Weightmans LLP

EPI

Principal Associate • EPI Liverpool

Philip is a very experienced lawyer who has specialised in pensions for over 20 years.

He works across the public and private sectors, working for employers, trustees, pension scheme managers and others across all areas of pension law.

In recent years, he has particularly focussed on public sector pension law, dealing in particular with the Local Government Pension Scheme, the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, the Police Pension Scheme and the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme.  He continues also to advise private sector pension schemes and their sponsoring employers, including in relation to winding-up the schemes and securing promised benefits in the insurance market.

He works on, amongst other things, outsourcing and insourcing projects, dealing with member enquiries, complaints and grievances, including before the Pensions Ombudsman, and on all aspects of transactions relating to pensions. He has also advised extensively on the pensions aspects of local authorities:

merging into unitary authorities and splits into separate authorities, including in respect of creating pension liability sharing agreements; setting up wholly owned subsidiaries and Teckal companies; and establishing wholly-owned trusts to provide children’s and other services.

He has also advised extensively on pension issues for registered providers (housing associations) and educational establishments, as well as other not-for-profit organisations.

Notable cases

Philip has acted for a number of NHS employer clients, working with them to find ways to incentivise long-serving and senior staff to remain in full-time employment despite the obstacles of pension taxation. He has created bespoke packages that meet both staff and employer needs, while also meeting the requirements to avoid incentivising staff to opt out of pension saving. Philip has recently advised a public sector employer on one of the first projects in which an employer who has participated in a public sector pension scheme due to outsourcing has been able to agree a transfer of employers and liabilities back to the public sector pension scheme while the outsourcing contract is ongoing. He has advised on the exit of housing associations from the Local Government Pension Scheme in circumstances where the employer’s admission to LGPS is in surplus and there may therefore be a payment due to the employer when the exit is complete.