Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

England and Wales: High Court upholds Pensions Ombudsman in pension liberation case—appeals limited to points of law; no sub‑trusts; dishonesty defeats exoneration; limitation and contributory negligence defences fail

Published on: 01 December 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Legal News

Article summary

Brambles Administration Ltd and others v Harvey and others [2025] EWHC 2980 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

This decision serves as a prompt on when it is justified to incur the cost of appealing a Pensions Ombudsman determination. An appeal lies only on a point of law under section 151(4) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, and is not a vehicle to revisit the Ombudsman’s factual conclusions unless there has been an ‘Improper Decision’: (i) a conclusion not open on the evidence or one that is perverse, (ii) a failure to consider relevant matters, or (iii) taking account of irrelevant matters. It also underscores the need to air all factual contentions fully before the Ombudsman, rather than attempting to advance them on appeal. The judgment further indicates the courts’ reluctance to allow trustees to rely on exoneration clauses where dishonesty is present in pension liberation contexts. The appellants also attempted to introduce points on appeal that had not been included within the stated grounds, which the court declined to entertain...

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