Pensions

Rupert Graham-Evans

Partner

Suzanne Burrell

Suzanne is an experienced pensions lawyer advising both trustees and employees on a wide range of pensions issues. Suzanne has experience advising on both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes of all sizes ranging from under £10m to schemes in excess of £1bn. Suzanne has particular experience advising clients in the co-operative sector and is familiar with the typical pension scheme structure in that sector. Additionally, she advises schemes run by charity sector employers and is well versed in the pensions issues facing charity employers. Suzanne’s recent experience includes: advice to employers on the implementation of auto-enrolment including amendments to a pension scheme rules for a defined contribution scheme to ensure compliance with the automatic enrolment legislation; advice on redesign of pension benefits including capping pensionable salary and introduction of career average benefits and draft scheme documents to implement the changes; advice in relation to the closure of a pension scheme to future accrual including the setting up of an escrow account and security over the scheme sponsor’s assets in exchange for a decision to defer winding up of the pension scheme; pensions aspects of corporate transactions including advice on a flexible apportionment arrangement and review of a clearance application to the Pensions Regulator where the target company was to be de-linked from the group pension scheme; negotiations between trustees and scheme sponsors on employer covenant issues around, and pension scheme funding including the drafting and negotiation of contingent asset documents including parent company guarantees (including pension protection fund compliant guarantees); advice on interpretation of scheme rules including advice on whether historic changes have been properly implemented; review and advice on agreements with third party providers including agreements on employer covenant review, administration agreements and investment management agreements; internal dispute resolution procedure and ombudsman cases on a wide range of disputes including a challenge by a member on the way his pension is increased. Suzanne also advises clients on public sector pensions issues. This includes advice on steps to be taken by private sector employers on the transfer of employees with public sector benefits, whether on the setting up of a broadly comparable scheme or the review and negotiation of admission agreements.

Heather Chandler

Heather is an experienced pensions partner advising employers, trustees, actuaries, accountants and other legal specialists and firms on all aspects of pensions matters relating to occupational and personal pension arrangements, both contract and trust based. Her style is proactive, focusing on a thorough understanding of all the issues whilst developing pragmatic solutions to reach manageable and long term outcomes. She has a strong understanding of the issues and obligations of both employers and trustees when dealing with pension matters. Recent work undertaken by Heather includes: • advising association on investment powers and responsibilities and assisting with assessment of investment strategy; • advising clients on corporate transactions involving reorganisations on cross border sales and acquisitions; • advising an employer on its auto-enrolment duties and communicating with its members and employees effectively and in accordance with the auto-enrolment regime; • providing independent advice to employers on employment issues relating to pensions, including executive terminations and also advising on contractual issues relating to pensions and interpretation; • advising the trustees of a pension plan on the buy-out of their scheme involving contract drafting, confirmation as to benefit entitlements, advice on GMP equalisation and other data issues, member communications and trustee indemnity protections; • attending regular trustee meetings and advising on an ongoing basis on scheme management for trustees; • on not-for-profit schemes and company schemes providing advice to trustees on issues of interpretation, drafting errors and proposals put forward by sponsoring employers to make changes to the scheme and the resolution of disagreements around interpretation; • bespoke pensions training for trustees, associations. authorities and corporate clients; • drafting and negotiating documents for trustees on scheme merger relating to a multi section scheme with multiple rules; • notifiable events risk assessment, advice for employers as to whether a course of action require notification; • provision of guidance to trustees on their obligation in respect of data protection, preparing of privacy notices; • bespoke trustee secretarial service and governance advice. Heather is herself a pension scheme trustee and works closely with other advisers in that capacity to manage an occupational scheme and is also on the governance committee of a contract based scheme..  She has experience with not-for profit clients including unions, trade associations and charities and is a trustee of a mental health charity based in Milton Keynes. Heather also oversees the team’s transactional practice utilising her 20+ years of experience in managing cross border and multi-jurisdictional as well as multi firm transactions.  She heads up the teams offering to other law firms who need to buy in pensions transactional and advisor experience.  Heather also managed the team's data protection response and supports advice for scheme trustees, involving the specialist data protection team at Shoosmiths as necessary.  Heather also works closely with the employment teams working on employee and employer pension issues on termination of contract and relating to compliance with Auto Enrolment.

Tracey Hemingway

Tracey is a Partner in our pensions team.  She has 24 years experience of advising trustees and employers in relation to their work-based pension schemes. Tracey’s key areas of expertise include: drafting scheme trust deeds and rules and complex deeds of amendment; advising on scheme rules interpretation; scheme design and benefit changes; scheme mergers and projects; corporate guarantees; employer debts to pension schemes under section 75 Pensions Act 1995, including corporate restructuring, debt triggers and ways of managing the debt, such as flexible apportionment arrangements; and pensions litigation including Court applications and Pensions Ombudsman cases.