About
Faye advises companies, trustees and pension providers on all aspects of UK pensions law. Faye prides herself on helping clients navigate this complex and technical area of law by providing easy to understand, pragmatic advice that gives a clear way forward.
Faye has significant experience advising on transactions involving the acquisition of Master Trusts, complex funding arrangements, endgame strategies and use of surplus, liability management exercises, scheme mergers and demergers, transfers to superfunds, and how to manage pension liabilities on corporate reorganisations, acquisitions or disposals. Other regular work includes major pension projects such as GMP equalisation, benefit changes and managing benefit errors, and transfers to Master Trusts.
In addition, Faye has advised pension providers on the development of their pension products and is experienced in advising on issues in relation to SSASs.
Faye is a Council member of the Society of Pension Professionals and sits on their Legislation Committee. She is also a member of Pension UK’s Legal Advisory Group and the pensions representative to the BVCA’s Legal Committee.
Experience
- Advising various trustees on the implementation of GMP equalisation, including advice on the use of GMP conversion and associated tax issues, and equalising historic transfer values.
- Advising the Trustee of the Wates Pension Fund on the transfer of all of its defined benefit liabilities to Clara Pensions.
- Advising the administrators for Debenhams on the transfer of the Debenhams pension scheme to Clara Pensions.
- Advising a trustee on entering into a value share bulk purchase annuity with M&G plc, whereby the reinsurance was provided by a captive arrangement set up by the sponsoring employer.
- Advising a multi-national group in the aerospace sector on the sale of part of its business, including the transfer of a share of its defined benefit scheme’s liabilities to a new pension scheme established by the Buyer.
- Advising Aberdeen on the pension aspects of the sale of its European-headquartered private equity business.
- Advising various trustees on buy-in and buy-out transactions. Work on these transactions included preparing the benefit spec, advising on the hard coding of discretions, negotiating the bulk purchase annuity policy and advising on member communications.
- Advising a multilateral development bank in Asia on the establishment of a new defined contribution scheme and the connected transfer from its existing scheme.
- Advising Apollo Global Management on the pensions aspects of its acquisition of Evri and subsequently advising on Evri’s merger with DHL eCommerce.
- Advising an employer (who is also an insurer) on the buy-out of its own pension scheme, without any buy-in period. This required bespoke documentation to be drafted, as well as new funding and indemnity arrangements for the trustee of its scheme.