Kate’s practice focuses primarily on advising trustees and corporates of a wide range of occupational pension plans on all aspects of pensions law. Her main work revolves round general advisory work to trustees of ongoing plans, pensions risk and liability management exercises, pensions issues arising from company restructures, section 75 debts and their management, plan documentation and amendment, plan closures, plan governance issues, funding issues and the use of contingent assets, the review of administration agreements and investment management agreements, the pensions aspects of corporate transactions and pensions regulatory matters.

Kate is also a director of the firm’s trustee company, the Trustee Corporation Limited and acts as an independent trustee on a number of matters.

Kate is a member of the Pensions Management Institute and the Association of Pension Lawyers. Kate has been awarded the Pensions Management Institute, Retirement Provisions Certificate. Kate is a member of the North West Pensions Management Institute Committee.

Representative Experience

• Advising trustees on pension plan mergers including a merger of seven pension plans into one sectionalised plan.
• Advising trustees and corporates on the closure of pension plans to the future accrual of benefits.
• Advising trustees on the pensions aspects of proposed company restructures.
• Advising trustees on pensions liability management issues, including enhanced transfer value exercises, a pensions increase exchange exercise and on the new trivial commutation legislation.
• Drafting new trust deed and rules for a number of final salary pension plans and several money purchase plans; drafting of Finance Act 2004 deeds and deeds of amendment to comply with age discrimination legislation; drafting of deeds on numerous plan changes and changes to comply with regulatory requirements; drafting of conflicts of interest policies and pension plan information protocols.
• Advising on pension plan wind ups.
• Advising on conflicts of interests.
• Acting as the Trustee Corporation Limited on Pension Protection Fund applications.