Tim Cox

Tim is widely regarded as one of the leading pension lawyers in the UK. His clients include trustees of all shapes and sizes of pension scheme; employers who sponsor pension schemes; and service providers to pension schemes.

Tim is also a long-standing member of “Clarity”, the international lawyers’ group that campaigns for plain legal language.

Tim advises on all legal issues affecting or involving pension schemes, including mergers, changes to benefits (including stopping benefit build-up in defined benefit schemes) and funding. He also advises parties to corporate and banking transactions, for whom pensions can be a difficult “challenge”.

Tim is a long-standing member of the Association of Pension Lawyers (to which almost all UK pension lawyers belong). He was chairman from 2003 to 2005 and served on the APL’s Legislative & Parliamentary Sub-Committee from 1990 to 2003. He is a vocal critic of the growth and complexity of pensions law and widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading pension lawyers.

Work highlights

Recent projects have included:

• advising pension trustees and employers on changes to scheme benefits, including stopping future defined benefit accrual and providing money purchase benefits instead;
• advising buyers of public companies on their engagement with the target’s pension trustees, including cases where the scheme’s liabilities exceed the value of the target;
• advising both trustees and employers on mergers of pension schemes and segregation (and “splitting”) of pension schemes;
• advising pension trustees, corporates, private equity owners and lenders on the pension implications of corporate restructuring and refinancing transactions (including engagement with the Pensions Regulator and the management of statutory “section 75” debts); and
• advising on funding and security arrangements for pension schemes, including so-called asset-backed contributions.