Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Bankruptcy definition

What does Bankruptcy mean? Bankruptcy is the formal insolvency process for individuals who cannot pay their debts. It halts most enforcement, vests the bankrupt’s estate in a trustee, and realises assets and surplus income for creditors until discharge. In England and Wales, under the Insolvency Act 1986, a debtor applies online to the Adjudicator for a bankruptcy order; creditors petition the court. The Official Receiver acts as trustee unless an insolvency practitioner is appointed. Discharge is usually after 12 months; income payment orders/agreements can run up to three years; bankruptcy restrictions orders may extend restrictions. Scotland uses sequestration under the Bankruptcy (Scotland)...

Pensions in Bankruptcy pre- and post-29 May 2000: Estate Exclusion, Excessive Contributions and Income Payments Orders (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Restructuring & Insolvency expert

Practice notes

When pension contributions are recoverable

This Practice Note considers two issues:

whether a bankrupt’s pension arrangement sits within the Bankruptcy estate, and
if the arrangement is outside the Bankruptcy, whether payments into it can be recouped for the estate’s benefit

It deals solely with occupational pension schemes and Personal pension arrangements. State pensions and most statutory pension schemes do not comprise part of the bankrupt’s estate, meaning the sole route for a trustee in bankruptcy (trustee) to realise pension rights is via an income payments order.

Bankruptcies before 29 May 2000

This section applies to individuals made bankrupt following petitions presented before 29 May 2000. Contributions paid in respect of both personal pension schemes and occupational pension schemes are ordinarily recoverable by the bankrupt’s trustee, because a debtor’s contractual rights under such schemes are treated as choses in action falling within the broad definition of property in section 436 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). Consequently, these contributions are available for the benefit of the bankruptcy creditors...

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Raj Arumugam

5 Stone Buildings

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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