Trustees of many defined benefit pension schemes are accelerating moves towards buyout, aided by recent market improvements. While the immediate focus may be on completing the buyout, trustees should plan ahead for the scheme wind up and consider how they will be protected if existing exoneration and indemnity provisions fall away. Trustees will want to protect themselves from the risk of personal liability (on a “joint and several” basis) if future claims are made. This can be a difficult area to discuss (no-one wants to get anything wrong, after all) – but it is best to fully consider trustee protection at an early stage.
In my Pensions Life Hack I offer my tips around trustee protection on scheme wind up.