Naomi Ling wins compensation for police officers caught by pensions tax trap

The High Court has today allowed an appeal from the Pensions Ombudsman in the case of five police officers who were hit with a massive pensions tax when they accepted offers of civilian employment within a month of retirement before the age of 55.

The officers lost their protected pension age and their lump sums and pensions were deemed unauthorised payments.

The High Court found that the pensions administrators should have known that this would be the case but had nevertheless sent the officers misleading information suggesting that their lump sums would be tax free.

The pensions authorities are now liable to compensate the police officers for their losses.

This is an important case relating to the duty of pensions administrators to inform and their liability for negligent misstatement.

Naomi Ling acted for two of the appellant police officers.

Naomi is a specialist in employment law and pensions law. She is recognised for her expertise and experience in both fields, particularly in areas where there is overlap between the two disciplines and represents both employers and employees across the full spectrum of employment law issues. She is regularly in the Employment tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal, County Court and High Court, and has appeared both led and unled in the Court of Appeal.

News 11 Jul, 2019