Anna Rogers in Professional Pensions re Can Section 48 help trustees override drafting mistakes?
Anna comments in Professional Pensions, stating her opinion on the debate over Section 48 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985.
Anna said the procedure should be promoted as an alternative way of getting certainty when pension scheme rules are unclear. She said she has used the procedure in the past for a clear-cut case.
“Years ago, we got a court order about an amendment power that said it could not be used to ‘reduce or affect’ benefits. An amendment power that can’t affect benefits is a bit useless, especially as the amendments we wanted to make were improving benefits.
“The [court] order said it must mean ‘can’t reduce or prejudicially affect benefits’, which made more sense. Nobody wanted to argue against this.”
However, she added: “That’s the problem with Section 48. It only works for a pretty open and shut issue.”
Read the full article in Professional Pensions here.
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