Expert Witness Journal Issue 63 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 120
Employers, Trustees and Part 8 Claims
– What You Need To Know
by Ian Gordon, Partner and Aaron Dunning-Foreman, Partner at Gowling WLG
•
What is a Part 8 claim?
A Part 8 claim is a court process for resolving doubts or
uncertainties where the underlying facts are clear. It is
more streamlined than Part 7 claims that can involve
legal pleadings, the disclosure of documents, and
factual and expert witnesses. It is so called because it
is a claim under Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
The structure of Part 8 proceedings
There is 昀氀exibility in the Part 8 procedure which
enables the court to:
When can you use Part 8?
In a pensions context, most cases brought to court are
Part 8 claims. Usually this is because an uncertainty
has been identi昀椀ed in the administration of the
scheme which needs to be resolved by a court order.
•
give a judgment after a fully argued trial if it has
not been possible to resolve the uncertainties by
agreement between the parties to the Part 8 claim;
•
give a judgment that resolves the underlying
issues without a trial being necessary because
there is no argument between the parties as to
what the correct outcome should be;
Doubts about the validity of scheme documents
such as:
ɿ whether a deed has been properly
executed; or
ɿ whether the requirements of the scheme’s
power of amendment, section 67 of the
Pensions Act 1995 or section 37 of the
Pension Schemes Act 1993 have been met.
•
give directions as to how the trustees should
administer the scheme, thereby protecting them
from potential breach of trust claims;
•
approve a compromise that the parties to the Part
8 claim have agreed;
•
decide a case on paper without any attendance
required before the court;
Doubts about the meaning of provisions in
scheme rules or legislation such as:
ɿ how pensions should increase in payment
or be revalued in deferment;
ɿ how the employer contribution rule
operates and the level of scheme funding
trustees can seek from the employer;
ɿ whether members can rely on scheme
booklets or announcements or otherwise
prevent employers or trustees applying the
scheme’s strict rules in paying bene昀椀ts.
•
approve a compromise agreed by the parties.
Bringing a claim under Part 8 can be a useful way of
resolving issues and uncertainties in the following
contexts:
•
•
•
•
•
Trustees might want court ‘blessing’ (via a
‘Beddoe’ application) before using scheme
assets on other more adversarial litigation, such
as claims against professional advisers or as to
whether to settle such claims at a given level.
The parties to Part 8 claims
Parties to a Part 8 claim are often the employer(s),
the trustees and a representative bene昀椀ciary who
is appointed to look after members’ interests. This
ensures that everyone involved is bound by the court’s
judgment. In a case like that, the trustee will often be
neutral, with the key issues being argued out by the
legal teams for the employer and the representative
bene昀椀ciary.
Doubts about whether scheme rules re昀氀ect what
the employer and trustees originally intended
or how the scheme has been administered. In
appropriate cases, the court can rectify the
wording of scheme rules so that it is consistent
with what the parties to the rules intended.
Sometimes, it is possible to streamline the Part 8 claim
so that only the employer and trustees are parties, the
trustees agreeing to act for a昀昀ected members.
If you have any questions about the information above,
or about Part 8 claims in general, please contact
Ian Gordon or Aaron Dunning-Foreman from our
Pensions Disputes team.
Doubts about whether the scheme has complied
with statutory requirements on such matters as:
ɿ the equalisation of male and female
normal pension ages;
ɿ the preservation of the value of members’
bene昀椀ts.
Ian Gordon
Partner
Head of Pensions Disputes (UK)
London
Doubts about whether the trustee would be acting
in accordance with its duties in administering the
scheme in the way in which it is minded to do.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Aaron Dunning-Foreman
Partner
Pensions Disputes (UK)
London
118
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
