Pensions
Our award-winning pensions team is experienced in advising trustees, employers, consultants and insurers on all aspects of pensions law. As well as day-to-day advice, we have particular experience advising on benefit redesign, scheme closures and liability reduction. We are industry-leaders in longevity hedging, buy-in, buy-out, asset-backed funding, funds and corporate restructuring. Unlike other pension law practices, we work on litigation, as this enables us to brief clients in full on any potentially contentious issues and provides a balanced approach to our advice. The CMS pensions de-risking team continues to deliver outstanding results in the de-risking market. In 2024, we advised on 42 de-risking transactions with a combined value of £32.8bn (including 10 > £1bn transactions.
We provide schemes of all sizes with clear, pragmatic and proactive advice. Keeping our clients up-to-date is a priority for us and we share our unparalleled insight through a wide range of resources, which focus on what you need to know and, practically, what you need to do.
With more than 75+ UK lawyers, we have the largest pension teams of any major UK law firm (and the largest London pensions team in a full-service law firm). We are widely regarded as market-leaders in the pensions industry maintaining our top tier rankings for Pensions and Pensions Litigation in Chambers and Legal 500 for 22 years.
Industry recognition
- ‘European Pensions Law Firm of the Year’, European Pensions Awards, 2025, 2023 and 2022.
- ‘Pensions Lawyers of the Year 2021’, Pensions Age Awards.
- 'Award for Supporting Development', Professional Pensions Rising Star Awards, 2023 and 2020.
- In 2021 we published CMS’s Pensions Law Handbook (15th edition), a definitive 1,000 page guide to UK pensions law, awarded the APL Wallace Medal for “meritorious work in communicating and explaining legal issues affecting pensions”.
Legal experts for Pensions
Regulatory News
See allFCA’s first annual regulatory priorities report for the pensions sector sets out its priorities for the coming year: ensuring well-run schemes that provide value for money to savers; encouraging effective support for consumers; supporting growth and innovation, and modernising pensions and long-term savings. The report also notes other areas of focus. FCA has included an indicative timeline for specific workstreams.
For more information
FCA’s first annual regulatory priorities report for the consumer investments sector sets out its priorities for the coming year: building a stronger investment culture, strengthening trust, securing good consumer outcomes, strengthening financial crime controls, as well as other areas of focus for certain sub-sectors. FCA has included an indicative timeline for specific workstreams.
Text of Lucy Castledine’s speech of 4 March 2026 follows in which she discusses aspects of the regulatory priorities report for the consumer investments sector.
FCA has highlighted the opening of the targeted support authorisations gateway, noting that it wants authorised firms to be ready to offer the new targeted support service as soon as the rules take effect on 6 April 2026.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Providing Targeted Support) (Amendment) Order 2026 (SI 2026/74) has been published on legislation.gov.uk, together with an explanatory memorandum. The Order amends the Regulated Activities Order (RAO) to create a new regulated activity of providing targeted support. The Order will come into full force on 6 April 2026, although provisions in the Order allowing the FCA to make rules and grant Part 4A permissions relating to the new activity will come into force on 23 February 2026.
