Pensions

Pensions

From our offices across Europe, Canada and the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, our specialist global pensions law team advises on the establishment, structuring and documentation all types of pension arrangements, as well as providing top-rated expertise in supporting regulatory, transactional, investment and contentious work. Our international reach allows us to assist clients on offshore and third country national plans, as well as on multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions.

Leading global companies and financial institutions rely on our assistance on the pensions aspects of all corporate transactions, including pension transfer provisions, due diligence, warranties and indemnities. We work on all types of corporate transactions and deal with applications for clearance from the Pensions Regulator, pensions due diligence and the negotiation and preparation of contractual provisions, such as warranties and indemnities. The team not only provides full support internally to the Norton Rose Group corporate teams, but also regularly to US legal firms, European legal firms and smaller UK legal firms without a pensions capability. In particular, we have advised several US and European law firms and companies on acquisitions, mergers and sales of UK businesses. Several of these deals have involved significant UK pensions liabilities, where we have successfully advised on how to manage the issues surrounding such liabilities, as well as associated matters (for example, the role of the Pension Protection Fund).

Our team also benefits from the market leading expertise of our colleagues within other Norton Rose Group practice areas, such as employment, tax and banking. Norton Rose Group is the largest international legal practice in the world without a presence in the US, giving us the capability to assist in the negotiation of multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions where pensions issues are involved. Our global pensions team now includes partners and of counsel in Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, Germany, Holland and Italy. Internationally, we have twelve partners and two of counsel specialising in pensions work. We are used to working across borders, providing a seamless service from teams handpicked to meet the specific needs of an individual transaction. The scale of the practice also means we are able to draw on the combined know how and resources of the Group to provide a high level of service to our clients.

Our team works frequently in tandem with our clients’ actuarial and other advisers, collaborating and communicating effectively to ensure all issues are covered in a manner which avoids duplication of effort and cost. If a client does not have existing advisers in the jurisdiction concerned, we can put them in touch with quality advisers who have experience of similar issues.

Where pensions issues become contentious, you will find our dispute resolution experts to be innovative and tenacious. We advise on all types of pensions dispute resolution, including complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman, mediations, arbitrations and litigation.

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