Master trusts

Our Pensions team has wide experience of advising on all aspects of master trusts, from day-to-day advice to creating tailored, innovative solutions. This includes:

• Master trust consolidation, leading clients through the regulatory requirements while prioritising commercial objectives.
• Advice to employers on selecting and participating in master trusts.
• Experience in risk transfer for both authorised defined contribution master trusts and defined benefit master trusts, and familiarity with many of the key providers’ terms. We see schemes transferring their benefits to master trusts, either as part of a strategic move, or in preparation for a merger or wind-up.

• Advised XPS Pensions Group on an option agreement to sell XPS Pensions (Nexus) Limited, principal employer and scheme funder to the National Pension Trust, to SEI.
• Advised on a major pension change involving the closure of the defined contribution section of a pension scheme, with future contributions to be paid into a master trust. We advised on the structure of benefits, strategic negotiation tactics, consultation documents to members and issues such as whether contractual changes were needed going forward.
• Advising on all aspects of the transfer of the defined contribution liabilities within a scheme to the Aegon DC Master Trust.