Trustee Quarterly Update March 2025

We take a look at the key legal developments for pension scheme trustees over the past quarter. These include updated guidance from the Pensions Regulator on how trustees should be assessing the sponsoring employer's covenant, and a statement from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) regarding the implications of the Virgin Media judgment for sponsoring employer audits. We also consider a recent Pensions Ombudsman decision in which the Ombudsman concluded that a discretionary pension increase rule did not allow a zero increase.

Cases

Court of Appeal says members cannot be forced draw benefits to pay debts

In the case of Manolete Partners PLC v White, the Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment which would have required a member to draw down his entire pension fund from his small self-administered pension scheme (SSAS) in order to enable the member's creditor to enforce a judgment debt. The Court of Appeal held that