Pension disputes—avenues available to scheme members

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
Produced in partnership with Wyn Derbyshire of gunnercooke LLP
Practice notes

Pension disputes—avenues available to scheme members

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Produced in partnership with Wyn Derbyshire of gunnercooke LLP

Practice notes
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THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO OCCUPATIONAL AND personal pension SCHEMES

disputes in relation to a pension schemes can take various forms. Depending on the type of scheme in question and the relevant facts, they can be potentially pursued through a number of different avenues. This Practice Note focuses on disputes that may be brought by aggrieved members in respect of pension rights under occupational or personal pension schemes.

Disputes relating to occupational pension schemes

An employee (or former employee) with a complaint relating to their pension rights under a trust-based occupational pension scheme acquired during the course of employment may (depending on the particular facts of their claim) have two principal avenues through which they can pursue their claim:

  1. •

    make a written complaint against their employer—this is possible if the pension claim in question can be shown to relate to contractual rights under their contract of employment

  2. •

    make a written complaint against the scheme trustees (and potentially again, the employer) insofar as the claim can be shown to arise under rights

Wyn Derbyshire
Wyn Derbyshire

Partner, 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 written several other books and numerous articles on a variety of legal and non-legal topics.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Disputes definition
What does Disputes mean?

There is a tPR code of practice on dispute management and regulation.

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