Pensions, Employment, and the Law

Pension funds operated by the trustees of private occupational pension schemes are now among Britain's largest sources of investment and the funds under the control of the trustees amount to billions of dollars. This money is invested to provide pension benefits for employees and it is therefore of paramount importance that these funds are managed in accordance with their members' legitimate expectation that benefits will accrue upon the occurrence of specified events. Recent cases, including the fraud involving the Mirror Group Pension fund, have demonstrated that controls upon trustees may not be effective and that such funds are vulnerable to mismanagement and fraud. This book addresses the question of whether the current legal framework for private occupational pension schemes, based upon the law of trusts, is adequate to the task of controlling the management of these schemes, and suggests a range of reforms that would effectively restore public confidence in pension fund managers.