Penningtons Manches Cooper
24 Experts
36 Contributions by Penningtons Manches Cooper Experts
PRACTICE NOTES
Practice Note
This Practice Note explains the tests the Pension Protection Fund applies when compensating members of an occupational pension scheme, together with the process and effects of assessment for admission to the scheme in the context of family proceedings. It also outlines the ramifications for divorce or dissolution, the applicable steps within financial remedy proceedings, and the reach of the distinct Financial Assistance Scheme.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) was created by the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004) as a statutory corporate body. It administers funds to provide compensation to members of specified occupational pension schemes where:
the pension scheme qualifies as an eligible scheme
a ‘qualifying insolvency event’ has occurred in relation to the employer, or the employer is unlikely to remain a going concern and satisfies the conditions in the Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/590, reg 7
the scheme’s assets are
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Practice Note
This Practice Note outlines the actions required once a pension order is made in family proceedings, mapping the principal phases and obligations: identifying the valuation date, the transfer day and the valuation day, and the rules on the implementation window under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999).
It also addresses what happens where implementation occurs after the prescribed four-month period and highlights difficulties that may arise, such as pensions already in payment and the ‘moving target syndrome’.
In contrast to pension sharing orders, pension attachment orders do not involve a complicated implementation regime; see: Pensions—financial remedy procedure—Implementation of a pension attachment order. The emphasis here is on the specific, step-by-step requirements for putting a pension sharing order into effect.
Matters concerning state pensions are covered in the Practice Note: Pensions—the state pension. A clear grasp of the
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
A-day
'A-day' is the widely used term for the broad pension tax 'simplification' reforms that began on 6 April 2006. The changes covered: how much pension contribution was allowed, the kinds of schemes an individual could invest in, the sums that could be taken (and when), and the choices available for any remaining fund. A-day also introduced the annual allowance and the (now abolished) lifetime allowance. See: Annual allowance and Lifetime allowance.
AFPS
AFPS: Armed forces pension scheme; see Practice Note: Public sector pensions and family proceedings.
Accrual rate
The speed at which pension benefits build as pensionable service is completed in a final salary scheme, eg 1/60 for each year of pensionable service.
Accrued benefits
The benefits earned in respect of service up to a specified date.
Added years
Extra pension provided by adding further years of pensionable service in a salary-related scheme. Such additional years are secured via transfer
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note
This Practice Note offers a concise summary of the choices available concerning pensions on divorce, annulment, (judicial) separation or the dissolution of a civil partnership, including offsetting, pension sharing and pension attachment orders, as well as the specific orders the courts may grant. It also reviews the judiciary’s approach to pensions and the implications of pensions reform. In proceedings for divorce, nullity, (judicial) separation or dissolution of a civil partnership, the court can issue a variety of orders addressing the parties’ pension rights. Sections 25(2)(h) and 25B(1)(b) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) oblige the court to consider the benefits under a pension arrangement that, because of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, a spouse will lose the opportunity of acquiring. MCA 1973, ss 25(2)(a) and 25B(1)(a) focus on the benefits that a party to a marriage has, or is
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Practice Note
This Practice Note explains the routes available for dealing with pensions on judicial separation or separation proceedings, where pension sharing cannot be used. It covers, in detail, pension attachment orders and offsetting, together with other possible measures to safeguard pension interests, and the associated procedure, practical valuation, any appeals, and the consequences of remarriage or entering a subsequent civil partnership.
In (judicial) separation proceedings, the court may reallocate benefits arising from pension resources between the parties by:
issuing one or more pension attachment orders, and/or
setting off the value of pension rights against the value of other assets held between the parties
See also Practice Note: General principles—pensions in family proceedings—Options available. Pension sharing is not available in (judicial) separation proceedings, only in an application for an order of divorce, dissolution or nullity. After the separation proceedings have concluded, the parties will remain legally
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note
This Practice Note reviews the range of public sector pension arrangements and the particular matters to consider when addressing them within family proceedings, including principal features, benefits, valuation, and the effect of steps taken to eliminate unlawful discrimination arising from the 2015 reforms (the McCloud remedy). It also sets out key practical pointers when dealing with a public sector pension...
Public sector pensions are occupational arrangements for staff employed by central or local government, a nationalised industry, or other statutory bodies. They include schemes for:
armed forces
police
firefighters
civil service
teachers
local government
National Health Service (NHS)
Public sector schemes, especially those for uniformed services, are often intricate, so in many instances it is vital to obtain advice from a pensions on divorce expert (PODE). See also the Pension Advisory Group: A Guide to the
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note outlines the varieties of state pension, the eligibility rules, the ramifications in divorce, dissolution, nullity or separation cases, how to obtain information and make disclosure, and the orders a family court may impose. It takes account of state pension reforms and explains their impact within family law.
This Practice Note provides guidance on:
the old state pension scheme for those who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016, and
the new state pension scheme for those reaching state pension age on or after 6 April 2016
State pension entitlements are often missed on divorce, dissolution, nullity or (judicial) separation, either because they are seen as of limited worth or because their structure and the options available to address the parties’ financial needs are not fully
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note
This Practice Note explores trusts and property law that may arise in family proceedings, including invalid or sham trusts, and property law questions such as proprietary estoppel and improper transfers. It also addresses when deploying these areas may aid a party in family cases, together with the evidence needed to advance trusts or property law submissions. The court may vary a settlement within section 24(1)(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or Schedule 5, Part 2 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004) (see Practice Note: Trusts—variation of a nuptial settlement), or treat trust assets as a financial resource of a party (see: Introduction to trusts within financial proceedings—Trusts as a financial resource). The court may further take account of trust assets by making findings and/or granting relief grounded in trusts or property law that go to the
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note offers clear practical guidance on the nature of trusts and how trust assets are dealt with in family financial remedy cases. It also reviews pertinent case law, the situations in which trust property might be treated as available to a party as a financial resource, and the making of ‘judicious encouragement’ orders directed at trustees.
When faced with an application for a financial remedy, the court commonly adopts three principal approaches to trusts:
regarding trust income or capital as a resource accessible to either party (or refusing to do so)—see: Trusts as a financial resource
using its power to vary a nuptial settlement under section 24(1)(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or the parallel provisions in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004)—see Practice Note: Trusts—variation of a nuptial
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note reviews the principal procedural aspects of family proceedings that engage trust assets, including the issue and service of proceedings. It also explains the steps required to add a trustee or a third-party beneficiary to the case, highlights evidential considerations, and summarises the court’s powers to compel a non-party to provide disclosure.
Initial considerations
Where either party holds or benefits from a trust interest, the applications made and the ensuing procedure will depend on the circumstances, which determine which of the three principal approaches to trust assets should be adopted, namely:
considering trust assets as a resource available to one party—see Practice Note: Introduction to trusts within financial proceedings—Trusts as a financial resource
the court exercising its power to make a variation of settlement order under section 24(1)(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) or the Civil
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Establishment and function of the Company Names Tribunal
The Company Names Tribunal (the Tribunal) was set up under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). Under CA 2006, s 69, a person may ask the Tribunal to object to a company’s registered name on the grounds that it is the same as, or sufficiently similar to, a name associated with the applicant in which it has goodwill. This Tribunal route operates alongside regulations that prohibit a company from choosing a name that is identical to, or too close to, one already registered by another company. Companies House also enforces a range of other rules that limit the selection of company names. For further information, see Practice Note: Company names and business names.
Legislative framework: CA 2006, ss 69–74 create a right for any person to challenge a registered company or limited liability
IP
PRACTICE NOTES
FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to IHT on pension death benefits :
In the Autumn Budget 2024 on 30 October 2024, the government confirmed that, from 6 April 2027, unused pension pots and pension death benefits will be treated as part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. New section 150A of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 will be introduced by section 66 of the Finance Act 2026, taking effect on 6 April 2027 (IHTA 1984, s 71). The measure will cover both defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements, and will extend to UK registered schemes as well as qualifying non-UK pension schemes. For further details, see News Analyses: Autumn Budget 2024—Private Client analysis — Inheritance tax and HMRC confirms new IHT rules on unused pension funds to apply from 6 April 2027.
The need to value the estate
On death, an individual is deemed to make a
Private Client
PRACTICE NOTES
Changes in a person’s circumstances which occur after the grant of entry clearance or permission:
can result in cancellation or curtailment of a person’s stay in the UK where their leave to enter or remain is limited, and
will frequently need to be notified to the Home Office
Notifying the Home Office of a significant change of circumstances can, in itself, prompt cancellation or curtailment. This Practice Note addresses both matters.
The withdrawal of a person’s permission is described as:
cancellation, when this happens at the port of entry or while the person is outside the UK, or
curtailment, when the individual is already in the UK
From 1 December 2020, the Immigration Rules, Part Suitability (and before it, Part 9) no longer uses the term curtailment, referring instead to cancellation throughout. For the purposes of the Rules,
Immigration
PRACTICE NOTES
This Practice Note outlines how pension rights can be valued and the factors to be taken into account in the context of family proceedings. It further addresses the practical requirements when appointing an expert to report on pension values, together with the consequences of internal and external transfers of pension credits...
Prescribed valuation method
Whether a pension is to be offset, attached or shared, the prescribed statutory valuation basis is the cash equivalent (CE). Where the pension is already in payment, this may instead be described as the cash equivalent of benefits (CEB). The rules for calculating and verifying CEs are contained in the Pension Sharing (Valuation) Regulations 2000, SI 2000/1052:
reg 4 sets out how CEs for rights within occupational pension schemes are to be calculated and verified
regs 5 and 7 set out how CEs for rights in pension
Family
PRACTICE NOTES
Variation—pension sharing orders
This Practice Note sets out guidance on changing pension sharing orders and pension attachment orders arising in family cases, alongside appeals. It also outlines the procedural elements for both variation and appeals, and addresses applications for capitalisation.
Variation before final order/decree absolute
Where no final order/decree absolute of divorce, dissolution or nullity has been made—and the pension sharing order has therefore not taken effect—the court may vary or discharge that order. An application to vary may only be issued before the final order/decree absolute is granted. Once a marriage or civil partnership has been dissolved, or a final nullity order pronounced, no application can be brought to vary a pension sharing order, even if it is yet to take effect. Filing an application to vary stops the pension sharing order from taking effect while the application is determined. Such
Family
CHECKLISTS
Checklist on cryptoassets
This Checklist on cryptoassets examines matters for dispute resolution practitioners to address when handling claims that touch on cryptoassets. It reviews the principal procedural questions that arise in bringing a civil action where cryptoassets — commonly their retrieval — are implicated in some respect. The distinctive intangibility and cross-border character of cryptocurrencies, enabling actors to exploit the asset and shift it worldwide into less favourable jurisdictions, has rendered them vulnerable to misappropriation and theft and, so, far, the body of caselaw in this field has largely focused on recovering stolen cryptocurrencies. Rulings to date have mostly been confined to the interlocutory stage, yet the English courts have shown an inclination to adopt a flexible stance and to utilise the panoply of procedures and rules available to them in order to support effective efforts at civil recovery...
Dispute Resolution
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