Expertise

Clive advises on all aspects of UK pensions law drawing on over 45 years’ experience as a pensions’ lawyer. His expertise include acting for employers, trustees and members, including on restructuring of schemes, contingent asset arrangements (including for PPF purposes), dealing with the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund, and with member complaints at scheme and Pensions Ombudsman levels, as well as advising on pension aspects of corporate transactions and on overseas transfers.

In conjunction with our Private Client team, he also advises on pension death benefits and inter-generational wealth transfers.

Relevant Experience

• Switch from RPI to CPI for pension increases: advising together with leading Counsel on trustee powers to switch index. Assisting trustee board in arriving at a legally robust decision. Switching took place, thereby significantly reducing the scheme deficit.
• Charge over employer property to reduce PPF levy and to underpin scheme’s deficit recovery plan, with assistance from colleagues in our Property and Banking Teams. Significant reduction in PPF levy achieved.
• Advising on PPF entry ‘insolvency’ requirements under EU insolvency rules (in conjunction with our Business Recoveries team), to improve prospects for the scheme to enter the PPF should the need arise.
• Advising an employer in the charity sector regarding rights and obligations under pension scheme, including section 75 debt aspects.
• Advising scheme members in relation to post death flexi-access pension arrangements for the benefit of heirs.

Career History

Clive has a degree in Law from the University of Bristol and qualified as a solicitor in 1976. He founded the Wedlake Bell pension practice in 1978 and was a Partner in Wedlake Bell from 1985 to 2018. He is now a consultant with the firm.

Clive is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers and of their Legislative and Parliamentary Committee. The Committee liaises with Government on pension legislation, meets with Government and pension authorities and comments on proposed new legislation.

Publications

Clive is one of the three joint Editors of “Law of Pension Schemes“. He is on the Editorial Board of Lexis on-line pension service which is widely used by the pensions industry. He is the editor of Wedlake Bell’s “Pensions Compass” magazine featuring articles on key pension topics and developments.