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07 October 2019 / Ferdy Lovett
Issue: 7859 / Categories: Features , Pensions , Profession
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The pension forecast

Despite the recent legislative void, Ferdy Lovett predicts increased activity ahead
  • A proposed Pensions Bill and new powers for the regulator.
  • New governance requirements, including those required to be implemented by pension schemes to satisfy the latest EU Pensions Directive. 
  • The implications of probably the most significant pensions case in decades.

When Parliamentary time finally allows, the Pensions Bill is set to arm the Pensions Regulator (TPR) with hefty new powers and is scheduled to pave the way for a plethora of changes outlined below.

  • Fresh additions to the ‘notifiable events regime’, the early warning system designed to alert TPR of possible calls on the pensions lifeboat, the Pension Protection Fund. For example, TPR will need to be notified of the sale of a ‘material proportion’ of the business or assets of a sponsoring employer which has funding responsibility for at least 20% of the scheme’s liabilities. The granting of security on a debt to give it priority over a pension scheme will likewise need to be notified.
  • Despite
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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