British Airways

Jonathan Stapleton says sponsors are likely to consider whether trustees can be challenged on their use of discretionary powers, following the British Airways ruling

Stephen Richards says the 'paymasters' principle is likely to be scrutinised closely in light of British Airways' landmark win in the Court of Appeal.

This week's top stories included coverage of the Court of Appeal's judgment in the latest instalment of British Airways' five-year battle with its trustees.

British Airways (BA) will not have to pay a £12m discretionary benefit its trustees had unilaterally granted, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Trustees would have limited role in scheme governance if their duties simply include applying the employers' remuneration strategy and always seeking consent for other changes, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Concluding that the purpose of a pension scheme is not simply to apply the employer's preferred remuneration strategy would result in trustees becoming "paymaster", the Court of Appeal has been told.

British Airways and one of its schemes' trustees are set to argue over the purpose of a pension scheme, leading to an impactful judgment for DB pensions. James Phillips explores the issue

British Airways (BA) has opened a 'flexible' defined contribution (DC) scheme, offering a range of contribution rates and the ability to take cash payments in lieu of a pension.

Breaking the closed-loop thinking in pensions is possible if we can change our collective mind-set, according to David Blake and Matthew Syed

A number of pension issues will be battled out in the courts over the course of this year. James Phillips rounds up the cases to watch out for and the potential consequences for the industry