Implied power of appointment into a scheme’s trust deed and rules (LRT Pension Fund Trustee Co Ltd v Hatt)

Table of contents

• What were the facts?
• What was decided?

Article summary

LRT v Hatt concerned the validity of the merger of the wages fund and the staff fund of the London Regional Transport (LRT) pension scheme under a private act of Parliament in April 1989. The court upheld the validity of the merger of the two funds. Several points of general relevance to pension schemes and to their merger were decided. In particular, the court held that, although the trustees had sought to appoint a corporate trustee using an appointment power which did not permit this, the court could consider that another power (namely the amendment power) could be treated as having been exercised to validate the appointment.