Slaughter and May acted for 3i plc (“3i”) on its successful claim before the High Court in the matter of 3i plc v Decesare and others, concerning the interpretation of the amendment power in the rules of the 3i Group Pension Plan.
The case centred on whether the Plan’s amendment power permitted amendments to terminate or reduce the rate of future accrual of benefits under the Plan without the written consent of affected members. The High Court held that the amendment power was concerned with preventing amendments that would diminish past service benefits, and did not preclude amendments terminating or reducing future accrual.
The judgment provides important clarification on the scope of amendment powers and the protections afforded to members’ rights and interests under occupational pension schemes. This is another recent example of our Pensions Dispute Resolution team representing clients on litigation relating to the interpretation of a pension scheme power of amendment, having also acted for the trustee of the BBC Pension Scheme in British Broadcasting Corporation v BBC Pension Trust Limited in both the High Court and Court of Appeal.
The Slaughter and May team worked closely with 3i’s General Counsel, Kevin Dunn. Brian Green KC and Joseph Steadman from Wilberforce Chambers acted as counsel for 3i.