Pensions

After working in pensions law for over 25 years, Jane has developed an expertise in advising trustees and employers on workplace pension arrangements, offering guidance on the establishment, management, restructuring, merging and winding-up of defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid schemes.

Jane is a specialist in advising pension schemes on the legal aspects of their investments. For defined benefit schemes, she advises on the terms of investment management agreements, fiduciary management and investment funds of all kinds, as well as hedging strategies (working in conjunction with banking lawyers) and custody arrangements.

For defined contribution schemes, Jane advises on the investment platform documentation, investment funds, insurance funds and the security of assets. She is a former member of the DC Asset Security Working party, whose guide on asset security is recommended by the Pensions Regulator.

In the last few years, Jane has helped clients on the journey to buy-out. She has undertaken benefit audits to ensure schemes are paying the correct legal entitlements. She advises on benefit re-shaping, liability management and incentive exercises which enhance the insurability of schemes and their benefits in a cost efficient way. In 2015, Jane led the team which concluded one of the largest pension scheme buy-outs in UK history. This was the culmination of more than 5 years’ work and involved multiple buy-in policies with more than one bulk annuity insurer.  Jane has acted on many other transactions since including working with partner Anna Rogers on the Littlewoods Pension Scheme £850 million buy-in with Scottish Widows in 2018.

University of Southampton (LLB, Law)