Our pension law department was previously housed in our public law division, but with the major changes and enormous growth this sector has seen in recent years, we’ve decided to create a dedicated pension law unit in order to service the demand for specialized expertise in this important area.

We are therefore pleased to welcome Karin MacKenzie on board, who will head up this new department with support and assistance from John MacRobert and his team. Karin has practiced as an attorney and an advocate, but left practice to join the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator, the statutory tribunal for pension related complaints, where she spent six years acquiring specialized knowledge and skills in this area of law.

The financial resources diverted to the pension industry form a crucially important component of both an individual member’s savings as well as national retirement funding. Given the importance of the assets tied up in this industry, a whole raft of legislation and regulation has been enacted to protect these investments. This makes the field a complex one to navigate, both as an individual fund member, and also as a participating employer, fund trustee, or service provider.

Our vision is one that encompasses the whole spectrum of stakeholders in this field, and is aimed at promoting a culture of proper governance and compliance. Fund governance based on an awareness of rights and obligations impacts profoundly on the individual fund member, but also has a positive effect on the industry ethic as a whole. We therefore believe that we can be of assistance to individual participants as well as corporates, institutions, and consultants that service this industry. It is our view that many pension related disputes which evolve into protracted and costly litigation could be avoided by proper planning and timeous advice on the regulatory framework before precipitous decisions are taken. This applies equally to fund members and the stakeholders responsible for the administration and governance of pension funds.

We also specialise in the following areas:

» Some basic concepts» Services to fund members / beneficiaries» Services to employers, funds, administrators, and other stakeholders