Pensions
Implementing, modifying and closing pension schemes, Outsourcing and de-risking, Pensions litigation, etc.
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Case Study | Not an easy task: tidying up the pension landscape
A complex pension landscape where some schemes had been in place for so long that none of the people who created them were still alive – or at least were no longer with the company. A potential loss for the employer of many tens of millions and an external pension provider who showed little interest in helping the employer to avoid this loss. That was not just the situation our client faced in this specific case, and with which we were therefore also confronted, it’s also highly typical of disputes relating to company pension schemes.
As in the case at hand, the requirement is normally for a review of the overall pension landscape and of the critical issues bubbling away beneath the surface. It additionally involves countering individual claims, some of which may have already reached the courts (with proceedings frequently being pursued all the way to the supreme Federal Labor Court). Company pensioners are often in close contact with each other and happy to engage in a dispute because they feel no loyalty towards the present-day company. As such, they also provide a potent catalyst for wider action.
In this specific case, we were fortunately able to contain things before they got out of hand – in large part due to swift action taken in conjunction with the client to tackle the matter head on. Proceedings already pending were also dealt with.
More importantly, rather than just addressing past issues, pragmatic solutions were found for the risks identified during the review process, with corresponding changes being made to the existing pension systems to avoid problems arising in the future.
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