The recent UK High Court decision in the case of Merchant
Navy Ratings Pension Fund Trustees Limited and P&O Ferries
Limited v Stena Line Limited and Ors1 will be of
interest to both pension scheme trustees and sponsoring employers.
The decision considers complex issues including the duties of
pension scheme trustees when making decisions and the role of
employers' interests in trustee decision making.
The Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund
("MNRPF") is an industry-wide defined
benefit pension scheme. It has a large number of
participating employers (both current and historic), many of which
are competitors within the industry. The MNRPF had been in
significant deficit since the late 1990s and its preliminary 2014
valuation showed a deficit, on an ongoing basis, of circa
Stg£325 million. Under its rules, only current
employers were liable to repair the deficit.
