A power which a trustee must exercise.

Trust property refers to the assets held by a trustee for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries under a trust. It can consist of any form of property, including land, money, shares, contractual rights and other choses in action, as well as mixed funds. In practice, “trust property” is a descriptive term used across common law and equitable doctrines, rather than a single statutory definition, although specific legislation (for example, trustee, insolvency and tax statutes) may define it for particular purposes. Key features are that the trustee holds legal title (or, in Scotland, the trust estate) and is obliged to manage and apply the trust property in accordance with the trust deed, will, statute or court order, and fiduciary duties. Beneficiaries usually have equitable or beneficial interests (in Scotland, personal rights against the trustee and, in some cases, a real right). Usage is broadly consistent in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Scots law uses distinct concepts and terminology, but “trust property” is still widely understood in practice to mean the assets forming the trust estate. Trust property is central to issues of asset protection, tracing, breach of trust, insolvency, tax and succession.

An individual or company that is appointed to carry out the purposes of a trust.

Insurance that may be taken out by a Charity to protect its Charity Trustees from personal liability for negligence or breach of duty (excluding any arising from criminality, or recklessness) as a Charity Trustee.

The knowledge and understanding as required by the Pensions Act 2004.

Unless exempt, pension scheme trustees (including directors of corporate trustees and, since 1 April 2015, members of the pension board of a public service pension schemes) have a statutory duty to gain and maintain a certain level of knowledge and understanding in prescribed pensions areas. This duty is often abbreviated to Trustee Knowledge and Understanding (TKU). The TKU framework The TKU duty is set out in: • sections 247–249 of the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004), and • the Occupational Pension Schemes (Trustees' Knowledge and Understanding) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/686 (the TKU Regs) The TKU duty has been fleshed out by the Pensions Regulator (TPR) in various guidance papers including: • the General Code of Practice • guidance on scheme management skills for DC pensions • trustee guidance entitled Understanding your role Which trustees are subject to the TKU duty? Subject to the exemption set out below, trustees of all occupational pension schemes are subject to the TKU duty. This includes: • individual trustees • directors of corporate trustees, and • individual members

Pensions analysis: The Pensions Ombudsman (PO) has rejected a complaint about a scheme’s refusal to pay a pension into a spouse’s bank account. Martin Scott of gunnercooke LLP looks at the decision.

Pensions analysis: In the determination of Mr N, CAS-71351-P8X2, the Pensions Ombudsman has partially upheld a complaint from Mr N about a delay in a GMP equalisation exercise where the scheme had failed to update him in breach of a commitment it had given him. The Ombudsman made an award for non-financial loss for the unnecessary distress and inconvenience that this had caused him. However, the Ombudsman also found that there had been no excessive delay in dealing with the GMP equalisation exercise as there were a number of unresolved issues and potential tax difficulties for the scheme to deal with. Martin Scott of gunnercooke LLP looks at the decision.

In this Practice Note, the terms 'defined benefit' or 'DB benefits' are used to refer to safeguarded benefits for the purposes of section 48 of the Pension Schemes Act 2015 (PSA 2015). Similarly, the term 'defined contribution benefit' or 'DC benefit' is used to refer to flexible benefits for the purpose of PSA 2015, s 74. For further information on safeguarded and flexible benefits, see Practice Note: Flexible benefits vs safeguarded benefits. Relevant trustee considerations When dealing with DB to DC transfer requests (or DB to DC conversion requests), the following considerations are applicable to trustees of DB occupational pension schemes: Compliance with the cash equivalent transfer value regime Trustees must comply with the statutory requirements of the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) regime. These requirements are set out in: • sections 93–101 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (PSA 1993) (which set out the conditions to satisfy and the process to follow) • the Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) Regulations 1996, SI 1996/1847 (the Transfer Regulations) which contain the requirements for

Pensions analysis: The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has partially upheld a complaint about the calculation of a preserved pension. Martin Scott of gunnercooke LLP looks at the decision.

A person who assumes to act in the administration of the trust without having been properly appointed.

Private Client analysis: There has long been a debate over the circumstances in which the court will assist deadlocked trustees. The case of AB v CD sheds light on this important issue in the context of a long-standing disagreement between a professional trustee and his lay co-trustees in relation to the distribution of funds held on discretionary trust. Having determined that the case gave rise to ‘special circumstances’ warranting intervention, the court stepped in to exercise the deadlocked trustees’ discretionary power on their behalf. The case provides important new authority for trustees who face the unenviable task of fulfilling their fiduciary duties in the face of intransigent co-trustees. Written by Jessica Henson, senior associate and Rebecca Moseley, associate, at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.