Ian Gordon
Partner
Head of Pensions Disputes (UK)
Article
A Part 8 claim is a court process for resolving (amongst other things) issues of doubt relevant to the administration of a pension scheme. It avoids the lengthier but more common litigation procedures that require statements of case, disclosure, and factual and expert witness evidence before trial.
In a pensions context, a Part 8 claim is normally used in cases where there is no substantial dispute about the facts but questions about the correct construction of a scheme's rules or relevant legislation are in issue. In these sorts of cases a more streamlined approach can be taken to enable court directions to be given, often resulting in shorter hearings and a quicker resolution of matters of doubt.
Parties to a Part 8 claim are usually the scheme's sponsoring employer, its trustees and one or more representative beneficiaries who are appointed to look after members' interests.
Representative beneficiaries are party to the claim to ensure that all affected members are bound by the court's decision. The trustee often takes a neutral role in the proceedings. Although there can be circumstances in which it is appropriate for the trustees to take a more active role, usually the key issues are argued by the employer and the representative beneficiary.
All parties' costs of a Part 8 claim are paid by the employer or failing that from the scheme's assets.
There is flexibility within the Part 8 procedure which enables the court to:
A Part 8 claim is a useful mechanism for resolving a wide range of issues that can arise in the course of ensuring the proper administration of a pension scheme. Some of the typical scenarios you may come across include:
If you have any questions about the information above, or about Part 8 claims in general, please contact Ian Gordon or Charlotte Scholes from our Pensions team.
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