International firm Withers has appointed Gillian Johnson as its head of the UK pensions team.
A part of the firm since 2015, Gillian will lead a team of three, working alongside associates Estella Bogira and Matthew Harrison. She specialises in advising on pensions law in a private client context, as well as handling pensions matters arising in the context of corporate activity.
Christopher Groves, co-head of Withers' European private client and tax team, said: ‘Gillian's appointment is well-deserved recognition of her importance within our team. As we all know, pension considerations come into virtually every aspect of wealth planning discussions and, for our clients, who are often international and have significant pension funds, it is essential to get the right advice. As we all recognise too, whilst the tax treatment of pensions has become increasingly complex, the flexibility of the benefit design under many pension schemes also offers many opportunities. Our team takes a broad view of pension planning to offer effective advice.
Gillian added: ‘I am very excited to be leading our expanded team, which handles the full range of pension issues, advising individuals on their UK and offshore pension pots, as well employers, corporate and charity clients on their schemes and employee pension arrangements. There's no doubt that expert advice is more necessary than ever to make sure that individuals, scheme trustees and sponsors don't run into trouble. For many of our clients nearing retirement, the tighter income tax restrictions that have been imposed on their pension savings in recent years could result in very heavy liabilities if not addressed properly, but we can also guide clients to make the best use of the favourable inheritance tax treatment and flexible benefit options available under their pension schemes.’
