banktuptcy
and pensions (42)
by
Roderick Ramage, solicitor, www.law-office.co.uk
first
published (by distribution to professional contacts) on 1 January 2013
Superseded
by changes in the law: see article 41.
DISCLAIMER
This article is not advice to any
person and may not be taken as a definitive statement of the law in general or
in any particular case. The author does not accept any responsibility for
anything that any person does or does not do as a result of reading it.
When an individual is declared bankrupt the general rule
is that his estate vests automatically in his TIB
under s306 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986). “Estate” is defined for these purposes as all
property belonging to or vested in the bankrupt at the commencement of the
bankruptcy, except for items for the bankrupt’s personal use in his employment
and items for the basic domestic needs of the bankrupt and his family (IA 1986,
s283).
bankruptcy before 29 May 2000
In cases where the bankruptcy order was made before 29
May 2000, it was established by the decision in Re Landau [1998] Ch 223 that
the trustee in bankruptcy (TIB) was entitled to claim
the bankrupt’s entire pension benefits and not just his pension in
payment. All the bankrupt’s rights under
the scheme (excluding protected rights) vested in the TIB
and continued to be vested in him even after the bankrupt was discharged,
enabling the TIB to claim entitlement to them until
all debts were discharged or the fund exhausted.
In order to provide some protection for members, many
pension schemes introduced clauses, which operated to forfeit a member’s
entitlement to benefits automatically upon his bankruptcy and to bring into
operation protective trusts, under which the pension scheme’s trustees had a
discretion to make payments up to the value of those benefits to a particular
class of beneficiaries, usually comprising the bankrupt and his family.
bankruptcy after 28 May 2000
In cases where the bankruptcy order was made on or after
29 May 2000, s11 Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999) applies to
prevent rights under a registered (then approved) pension scheme from vesting
in the TIB on his appointment. This does not mean that the bankrupt member’s
benefits under the scheme are entirely free from the claims of the TIB. The TIB has no claim to the underlying pension scheme assets
but is able to claim money paid to the bankrupt under an income payments order
(IPO).
Where the bankruptcy order is made on or after 6 April
2002 all forfeiture clauses are void: in the case of occupational pension
schemes, by the repeal of s92(2)(b) of the Pensions
Act 1995 by WRPA 1999, s 14(3), and, in the case of personal pension schemes,
by s159A of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, inserted by
WRPA 1999, s14(1).
income payments
When a pension becomes payable the TIB
may, between the date of bankruptcy and the date of discharge, apply for an IPO
under IA 1986, s310, of which ss(7) states that such an order may be made in
respect of every payment in the nature of income including any payment under a
pension scheme apart from guaranteed minimum pensions and protected
rights. “Any payment” includes lump sums
arising on a member’s death in service and from the commutation of pension as
well as the pension itself.
As an alternative to an income payment order, from 1
April 2002 the IA 1986, s310A (inserted by the
Enterprise Act 2001, s260) provides for an “income
payment agreement” to be made between the bankrupt and the TIB,
but it cannot be imposed if the bankrupt is unwilling.
excessive contributions
IA
1986, sections 342A to 342C,
inserted by inserted by WRPA 1999, s15.
On the TIB’s request for an
excessive pension contributions order, the court must consider, whether any pension
contributions by or for the bankrupt were made for the purpose of putting
assets beyond the reach of his creditors
and whether the total amount of any contributions is excessive in view of his
circumstances when paid. The court may
make an order to restore the position to what it would have been had the
excessive contributions not been made.
The pension provider must, on written request from the TIB, provide such information as the TIB
reasonably requires and may be required to pay an amount in respect of the
excessive contributions to the TIB.
the Raithatha decision
The
main finding of the High Court in Raithatha v Williamson [2012] EWHC 909 (Ch)
is that an IPO may be made against benefits, which the bankrupt is entitled but
has not exercised his right to draw from the scheme, including both pension
payments for the duration of the IPO (up to three years) and the tax free lump
sum of up to 25% of the value of the bankrupt’s pension fund. This outcome applies to both occupational and
personal pension scheme.
Trustees
in bankruptcy might consider, as well as seeking IPOs even, as in this case, if
the bankrupt’s discharge date is imminent, obtaining an injunction to prevent
the bankrupt from taking any steps to draw his pension, because the maximum
recovery for the creditors (tax free lump sum and pension) could be frustrated,
if the bankrupt were to crystalize his entitlement by starting his pension with
no tax free lump sum.
As pension schemes are prohibited from exercising
forfeiture powers on bankruptcy, there is little that they can do to protect
members, but one possibility could be to provide that bankruptcy automatically
triggers a benefit commencement event, under which a member’s pension would
start and no lump sum would be paid. The pension can be subject to an IPO, but
the cost to the bankrupt of the IPO will be less than suffering the loss of 25%
of the fund and pension under an IPO.
END
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