Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Governance definition

What does Governance mean? Governance, in pensions practice, describes how a trustee board organises itself and exercises oversight, decision-making and control over an occupational pension scheme to meet legal and fiduciary duties. It encompasses the scheme’s structures, policies and internal controls, and how trustees delegate to and supervise advisers, administrators and asset managers, monitor performance, manage risk and record decisions. The term is descriptive rather than a defined legal term, but key governance requirements are prescribed in legislation and regulatory codes. In the UK, the Pensions Act 2004 and scheme administration/governance regulations, together with The Pensions Regulator’s General Code, require an effective system...

Occupational pensions and employment contracts: dual rights, express/implied terms, lawful variation (amendment powers, TUPE) and consultation duties

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

Employer-backed pension arrangements are, in effect, tax‑favoured savings structures through which employers fund future financial support for staff and their dependants in later life. Unsurprisingly, the employment relationship, shaped by the contract of employment and general law, is central to pension scheme governance. The key aspects of that role are relevant to occupational schemes, though many of the same points also apply where pension provision is via personal pension arrangements to which an employer contributes.

Dual nature of accrued pension rights under trust and contract law

Accrued pension rights under an occupational pension scheme can typically be categorised as:

pension rights of scheme members (trust beneficiaries) arising under the trusts of the scheme, and
pension rights arising as contractual terms of the employment relationship between an employer and employee

Members’ rights under the pension scheme trust are, in principle, enforceable against the scheme’s trustees through the courts in the same way as those of any beneficiary under a trust...

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Wyn Derbyshire

gunnercooke LLP

Wyn is a partner at gunnercooke LLP and specialises in pensions, trust and employment law in all industry sectors, dealing with the transactional, advisory and documentation aspects.He also has wide experience of the pensions implications of heavyweight corporate transactions and flotations, the issues arising from the establishment and merger of pension schemes, and sex equalisation and other discrimination issues in respect of benefits provided by pension schemes. In addition, he provides advice to pension scheme trustees generally.Recent transactions include advising Amcor on pension matters relating to the acquisition of Alcan business and the acquisition of Northern Foods PLC by Boparan Holdings.He is a co-author (with Stephen Hardy and Stephen Maffey) of TUPE: Law and Practice, published by Spiramus Press (now in its 4th edition), and co-author (with Stephen Hardy and David Wicks) of Money & Work, published by Spiramus Press in August 2007. He has also...

Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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