CIGA 2000 – The Moratorium – are all defined benefit pension scheme contributions exempt from the payment holiday?

Following on from their previous article considering the scope of the moratorium from a lender’s perspective, Andrew Spink QC, Justina Stewart and Saaman Pourghadiri consider the thorny question of whether all defined benefit pension scheme contributions are exempt from the payment holiday under the moratorium.

In this note Andrew Spink QC, Justina Stewart and Saaman Pourghadiri consider one important issue for insolvency and pensions practitioners which arises from the Moratorium in Part A1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“IA 86”) introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA 2020”).  The note sets out various arguments going to the vexed issue of which forms of employer contribution to an occupational pension scheme fall within the payment holiday under the moratorium and which fall outside it.

You can read the article here.

Andrew Spink QC is a highly respected commercial chancery advocate who has been described in directories as being “client-friendly and [a] superb cross-examiner”, “very bright”, who “takes everything into account, thinks outside the box and … commercially”, is “terrifyingly good and incisive” and “masters very technical briefs quickly”.  During his career at the Bar, he has been instructed on a range of high-profile pensions, insolvency and related matters.   He is a part-time judge sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench and Chancery Divisions of the English High Court and as a Justice of the Astana International Financial Centre in Kazakhstan.

Justina Stewart is ranked as a Leading Junior in Insolvency, Banking & Finance  and Commercial Litigation, and is appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. A former investment banker, she is described in directories as “incredibly impressive and a force to be reckoned with”, “great to use on difficult insolvency claims” and a “highly intelligent and tenacious litigator” who is “also far more financially literate than most barristers”, and with “a very good commercial application”.  Her practice includes the full range of insolvency and restructuring matters, domestic and international.

Saaman Pourghadiri specialises in commercial and chancery disputes with a particular expertise in pensions, banking/financial services, civil fraud, insolvency, and professional negligence matters. Saaman is recognised in the directories for is recognised for pensions as being “‘Very clever (but wears it lightly) but also practical and sensible – a pleasure to work with. Written advocacy is direct and focused and has a good courtroom manner. Inspires the confidence of clients.’ He is recognised for commercial disputes as “very user-friendly, very approachable and very good commercially” and “great to deal with, very hard-working and clever. His attention to detail is fantastic.”

Find out more about Outer Temple’s Pensions practice and Insolvency and Restructuring practice on our expertise pages.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues covered in this article please contact Andrew, Justina or Saaman directly or via their practice management team: David Smith on (+44 (0)20 7427 4905), Matt Sale on +44(0)20 7427 4920 or Colin Bunyan on +44 (0)20 7427 4886 for a confidential discussion.

Legal Blogs 15 Oct, 2020