Philip Bennett

• T  +44 (0)20 7090 5402 (Direct line)
• E  philip.bennett@slaughterandmay.com

• London 
• One Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8YY

Philip has been a partner in our Pensions and Employment group since 1986. He has a wide-ranging pension practice. His experience includes some of the largest scheme mergers and restructurings, repayments of surplus and management of deficit issues (including benefit design changes and consultations with employees and their representatives over these changes).

Philip’s experience also includes advising on:

• unit linked investment policies for pension funds and bulk annuity policies (buy-ins and buy-outs) for pension funds
• common investment funds
• pension fund pooling vehicles
• cross-border pension fund investment vehicles
• special purpose vehicles, such as Scottish Limited Partnerships, in connection with funding pension scheme deficits

He has been heavily involved in advising on pension tax simplification issues flowing from the Finance Act 2004, debt on the employer issues under the Pensions Act 1995, Pensions Regulator clearance issues under the Pensions Act 2004 and "cross-border" activities under the Pensions Act 2004.

With the move to liability driven investment strategies for pension funds, he has also advised on the legal issues for pension funds arising out of currency forward contracts, interest rate swaps, inflation swaps, longevity swaps and other derivatives.

Highlights include advising:

• General Motors UK on the sale of Saab GB
• General Motors UK on the chapter 11 filing by General Motors Corporation
• Prudential Retirement Income on its bulk annuity buy-in with the Cable & Wireless Superannuation Fund

Philip is listed as a leading individual in the Pensions section of Chambers UK, 2012 and in The Legal 500, 2011 under Pensions: (non-contentious).

Philip is the author of 'Pension Fund Surpluses', published by Longman. He has spoken at conferences both inside and outside the United Kingdom on pension topics. He was the winner of the category 'Outstanding Contribution' in the Pensions Management Provider Awards, 2003.

Philip is a past chair of the Steering Committee of the International Pension & Employee Benefit Lawyers Association and a Member of the International Sub-Committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers (the APL). He is also a former member of the main Committee of the APL and a past Chairman of the APL's Legislative and Parliamentary Sub-Committee.