Paul Ashcroft

Paul is a Senior Associate who specialises in advising scheme trustees, employers, charities and private clients on pensions and employee benefits.

He advises a wide range of pension scheme trustee boards and sponsoring employers on all aspects of UK defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes including auto-enrolment, benefit specifications, buy-out projects, closure to accrual, equalisation, GMPs, member communications, pension sharing, scheme transfers, scheme wind-ups, TUPE and all other pensions matters. Paul drafts all forms of pension scheme documentation from amendment deeds and resolutions to appointment and removal deeds.

Having fostered his own roster of clients, Paul is the go-to adviser for pensions clients.

Paul is the Trainee Supervisor for his team and sits on the Trainee Solicitors Committee and Charity Committee at Wedlake Bell. He has also presented at the APL Beginner’s Course for up and coming pensions lawyers.

Clients appreciate the clarity of Paul’s advice and his ability to simplify options in order to move complex and sensitive matters forward.

Advisory Work

• Advising the trustees of one of Europe’s largest radio company’s defined benefit pension scheme, including on a buy-out project, IDRP, data protection and the introduction of flexible retirement.
• Advising on several scheme consolidation and buy-out projects for a range of pension clients and non-profit organisations.
• Advising the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment insurer on all legal pensions referrals from pension sharing on divorce, scheme transfers and trustee appointment issues.

Contentious Work

• Advising trustees, employers and private clients on: dispute resolution and claims against third parties including pension scheme member complaints, Pensions Ombudsman and Financial Ombudsman disputes including in relation to the overpayment and underpayment of benefits and taxation of pensions.
• Advising on the Hampshire CJEU proceedings on the lawfulness of the PPF compensation cap and subsequent judicial review.

Transactional Work

• Advising on the pension aspects of corporate transactions and acquisitions of all sizes and drafting due diligence reports, requests for information and pensions warranties and indemnities.

• Paul is a regular contributor to the team’s Pension Compass bi-monthly publication and has written a number of articles for Pensions Age, Pensions Today, Law360 and a variety of other pensions industry journals.

Paul is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers.