22 February 2008
The High Court judgment in 'Alexander Forbes v Clarke', may
cause a headache for scheme trustees dealing with winding-up of
long established schemes, according to Wragge & Co. The ruling
gives any member over the age of 50 a higher level of priority,
regardless of whether they are an active or deferred member. This
could lead to pensioners who have received payments from wind-ups
before 2003 having to pay back some of their benefits.
A previous case 'Trustee Solutions Ltd and Others v Dubery and
Another' had ruled that deferred members were a low priority,
following those with an entitlement to a pension, contracted-out
rights and pension increases.
