Pensions

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Contacts:
Jane Samsworth, London
Angela Dimsdale Gill, London
Kurt L.P. Lawson, Washington D.C.
Margaret de Lisser, Washington D.C.
Joseph R. Rackman, New York
Bernd Klemm, Munich

In today's business world, pension funds are a critical factor in corporate transactions. Mergers, acquisitions, and management buy-outs must all take account of pension liabilities, which can make or break a deal. The increasing complexity and strength of regulatory regimes requires top level know-how.  Employers and trustees need help to understand their obligations and to manage conflicts of interest. 

Hogan Lovells Pensions lawyers advise trustees, employers, and financial institutions involved in the pensions industry on all issues of pension law. Advisory services are targeted at the following broad spheres:

• Design, establishment, and maintenance of pension schemes and plans
• Changes to benefits and reducing costs and volatility
• Scheme mergers, de-mergers, and spin-offs
• Corporate transactions, 'moral hazard' issues, and clearance
• Public-sector outsourcing
• Investment and the use of derivatives
• Funding and Special Purpose Vehicles
• Trustees' powers, duties, and liabilities
• Non-regulated retirement schemes
• Profit-sharing, 401(k), and cash balance plans, and ESOPs

In the case of pension disputes, we represent clients in litigation and administrative proceedings in Asia, Europe, and the United States, and have extensive experience in the following areas of dispute:

• Complaints to regulators
• Professional negligence claims
• Trustee liability and breach of trust
• Disputes concerning scheme funding or liability for deficits
• Disputes arising from the interpretation of scheme rules or statutes
• Claims for rectification
• ERISA fiduciary issues and litigation
• Disputes with US regulators, including IRS and PBGC

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Leadership Positions

• Jane Samsworth, is a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and a member of the NAPF Retirement Policy Council and of the Association of Pension Lawyers (APL)
• Katie Banks is the treasurer of the Association of Pension Lawyers (APL)
• Angela Dimsdale Gill, member of the Association of Pension Lawyers (APL) and founder-member of its Pensions Litigation Committee, member of the Pensions Litigation Court Users’ Committee, member of the City of London Law Society’s Litigation Committee
• Duncan Buchanan, is a Council member of the Society of Pension Consultants (SPC) and chairs its legislation sub-committee 
• Claire Southern, is a member of the APL's Education Sub-Committee
• Jill Clucas, is a member of the SPC Public Relations Committee
• Bernd Klemm, member of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA), member of Arbeitskreis Betriebliche Altersversorgung
• Kurt Lawson, fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel

Former Leadership Positions

• Jane Samsworth, President of the SPC, Chairman of the Pensions Advisory Service, Honorary Secretary to the Association of Pension Lawyers
• Kurt Lawson, Chair of the Employee Benefits Committee within the Tax Section of the American Bar Association
• Katie Banks, member of the Association of Pension Lawyers' Legislative and Parliamentary Sub-Committee