Pensions, Employment and the Law (Hardcover)

Recent pension fund scandals, such as the Maxwell case have highlighted the problems involved in managing occupational pension schemes fairly in the interests of their members, and the proper regulation of such schemes is now a matter of urgent concern to the business community, to unions and their legal advisors, and to government.;This book examines whether the current legal framework for private occupational pension schemes, based upon the Law of Trusts, provides adequate protection for the rights and expectations of present and former employees. Employees view their pension fund as deferred pay. They expect the pension fund to be administered independently from the employer, and for its assets to be used solely for their benefit.;By contrast, employers expect to retain control of pension funds, and in some circumstances, to have that fund used for their benefit rather than that of the employees. Recent cases have demonstrated that controls upon trustees may not be effective, and that such funds are vulnerable to mismanagement and fraud.;This work examines how the rules of pension schemes, and the duties which apply to trustees and employers under the Law of Trusts, allow pension schemes to operate far closer to the expectations of employers than to employees, and suggests a range of reforms to accommodate the interests and expectations of both.