Pension trustee liability

Our experience includes: 

• Defending a group action against SIPP administrators and its insurers facing claims that it acted in breach of COBS 2.1.1 to act in the best interests of its client. Under s27 FSMA the claimants were entitled to have the transactions reversed because they entered into the transaction with the SIPP provider as a result of the activities of unregulated introducers. 
• Multi-million pound claims arising from pension schemes changing benefits accrual from final salary to career average bases. Remedies involved possible rectification, with a key issue being whether the final salary link could be broken following Re Courage Group Pension Schemes [1987].
• Dealing with numerous claims, including FOS claims, involving unsuitable investments in UCIS within a SIPP. The investments have been diverse: sustainable agro energy, film financing, solar panels, farmland in Australia, Caribbean holiday homes, storage pods, rice fields in Sierra Leone, tree plantations, musical instruments, wine and teak forests. 
• Advising on claims arising from pension transfers, including a case where a member transferred her pension scheme into a fraudulent overseas scheme. 

We act for Lloyd’s and London market insurers, as well as their insured trustees. We act for all kind of trustees from the large scale corporate trustee to the sole practitioner. We act regularly for offshore trustees, especially the Channel Islands, which we visit frequently.