Every pension scheme, employer and trustee board is different.

We are corporate pensions lawyers advising businesses with schemes of all shapes and sizes. Our industry knowledge, experience and commercial acumen means we understand how important it is to consider individual organisational needs when building your board.

It can be difficult to find the right mix of trustees for your scheme, whether down to a lack of suitable candidates with relevant understanding within the business, or a reluctance of individuals to take on trusteeship, with all the responsibilities, commitment and potential personal risk it brings.

Organisations often look to appoint independent trustees to fill gaps in their trustee boards, and we can help.

Burness Paull Pension Trustee ("BPPTL") is our professional independent trustee service. BPPTL has three trustee directors, all of whom are highly regarded senior practitioners in the pensions industry. The directors are supported by a team of specialist lawyers and paralegals with pensions, corporate and governance expertise.

Accredited as Professional Independent Trustees by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees, we take on appointments for all manner of pension schemes, whether open or closed, defined benefit or defined contribution. Our trustee appointments range from the very small (less than £10m in assets) to the large (assets in excess of £1bn). We allocate a specific BPPTL director to each trustee board appointment but with dedicated back up support from another director and the wider team. This way we ensure there is no 'key man' risk in our appointments.

For closed schemes, we work closely with the scheme employer and our advisors to set up and monitor a long-strategy for the scheme. We focus on 'end-game' planning in a way that is affordable to the scheme employer but keeps the interest of members and beneficiaries at the heart of everything we do. That way we ensure a smooth route to buy-out, reducing risk and volatility at pivotal points along the way. 

Pension scheme decision making is under ever greater scrutiny from members, from employers and from the Pensions Regulator. By combining our legal training and background with our attention to detail and cross-scheme experience, we can ensure that trustee decisions are taken in a way that minimises risk. We can also add real value by minimising the need for legal advice on "business as usual" issues and ensuring that our fellow Trustee directors are "kept safe" in terms of fulfilling their trustee and legal duties.

One of the benefits of being part of a wider law firm is that we don't work in silos - we have colleagues (whether pensions focussed or in the wider corporate finance and / or not-for-profit spheres) with whom we share thoughts and ideas as well as client experience and knowledge.

Key Contacts

Our independent trustee services

Sole trustee appointments

With completing demands on time, sometimes it can be difficult to source both employer and member nominated trustees, particularly for smaller schemes. In these circumstances, it can be helpful to outsource the full fiduciary responsibility for the management of the scheme to an independent trustee. BPPTL provides sole independent trustee services. We have processes in place to ensure peer scrutiny and challenge of decision-making as well as effective governance. 

Role of Chair

We are experienced in carrying out the Chair role for schemes which is an increasingly important appointment for trustee boards. We focus on getting the best out of our fellow trustees, encouraging participation and input. We lead trustee boards to achieve their full potential, utilising the skills and attributes of each of our fellow trustees. 

Part of a trustee board

We are happy to be appointed as part of a larger board without taking the Chair role. We are flexible in our approach and working with employers and trustees in whatever way works best for their scheme, using our experience to bring a different, and hopefully complementary, dynamic to the board.

 
How do our independent trustee services work in practice?

We work closely with employers, our fellow trustees and professional advisors to support, help, manage and deal with the increasingly complex issues that arise in relation to running pension schemes. 

We provide a comprehensive and expert trustee scheme, ensuring that members' benefits are looked after to the highest possible standard but in a pragmatic and cost-efficient manner. We don't waste time and money creating unnecessary work. We take advice when necessary, but we bring the benefit of our industry knowledge and experience to ensure compliance and the smooth running of the pension scheme. 

We pride ourselves on building close, meaningful work relationships. The team's approach is collaborative - we invest time at the beginning of a relationship to really get to know the scheme, fellow trustees and the schemes employers. We know that we need to understand not only the scheme, but the context and sector in which it operates.

 
End game planning

For closed schemes, we work closely with the scheme employer and our advisors to set up and monitor long-term strategy for the scheme. We focus on 'end game' planning in a way that is affordable to the scheme employer but keeps the interests of members and beneficiaries at the heart of everything we do. That way we ensure a smooth route to buy-out, reducing risk and volatility at pivotal points along the way. 

Whether you're looking to appoint a new independent trustee to your board, outsource full scheme management, or just want to explore options for the future, our trustee directors are happy to help. Get in touch to find out more.

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