Partner
Languages spoken
English | French
Praised by clients for her “consistently excellent, timely and highly professional level of service” and “being very approachable on the most complicated of subjects” (Legal 500), Gemma is a partner with a wealth of experience advising both trustees and companies in relation to all aspects of UK pensions.
Gemma has met with both the chancellor of the exchequer and the pensions minister to discuss pensions legislation and relevant reforms.
Gemma’s practice ranges from day-to-day trustee advisory work to advising in relation to benefit redesign, scheme reorganisation including mergers, establishing new schemes and defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) master trust transfers, and options for dealing with actuarial surplus, as well as advising in relation to employer debt and apportionments and corporate support.
She also has particular experience in advising trustee and company clients on post-privatisation member protections in the water, electricity and rail sectors, and in relation to industry-wide schemes in these sectors.
Advising a company client on the winding-up of its segregated multisectioned hybrid scheme, release of surplus assets from its two DB sections and transfer of its DC section to a DC master trust.
Advising the trustees of a DB plan on the appointment of a new fiduciary manager and custodian.
Advising the trustees of a DB plan on the agreement of a new look-through guarantee, keep-well agreement and information-sharing protocol to support the entry into a flexible apportionment arrangement following a reorganisation of the plan’s sponsoring employer.
Advising a trustee client in relation to the agreement of its triennial actuarial valuation, taking of new security and negotiation of intercreditor terms in conjunction with the sponsoring employer’s refinancing.
Advising numerous trustee clients in relation to issues associated with equalising for the effects of guaranteed minimum pensions.
Advising numerous trustee clients in relation to the buy-in, buyout and windup of their occupational DB plans and the protection of trustees from liability.
Advising a corporate client with five UK subsidiaries, operating five different pension and life assurance arrangements, on the harmonisation of its employee benefits and establishment of a new section of a DC master trust and new UK group life arrangements.
Advising numerous trustee and corporate clients in relation to the closure to accrual of the DB plans and mergers.
Member, Association of Pension Lawyers
Committee member, North East PMI