Alison Hills

Partner

Alison Hills

Partner

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+44 (0)20 7753 7558

London

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Alison heads up Penningtons Manches Cooper’s pensions team and works mainly in the London, Guildford and Basingstoke offices. She has a broad range of pensions experience and provides her clients with well-reasoned, practical advice, having taken into account the relevant technical complexities and important reputational, commercial and personal factors.

Clear explanations of complex pensions issues and the range of potential solutions available is crucial. I listen to clients to fully understand their objectives when balancing legal compliance, cost efficiencies and the attraction and retention of staff and then advise on the implementation of practical solutions that will achieve those objectives.

Alison Hills, Partner

Advising on all aspects of pensions law, her clients range from individuals and small self-administered schemes to large defined benefit multi-employer schemes with assets in excess of £350 million. Alison is well versed in advising overseas clients who may be less familiar with their UK pension obligations.

Areas of particular specialism include advising on governance, pensions aspects of corporate restructurings/transactions including employer scheme-exits, section 75 debts, implementing flexible apportionment arrangements, member disputes, maladministration claims, implementing scheme benefit structure changes (including closure to accrual), liability management exercises such as pension increase exchange and enhanced transfer exercises, auto-enrolment compliance and salary sacrifice implementation.

According to the Legal 500, ‘Alison Hills is practical, legally strong and with a terrific grasp of the whole picture. The real deal – formidably bright, approachable, clear of expression and not afraid to discuss the possibilities.’ She is an associate of the Pensions Management Institute and a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ Education and Seminars Committee.

Recent work highlights

Corporate spin-off pensions advice

Advising the trustees of a pension scheme with approximately £350 million in liabilities on complex pension implications arising from a significant spin-off of part of the multinational sponsoring employer’s business.

Buy-in and buy-out transaction support

Providing strategic advice on the buy-in and subsequent buy-out of liabilities for a long-running UK pension scheme, addressing challenges such as incomplete data, missing historic documents, and correcting benefit payment errors.

Teachers’ Pension Scheme participation

Advising several schools on their obligations and options regarding participation in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, including guidance on transitioning to defined contribution arrangements for future pension provision.

Cross-border acquisition pension implications

Advising an overseas company on pension considerations linked to acquiring a spin-off business with a 100-hectare site and 190 employees, most of whom had historic defined benefit accrual with their former employer.

Trustee response to member overpayment

Supporting trustees in resolving an approximately £70,000 overpayment to a member caused by poor record-keeping by a previous scheme administrator, including advice on recovery options and regulatory compliance.

Successful auto-enrolment compliance appeal

Achieving a successful appeal to the General Regulatory Council against an enforcement notice issued to a major hospitality sector company for alleged failures in meeting auto-enrolment compliance requirements.

External recognition
Rankings from respected legal directories reflect the reputation our lawyers have earned across their key sectors and areas of practice.

What people are saying

Alison Hills is practical, legally strong and with a terrific grasp of the whole picture. The real deal – formidably bright, approachable, clear of expression and not afraid to discuss the possibilities

Legal 500

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