Corporate Pensions Healthcheck

Don't let a pension scheme hold up or derail your corporate transaction

Able Governance has the skills and experience, not only to identify the issues, but also to become part of the solution.

"What about the pension scheme?" This is the last thing you want to hear when getting close to wrapping up the sale, purchase or restructuring of a company

Although becoming less common, many companies have defined benefit pension schemes - commonly known as final salary schemes. Due to the long-term nature of the benefits promise, and the current low interest rates, these schemes can represent a significant strain on the company, and you don't want to find out about its existence near the end of the transaction process.

Defined contribution schemes - sometimes referred to as DC or money purchase schemes - are less problematic, but the increased pressure from the Pensions Regulator on the trustees of these schemes means that they can't be ignored in the transaction.

Even if the company has outsourced its workplace pensions responsibilities to a Master Trust such as NEST, or to a group personal pension plan, the compliance burden will fall on the company, and needs to be assessed.

If you are advising on a corporate deal, then you need to know about the pension arrangements:

  • What type of scheme or schemes the company has;
  • The current status of the scheme;
  • What needs to be done to prevent it from derailing or holding up the transaction.

Corporate Pension HealthCheck report

Based on many years of experience gained from advising insolvency practitioners on pensions matters, Able Governance can investigate and report on the scheme for a low, fixed price. The report will flag up issues that need to addressed, and set out options for resolving any problems.

It is inevitable that the trustees of the scheme will be involved in negotiations with the sponsoring company, and possibly with the Pensions Regulator or the Pension Protection Fund. It is not unusual for the existing trustees to face conflicts of interest or to feel out of their depth in these uncommon waters, or both. In this situation, Able Governance may be appointed as an independent trustee to work with the existing board, bringing to bear its experience of similar situations and a pragmatic approach to create an optimal solution.

The initial due diligence investigation and summary report can be provided for a fixed cost of just £495. Any follow on work may be provided at a fixed cost, depending on the scope of work.

Download our guide Able Governance Corporate Pensions Health Check for more information, or contact Able Governance for a no-commitment chat.

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