and problems arising from transfers (including enhanced due diligence obligations). Key work includes dealing with professional negligence claims and the often-associated rectification/construction applications. We are well-known for defending and pursuing multi-million pound claims against pension consultants and investment advisors/fiduciaries, including those providing actuarial, documentation, administration and/or legal services.
The team are highly experienced in all types of pensions disputes cases, including:
- pursuing, or defending, professional negligence cases
- construction and rectification cases
- challenges to exercises of discretion by trustees
- moral hazard cases and investigations by the Pensions Regulator
- judicial review and challenges to public bodies
- alternative dispute resolution, ranging from mediation to arbitration
- working with high-net worth individuals managing their pensions affairs and disputes
- RPI/CPI disputes
- challenges to trustees' exercises of discretion
- cross-border disputes involving multi-national businesses and funding support
- dealing with errors in the supply of services
- acting for representative beneficiaries
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"Stephenson Harwood are on an amazing run of form at present. Their reported cases over the last few years are remarkable, and their success is built on great judgement as to how a case will play out, together with being genuinely lovely to work with; organised, reasonable, pragmatic, fair … but always delivering great results for their clients.."
The Legal 500 UK 2021
Professional institution, professional negligence action against historic provider of services to its sponsored pension scheme
Acting in a dispute involving a potential rectification claim and a series of disputes between our client and its historic professional advisers.
Actuarial and administrative service providers, and legal advisors, with various disputes concerning historic services
Acting for pension scheme advisors in defending professional negligence claims and related disputes
International telecoms operator, dispute with a Government entity through arbitration
Acting for a multi-national seeking to compel a Government entity to fund a semi-privatised industry pension scheme
Arriva, dispute concerning intervention by Pension Regulator and funding of Railways Pension Scheme
Advised Arriva in its expedited challenge to the UK Government’s management of risk in rail procurement and intervention by the Pensions Regulator, achieving a settlement before trial (Stagecoach, Arriva and ors v Department of Transport [2020]).
Representative beneficiary of the BT Pension Scheme, RPI/CPI dispute
Acting for the representative of the members and defeating a proposal to move to CPI from RPI, acting successfully before the Court of Appeal and in preventing the onward appeal to the Supreme Court (BT v BT Scheme Trustees & anor [2018])
Trustees of the BIC UK Pension Scheme, dispute concerning the validity of amendments
Acting for Trustees arguing that pension in payment increases referable to pre April 1997 pensionable service had been validly granted (BIC UK v Burgess and ors [2019])
Trustees of the Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme, construction of RPI
Advised the trustees on a claim for construction of the definition of "Retail Prices Index" in the scheme rules (Miles Buckinghamshire and others v Barnardo's and others [2015]).
Mercer Limited, obtaining a summary judgment
Succeeding in an application for summary judgment disposing of a professional negligence claim brought against a client, based on a complex and innovative limitation argument (Seton House & Britax v Mercer Limited [2014])
Board of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), dispute on compensation
Representing the PPF in a dispute concerning the scope of PPF compensation (Grenville Holden Hampshire v The Board of the Pension Protection Fund [2014]).
Sterling Insurance Trustees Limited, construction of amendment power
Acting for the trustee in proceedings to construe a restriction to the power of amendment affecting whether the final salary link remained (Sterling Insurance Trustees Limited v Sterling Insurance Group Limited [2015]).
Representative beneficiary of the Industry-Wide Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (IWCSS)
Advising the representative beneficiary in a construction claim where the court refused to insert a provision in the rules correcting a drafting error. (IWCSS Co-ordinator Ltd v IWCSS Trustees Ltd [2012]).