Simon advises companies and their shareholders on defined benefit (DB) pension issues including liability and risk reduction exercises, scheme funding and financing and exit strategies.
He helps employers understand the risks inherent in their DB schemes and how these correlate with, and impact on, the employer’s wider business risks. This enables his clients to focus their spend on the areas of maximum benefit. This is particularly pertinent when looking at devising DB pension endgame strategies and developing a plan that dovetails with wider business investment and shareholder return requirements.
He also maintains particularly close links with the firms that provide advice to members looking to transfer from their DB schemes and works with them on member option exercises, both from a consultancy viewpoint and from the provision of the Appropriate Pension Transfer Analysis mandated by the FCA.
Significant experience:
- led the advice to an employer on the journey to the full buy-out of its DB liabilities including the implementation of an enhanced transfer exercise and bulk annuity purchase
- design and implementation of liability and risk reduction exercises including enhanced transfers, pension increase exchanges and transfers at retirement
- development of exit strategies for several clients including asset and liability de-risking actions
- advice to a large multinational financial services company on its funding valuation (including the regulatory capital impact)
- advice to a potential lender on the pensions issues facing a company seeking to refinance
- purchaser due diligence on a number of corporate acquisitions by trade buyers and private equity houses
- vendor due diligence on the sale of a company from private equity ownership to a trade buyer.
