Ways of accruing pension benefits There are a variety of possible pension arrangements for employees. The main options include: • occupational pension schemes • personal pension schemes • employer-financed retirement benefits schemes (EFRBS) • master trusts (including the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) since October 2012) • the state pension Employees may be members of and contribute to more than one pension arrangement at the same time eg the employer's occupational pension scheme and the employee's own personal pension scheme. Occupational pension schemes From a legislative point of view, an occupational pension scheme: • is a scheme or other arrangements which provides benefits to or in respect of people: ◦ on retirement ◦ on having reached a particular age, or ◦ on termination of service in an employment • must have been established for the purpose of providing benefits to, or in respect of, people with service in employments of a particular description (and perhaps also for other people too) • must have been established by: ◦ an employer of people in employments of that

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES Main types of pension scheme investment The main asset classes in which occupational pension schemes invest are: • equities (shares) • bonds • cash • real property, and • derivatives Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes may also adopt a Liability Driven Investment Strategy (LDI) which usually uses a range of derivatives to manage inflation, interest rate and other risks. For further information, see: LDI investments below. An investment may be made into the above assets either: • directly, or • indirectly through a collective investment scheme Measures have also been introduced to increase the use of productive finance by pension schemes, ie investments which help support businesses and the wider economy. For more information, see Productive finance, below. Trustees’ duties under statute and trust law when choosing investments When choosing between the various asset classes, trustees must comply with the duties and obligations placed upon them by: • legislation • trust law, and • the

This guide is primarily aimed at trainees, newly qualified lawyers and other persons who are new to or unfamiliar with pensions law. A pension scheme is essentially a form of savings vehicle or arrangement designed to provide benefits from the occurrence of a triggering event such as retirement or the death of a spouse or other person upon which the beneficiary was financially dependent. Pension schemes can take various forms and can be found in both the public and private sectors, as well as provided by the State in the form of the state pension. This guide looks at the following examples of the various types of pension schemes: • the state pension • private sector pensions • workplace pensions • occupational pension schemes • hybrid schemes • cash balance schemes • employer financed retirement benefit schemes (EFRBS) • personal pension schemes • self-employed pensions • public sector pension schemes • collective money purchase schemes (also known as collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes) For further information, see Practice Note: Types of pension arrangements for

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 15 December 2025 the DWP launched a consultation on strengthening the trusteeship, governance and administration standards for trust-based pension schemes (consultation closure date: 6 March 2026). Among other things, the consultation proposes mandatory accreditation for professional trustees with centrally set standards, the creation of statutory definition of professional trustee, measures to improve trustee board diversity, the introduction of a non-public trustee directory to be maintained by the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and potential regulatory oversight of pension scheme administrators by TPR. The consultation forms part of a broader package of reforms aimed at improving governance as the pensions sector consolidates into fewer, larger schemes, and also considers measures such as improving board diversity, introducing a statutory trustee directory and enhancing regulatory oversight. Together, these developments indicate a progression from encouragement of accreditation towards a potential mandatory framework for professional trustees. For further information, see Professional trustees, below. THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO TRUST-BASED OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES Individual trustees v corporate trustee The most common trustee structures used for trust-based occupational pension schemes are:

Where it appears to a local planning authority (LPA) that a breach of planning control has occurred, it has discretion to take enforcement action pursuant to Part VII of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990). A breach of planning control for these purposes is defined in TCPA 1990, s 171A as: • the carrying out of development without the required planning permission, or • failing to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted Practice Note: Planning—enforcement provides detailed guidance on how a breach of planning control is constituted, when development becomes immune from enforcement, and the considerations relating to an LPA’s decision whether to take formal action. This Practice Note focuses on the various steps an LPA can take in respect of a breach of planning control. The Practice Note does not deal with enforcement in relation to listed buildings. See Practice Note: Listed buildings enforcement and criminal liability regime in England for more information. For background on how this Practice Note is relevant to enforcement

Project finance is a flexible financing technique. For more general information on project finance, see Practice Note: Introduction to project finance. It can be used to finance almost any asset as long as the asset has a predictable revenue stream because in a typical project finance transaction, the lenders rely heavily on the revenues generated by the project for repayment of the loan. This Practice Note explains some of the more common uses of project financing, with a brief description of a few notable issues involved in each type of project. Differences between project finance and asset finance Both project finance and asset finance relate to financing of assets but the type of assets are generally different and the structures used are not the same: • in asset finance, the asset in question tends to be equipment such as aircraft, ships or rolling stock (as opposed to facilities such as hospitals, power plants or ports), and • asset finance transactions tend to be characterised by leasing structures (as opposed to loan structures)—for more information on asset finance

What is salary sacrifice? Salary sacrifice (also known as ‘salary exchange’) is an arrangement in which an employee agrees to contractually reduce their entitlement to cash remuneration in exchange for receiving a non-cash benefit. The non-cash benefit may be provided in a tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) beneficial manner. For more information on salary sacrifice arrangements generally, see Practice Note: Salary sacrifice—basic principles. While, in principle, salary sacrifice arrangements can be used in respect of any agreed benefit, in practice the choice of non-cash benefits has largely been driven by tax and NICs considerations, ie because the benefit received is either not subject to tax and/or is not taken into account for the purposes of calculating NICs or is subject to a taxable benefit in kind value that is less than the amount of salary sacrificed (subject to the Optional Remuneration arrangements (OpRA) rules (see below)). These ‘tax efficient’ arrangements include: • ultra-low emission cars (with CO2 emissions of 75g/km or less and for which the taxable value is calculated under the benefit in kind

Introduction Where a company: • listed on the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) (Main Market) (listed company), or • admitted to trading on AIM, a market operated by the LSE (AIM company) (together a listed company and an AIM company being a company) wishes to raise capital, eg for working capital purposes, to fund a specific acquisition, future acquisitions or organic growth, or to reduce existing borrowings, it may use either equity financing (by way of a further issue of shares) or debt financing (a bank loan or issue of debt securities) or a combination of both. There are a number of factors which will need to be considered when a company is deciding which route to take to raise capital, including: • how much is to be raised and for what purpose • cost: the cost of debt is largely determined by the interest rate at which a company can borrow (which

Lenders will often take security as support for a borrower's obligations under a loan. Taking security means that they will have certain rights over the secured assets in the event that the borrower fails to repay the loan. This Practice Note provides an introduction to the key features of the four types of security recognised under English law. It also discusses what is meant by the difference between legal and equitable security interests and the difference between them. Practice Note: Introductory guide to security in a lending transaction, provides a more general introduction to security in lending transactions and is a good starting point for those unfamiliar with the topic. Practice Note: Security—frequently asked questions provides links to answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on security issues. What is security? A security interest confers rights in the security provider's assets in favour of the secured party as security for its own or a third party's obligation. The nature of the rights conferred by a security interest will depend on the type of security

There are five main types of set-off: • independent set-off (sometimes known as legal set-off or statutory set-off) • transaction set-off (also known as equitable set-off) • contractual set-off • insolvency set-off, and • banker's set-off (sometimes known as current account set-off) This Practice Note examines the characteristics of the five main types of set-off. For information on set-off in general, see Practice Note: What is set-off and when is it available? Independent set-off Independent set-off operates as a procedural defence which can be used in court proceedings. It is used to set-off reciprocal claims which (unlike Transaction set-off) are independent of each other and unconnected. Terminology Independent set-off is sometimes described as legal set-off or statutory set-off. The term independent set-off is usually used to encompass: • statutory set-off (also known as legal set-off)—a form of set-off available under rules carried over from 18th century legislation known as the Statutes of Set-Off, and • set-off arising by analogy with the Statutes of Set-Off (ie where all of the conditions for statutory set-off are present

Finding where value breaks governs the shape of any restructuring deal and determines who has a seat at the negotiating table (see Practice Notes: Where the value breaks and negotiating strength and Blocking majorities). Different creditor groups may commission different valuations as it affects their ultimate returns. There are no statutory provisions specifying which valuation method should be used, so parties rely on sporadic court guidance. This lack of certainty inevitably leads to creditor challenges as parties choose valuations which support the most favourable outcome for themselves. Generally, it is good practice to use several valuation techniques to obtain a range of values. Going-concern basis versus liquidation basis versus indicative bids The going concern basis (or enterprise or firm value) assumes the continued existence of the debtor company. The three main types of valuation are: • discounted cash flow (DCF)—net present value of future cashflows • comparable multiples—looking at comparable companies • asset-based value—valuing the company's specific assets Alternatively, if there is a ready market for the business, the company may engage

The following types of whistleblowing claim are available: • unfair dismissal claims by employees, where it is alleged that the reason or principal reason for dismissal is that the employee made a protected disclosure. Employees dismissed for whistleblowing reasons will be automatically unfairly dismissed (see Practice Note: Automatically unfair dismissal). See Unfair dismissal below for further details. If successful, the claimant can apply for interim relief and reinstatement, but cannot recover for injury to feelings (see Practice Note: Unfair dismissal remedies—general) • claims by workers (see Practice Note: Entitlement to claim whistleblowing) that they have been subjected to any detriment by any act or omission by their employer on the ground that they made a protected disclosure. Dismissal is a detriment but only workers who are not employees may claim directly against their employer about dismissal on whistleblowing grounds under these provisions. Unlike employees, workers cannot get an order for reinstatement or re-engagement (see Practice Note: Unfair dismissal remedies—general). See Detriment below for further details • claims by workers and employees (see Practice Note: Entitlement to claim whistleblowing)