Pensions

At Wilberforce Chambers, we are leading the way in the field of occupational pensions. We are market leaders with pre-eminent practitioners who specialise in all aspects of pensions law and pensions litigation.  Over the past thirty years, our members have appeared in almost all the leading cases in this area. As a result, we can offer a wealth of resources and experience, with experts at all levels of seniority. This expertise has been widely acknowledged; Wilberforce Chambers is consistently singled out as the market leader by the premier independent researchers at Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.

As well as top-quality advice and first-class innovative thinking, clients can expect Wilberforce’s down-to-earth, straightforward and fantastically user-friendly service. We pride ourselves on a practical approach to the needs of employers and trustees, who want commercially realistic and cost effective solutions.  We deal with the largest pension litigation worth billions of pounds down to individual disputes and complaints before the Pensions Ombudsman.  Our members combine in-depth knowledge of trusts law and technical pensions legislation with expertise in the related fields of regulatory, financial services, insolvency, tax, negligence, employment, equality, European and public law that affect pensions.

Every year, Wilberforce hosts the Edward Nugee Memorial Lectures, a series of talks by pension law practitioners on current topics of particular interest.
All of our previous papers can be found here, a year after their initial publication. In 2020 and 2021, our lectures were delivered as webinars and can be viewed on our YouTube channel here.

We advise on cutting-edge issues and litigation affecting pension schemes and their sponsoring employers, as well as emerging issues in the field of personal pensions. Recent examples include:

  • Handling Pensions Regulator issues, from FSDs through to removal of trustees
  • Advising on GMP equalisation and other equality issues
  • Dealing with switches from RPI pension increases through advice and litigation
  • Advising on, challenging or defending the validity of decisions by trustees and employers
  • Handling pensions liberation, pensions fraud and breach of trust cases
  • Dealing with mistakes in pension scheme documentation
  • Responding to judicial review of decisions by public bodies that affect pension schemes
  • Dealing with claims in relation to mismanagement of personal pension schemes
  • Structuring transactions to manage the impact of s.75 debts and addressing s.75 issues
  • Advising on strategies to enable companies that can’t meet their scheme liabilities to escape insolvency
  • Advising on scheme closure, restructuring and liability management exercises
  • Helping to structure corporate transactions and dealing with TUPE issues
  • Assistance with applying the statutory funding regime

We get involved in disputes in a range of arenas, from the High Court and appellate Courts (including in Europe) through to the Pensions Regulator Determinations Panel and Upper Tribunal and the Pensions Ombudsman, and we deal with any related professional negligence issues.

Rankings and recognition

Wilberforce is ranked as a tier 1 set in the pensions categories of both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.

Chambers & Partners 2025: Wilberforce Chambers is a distinguished set with a market-leading group of both silks and juniors capable of handling the full spectrum of pensions work. Members are thoroughly experienced in handling large-scale, high-profile cases at the forefront of the pensions industry. Wilberforce’s barristers are equipped for advice and advocacy in relation to a host of regulatory matters and act for employers, trustees and the Pensions Regulator. The set is able to act in complex cases with elements of employment, trusts and tax law. Described by clients as “one of the pre-eminent sets” in the space, Wilberforce Chambers has represented Newell Rubbermaid UK Services in a Part 8 claim relating to the conversion of DB pension rights to DC benefits.

Legal 500 2025: Wilberforce Chambers is ‘well known in the pensions and trust law world’. Brian Green KC has an excellent track record in handling complex, high-profile pensions cases, and Michael Tennet KC is sought after for his expertise in assisting with pensions-related regulatory matters and professional negligence issues in the space. Among the junior end of chambers, Sebastian Allen is acting for the London Borough of Croydon in a long-running dispute over how the Local Government Pension Scheme calculates contributions made by academy schools.

Publications

Among our members, we count esteemed authors and editors of leading pensions law textbooks:

Notable cases

Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees II and others [2024]

[2024] EWCA Civ 843

The Court of Appeal handed down judgment  in Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees II and others, the industry-wide, significant appeal relating to the operation of s.37 of the Pensions Schemes Act 1993 and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1996, and the meaning of “section 9(2B) rights” in that legislation.

The CA dismissed the company’s appeal and upheld the conclusion of the first instance judge, Mrs Justice Bacon.

Read the full judgment

British Broadcasting Corporation v BBC Pension Trust Ltd [2024]

[2024] EWCA Civ 767

The Court considered the scope of a fetter on the scheme amendment power in the BBC pension scheme and upheld the Judge’s conclusion that it prevented the power from being used to change future service benefits for Active Members unless certain conditions were satisfied. The judgment of Lewison LJ includes the most recent consideration at appellate level of the principles applicable to the interpretation of pension schemes.

Read the full judgment

Newell Trustees Ltd v Newell Rubbermaid UK Services Ltd [2024]

[2024] EWHC 48 (Ch)

The High Court upheld the validity of the conversion of certain scheme members’ final salary benefits to money purchase benefits following their transfer to a newly-created money purchase section of the scheme, subject to the imposition of a final salary underpin. The judgment contains an analysis of a number of important pensions law topics, including the construction of interim deeds, the validity of extrinsic contracts, the construction of Courage provisos and how to calculate final salary underpins. The judgment also considered, and rejected, a claim that the method by which members were selected for the transfer and conversion process constituted unlawful age discrimination.

Read the full judgment

Avon Cosmetics v Dalriada Trustees and ors [2024]

[2024] EWHC 34 (Ch)

This case is the latest word from the High Court on the conditions required for saving a pension scheme amendment that is partially invalid due to failing to comply with the scheme’s amendment power. It confirms the requirement to consider whether the parties to the amendment would have entered into it had they known of the true scope of the amendment power, but emphasises that that involves an objective rather than a subjective investigation.

Read the full judgment

British Broadcasting Corporation v BBC Pension Trust Ltd [2023]

[2023] EWHC 1965 (Ch)

The Court considered the scope of a fetter on the scheme amendment power in the BBC pension scheme and found that it prevented the power from being used to change future service benefits and/or member contributions for Active Members unless certain conditions were satisfied. However, the Court accepted the BBC’s submission that if the specified conditions were satisfied, then the use of the scheme amendment power in that way would not involve a breach of the proper purpose doctrine.

Read the full judgment

Virgin Media Limited v NTL Pensions Trustees II Ltd & ors [2023]

[2023] EWHC 1441 (Ch)

An important judgment on the operation of s.37 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) and Regulation 42 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/1172) (the Regulations), and whether a scheme needs written actuarial confirmation that it continues to satisfy the statutory standards for contracting-out in order for a scheme amendment to a contracted-out scheme to be valid.

Read the full judgment

Railways Pension Trustee v Atos [2022]

[2022] EWHC 3236 (Ch)

The case is about a section of the Railways Pension Scheme, an occupational pension scheme established under a statutory instrument, providing benefits on a Defined Benefit “shared cost” basis.  The judgment of the Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Julian Flaux, resolved questions about how the section’s deficit contribution rule operates.  The judgment covers a number of topics of interest to pensions practitioners, including the scope of an actuarial discretion to set deficit contributions, the nature of a power to reduce future benefit accrual, the proper approach to interpretation of a statutory pension scheme, and the effect on scheme funding of a section being unsegregated as between different classes of members.

Read the full judgment

In the matter of the Mitchells & Butlers Pension Plan [2021]

[2021] EWHC 3017 (Ch)

A major rectification claim being brought by a Trustee against the Employer on behalf of members. A three-week trial about the rate of pension increases for thousands of members.

Read the full judgment

Britvic PLC v Britvic Pensions [2021]

[2021] EWCA Civ 867

A leading Court of Appeal case on the proper approach to interpreting pension scheme documents, particularly when dealing with pension increase rules.

Read the full judgment

Re Axminster Carpets Group Retirement Benefits Plan [2021]

[2021] EWHC 1652 (Ch)

Raises far-reaching issues of pensions law and limitation law in context of £3m-£10m of unpaid pension benefits. Two-week High Court trial in March 2021, of which the 88-page judgment will affect all members of trust based schemes owed arrears.

Read the full judgment

Safeway v Newton [2020]

[2017] EWCA Civ 1482

The Court of Appeal confirmed unanimously that the introduction of s.62 of the Pensions Act 1995 was a domestic law measure that closed the Barber window with effect from 1 January 1996.

Read the full judgment

Univar UK Ltd v Smith [2020]

[2020] EWHC 1596 (Ch)

The first pension rectification claim decided after a full trial since the landmark decision of FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v GLAS Trust Corp Ltd.

Read the full judgment

British Telecommunications pension scheme [2018]

[2018] EWCA Civ 2694

Two recent cases: a Court of Appeal decision on the continued appropriateness of using RPI to increase pensions, and judicial review of the Treasury’s decision to extend full indexation to public service pension scheme members.

Read the full judgmen

 

Lloyds Bank Pension Schemes [2018]

[2018] EWHC 2839 (Ch)

A landmark case confirming that there is an obligation to equalise benefits to take account of unequal Guaranteed Minimum Pensions. One of The Lawyer’s ‘Top 20 Cases of 2018’.

Read the full judgment

Buckinghamshire v Barnardo’s [2018]

[2018] UKSC 55

A ruling from the Supreme Court on the proper approach to interpreting pension scheme documents and switching from RPI pension increases.

Read the full judgment

 

BHS Pension Schemes [2017]

The well publicised case of the Pensions Regulator’s action in relation to the collapse of the BHS business and the related £400m pensions shortfall.

British Airways

[2018] EWCA Civ 2694

Major litigation involving the validity of the decision by trustees to award above-inflation pension increases.

Read the full judgment

Box Clever

[2018] UKUT 164 (TCC)

Concerning the limits of the Pension Regulator’s FSD regime and the first FSD case to be determined by the courts.

Read the full judgment

IBM

Concerning whether the employer’s duty of good faith had been breached by the closure of a pension scheme and remedies for the breach.

Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund

[2015] EWHC 448 (Ch)

Concerning the regard that a trustee should have for the interests of employers in exercising its powers under a pension scheme.

Read the full judgment

Insights View all thought leadership

  1. Placeholder

    Articles

    Pensions pots – an asset beyond the reach of creditors?

    Thomas Robinson has written an article in which he looks at an important new Court of Appeal case which has struck down the practice of requiring OPS members to draw down their lump sums to make them available to judgment... Read more

    By Thomas Robinson
    Friday 13 December 2024

    View more
  2. Placeholder

    Articles

    Back Britain – but at what cost?

    Ram Lakshman has written an article in which he considers whether the Chancellor’s proposals to encourage (or mandate) British pension schemes to invest in British businesses are consistent with the traditional fiduciary duties of pension trustees. The article was first... Read more

    By Ram Lakshman
    Thursday 24 October 2024

    View more
  3. Placeholder

    News

    Wilberforce shortlisted in three categories at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2024

    We are delighted to announce that Wilberforce has been shortlisted in three different categories at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2024. Real Estate Set of the Year Chancery Silk of the Year – Brian Green KC Tax Silk of the... Read more

    Friday 23 August 2024

    View more
  4. Placeholder

    Recent Cases

    Court of Appeal hands down judgment in Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees II and others

    Pensions

    Jennifer Seaman
    Thursday 25 July 2024

    View more

View all thought leadership

Related Barristers