WMPF Legal Adviser

Tender description

West Midlands Pension Fund and West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority Service require a legal adviser. The provider will be required to provide Legal services to the Fund as set out in the framework tender documents, with particular reference, but not limited to: - Employer admissions, reorganisations, cessations, payment plans and other risk mitigation strategies, including protecting pension fund and pension fund members interests in respect of organisational change, outsourcing and restructuring contracts, including TUPE, 'Fair Deal' and COSOP. - Complex LGPS regulations and member communications to ensure they are both legally accurate to protect the funds from any liability or reliance risk and user-friendly for fund members to read and understand. - The exercise of pension discretions including on making death grants and the establishment of trust arrangements for juveniles or incapacitated beneficiaries. - Complex early pension release transfers and pension liberation schemes/fraud. - Member complaints about their pension benefits, including drafting responses on Stage 1 and Stage 2 IDRP and Pension Ombudsman cases, and advising funds on future prevention and mitigation measures. - Implications of recent Appeal, Supreme and High Court and other case law and Pension Ombudsman's decisions. - Pension's knowledge and understanding requirements for Pension Committees/Boards, providing training at Committee/ Panels/Sub-Group/Boards/in-house staff as required, and induction training for new appointees. - Pensions Committees/Panels/Boards/Sub-Groups on internal pension fund governance matters (including compliance obligations, effective risk management and decision-making, sub-delegations, minimising conflicts of interests) and the new governance structures to be implemented by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. - Advising Pensions Committee and Board Chairmen, members, and pension fund management staff on all aspect of public and pension fund law, constitutional matters, governance and primary fiduciary duties toward the pension fund and the financial interests of fund members Fiduciary responsibilities, liabilities and indemnities for Committee/Panel/Board members, Councillors, and fund members in their capacity as members of Pensions Committees/Panels/Boards. - Pension funding obligations and fund deficit recovery and repayment plans from LGPS employers - Advising on trust law where relevant to any LGPS matters. - The impact of the machinery of government changes and government pension policies affecting LGPS funds and scheme employers, including the review of national consultation responses. - Advising on third party benefit administration and service level agreements, pension bulk transfer agreements, Admitted Body and Transferee Admission Agreements, financial security bonds, guarantees, and Secretary of State Applications. - Obligations for LGPS funds which derive from employers' HR policies and practices (or otherwise) e.g. Human