Christine Brightwell

Christine is an experienced professional trustee and consultant. Called to the Bar in 1999, Christine acted for five and a half years as a lawyer with OPRA/the Pensions Regulator where she advised on a very wide range of pension issues.  She was the principal/reviewing lawyer on several Codes of Practice including Early Leavers, Modification of Subsisting Rights (section 67), Late Payments, Disclosure and Member Nominated Trustees/Directors.

On leaving the Regulator and after several years in private practice, Christine decided that her real interest and enthusiasm lay in trusteeship and supporting employers of occupational schemes.

 

 

Specialist subjects

As well as general trusteeship, Christine is particularly experienced in dealing with conflicts of interest, scheme modifications, CETVs, forfeiture of benefits, Internal Dispute Resolution Procedures and member complaints, complicated wind ups and disputed applications to the PPF.

She is well known for her ability to work with orphaned schemes and those with incomplete documentation - either as sole trustee or in conjunction with existing trustees. As a trustee Christine regularly conducts scheme members’ meetings.

In consultancy, Christine has extensive experience on projects such as closing schemes to future accrual and undertaking employer consultation exercises, age discrimination issues, CPI/RPI issues and scheme apportionment/withdrawal arrangements for multi employer schemes. She has also worked with various trustees and employers on mergers and acquisitions involving defined benefit schemes and TUPE issues, including those relating to public sector employees.

Christine is a member of Gray’s Inn, the Association of Pension Lawyers and a committee member of the South East NAPF