Managing trustee meaning

Representation of Zedra Trust Company (Suisse) SA re C and D Trusts [2023] JRC 213 What are the practical implications of this case Although resolved on its own facts, the court offered broadly useful guidance for trustees managing dynastic trusts intended to support multiple generations. As a family’s philosophy evolves, trustees should assess whether the trust still embodies that shift and, if not, consider whether substantive modifications are required. The ruling will interest practitioners as it confronts public policy and human rights considerations within the framework of trust deed provisions and settlors’ expressed wishes. It underlines that letters of wishes are not binding on trustees, and certainly not on the court, and demonstrates judicial backing for a trustee departing from a settlor’s clear wishes to prevent family discord, here arising from the exclusion of the female line from benefitting from the Trusts. In short, the decision encourages trustees of long‑running family trusts to think carefully about alignment with changing family...

In this issue: Spring Budget 2024 The Pensions Regulator Pensions taxation The Pension Protection Fund Investment Scheme governance Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Spring Budget 2024 Key pensions announcements and views from the market In the Spring Budget 2024, delivered on 6 March 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, outlined the government’s central objective: to stimulate growth by funnelling more capital into UK equity markets, improving the UK’s standing as a listing venue, and building on the Mansion House reforms announced in the Autumn Statement 2023. Key pensions measures include: expanding the regulatory remit of the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to enable the closure or winding-up of poorly performing defined contribution (DC) schemes, aligned with the reformed Value for Money (VFM) framework requiring DC funds to publish, by 2027, a public breakdown of...

LCP reported that its yearly poll of scheme trustees also indicated that a significant cohort of pensions specialists firmly believes managing systemic climate threats should be part of a trustee’s responsibilities. The firm did not reveal how many people were surveyed, or when fieldwork took place, but said the complete annual survey will be released publicly in full in June 2024. Aaron Punwani, LCP chief executive, welcomed the fact that several schemes have adopted net-zero targets. However, Punwani urged an updated interpretation of trustees’ fiduciary duty, so they can consider climate risk over the long term...

Sound administration underpins the smooth operation of a pension scheme and the delivery of good member outcomes, not least because administrators are typically members’ first port of call; consequently, their effectiveness, consistency and accuracy indeed strongly influence member experience and results. In short, administration counts because it is the usual locus of pension governance, safeguarding data accuracy, regulatory compliance and correct member outcomes being delivered on a consistent basis. What is a scheme administrator? For the purposes of this Practice Note, ‘scheme administrator’ means the individual or entity that supports the scheme’s day-to-day running by planning, managing and performing its administrative tasks. This can be an external provider, a dedicated internal team within the employer and/or the employer’s human resources or finance functions and departments. This usage is different from the ‘scheme administrator’ in Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004), denoting the person or persons who ensure the scheme meets FA 2004 requirements in full. In practice, that statutory capacity is...

This Practice Note explores the doctrine of separate legal personality for a registered company, and surveys the relevant case law addressing the narrow situations in which the corporate veil might be pierced. It also separates true piercing or lifting of the veil from the more routine instances in which the veil is sidestepped by reliance on another legal or equitable entitlement. The analysis underscores the limited nature of this intervention and the authorities that define it. Corporate legal personality—the Salomon principle A duly incorporated company is a person distinct from its members, holding its own rights and bearing its own liabilities as an independent legal subject. This rule, often called the corporate veil or the Salomon principle, was most famously articulated by Lord MacNaghten in Salomon v Salomon: the company, at law, is wholly separate from the subscribers to the memorandum; even if, after incorporation, the undertaking remains exactly as before, with the same individuals managing it and the same people receiving the profits, the company is not...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This Practice Note sets out approaches for addressing a section 75 debt in the context of a transaction, with particular emphasis on multi-employer schemes where a range of options may exist. It also outlines considerations connected to the Pensions Regulator's clearance process and the notifiable events regime. For trustee-focused considerations when deciding how a section 75 debt should be managed on an employment cessation event, see Practice Note: employment cessation events—trustee decision-making process. For matters specific to section 75 debts triggered during a group reorganisation, see Practice Note: Intra-group reorganisations and pensions. Determining whether a section 75 debt will be triggered Section 75 debt triggers A section 75 debt (often called an 'employer debt') may become payable by the employer of a defined benefit occupational pension scheme where: the scheme is a multi-employer arrangement and an employment cessation event occurs in relation to that employer (described in this Practice...