Naeem is a pensions specialist with significant experience in advising employers and trustees on all aspects of this technical area. He has wide-ranging expertise covering the general advisory, transactional and contentious elements of the practice of pensions law.
Naeem has advised clients across a full spectrum of issues; from drafting trust deeds and rules and advising on Section 75 debt management exercises to investment issues, complex scheme rule amendments and pensions taxation; to High Court applications pertaining to construction and rectification of pension scheme rules; through to managing defined benefit pension risks on corporate transactions.
His general advisory practice is broad and amongst other things he has advised clients on their contingent asset arrangements, on scheme mergers, closures to future accrual and the legal aspects of the diversification of pension schemes' investment portfolios.
His litigation practice covers advising on non-adversarial applications to construe or rectify scheme rules as well as adversarial claims such as professional negligence actions against former pension scheme advisers.
He also advises on the pensions aspects of corporate transactions including the management of employer debt that may be triggered and the application of the TUPE legislation in the pensions transactional context.
Naeem is a regular contributor to various trade publications and has written on a number of topics including auto-enrolment, the statutory funding regime and the use of extrinsic contracts to vary pension rights.
Relevant experience includes:
- Advising a well-known department store on the consolidation and update of its trust deed and rules.
- Advising the trustee on a scheme merger involving the merger of three schemes of a well-known construction company.
- Advising McGraw-Hill on the closure of its defined benefit pension scheme to future accrual.
- Advising a representative of the pension scheme's membership on the construction of documentation which would impact on the amount of pension in payment increases to be applied.
- Advising Cofeley a wholly owned subsidiary of GDF SUEZ, on the pensions aspects of its purchase of Lend Lease’s UK facilities management business (LLFM).
