Kirsty McLean
Partner
Kirsty McLean has 25 years of experience in pensions law. Her practice focuses on UK occupational pensions, working with trustees and sponsoring employers on matters ranging from significant projects such as mergers, benefit changes and buy-ins, to the impact of new legislation, day-to-day compliance and member complaints.
She has a particular interest and specialism in schemes with a public sector element, whether because the sponsoring employer is a public or quasi-public body, or due to the provision of broadly comparable benefits under Fair Deal. Kirsty leads the Squire Patton Boggs national Public Sector Pensions Group, currently chairs the Society of Pension Professionals’ public sector sub-committee and was a founder member of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ public sector sub-committee.
Kirsty ranks consistently in major legal directories such as Chambers and has also ranked in Legal 500.
- Advising the trustee of, currently, the only collective defined contribution plan in the UK on the establishment and ongoing operation of the plan, including obtaining authorisation from the Pensions Regulator and cyber security matters.
- Advising the trustees of a £700 million pension plan on the acquisition of the PLC sponsor by a US private equity fund and subsequently on various matters connected with a journey to buy-out, as well as all day-to-day matters.
- Advising the trustee of a £520 million pension plan on a variety of issues, including scheme mergers, buy-ins and the impact of corporate activity on the covenant and funding, including the provision of parent guarantees and an escrow arrangement.
- Advising the trustees of a £770 million pension plan in relation to benefit changes, funding issues (including significant engagement by the Pensions Regulator), governance matters including the appointment of a sole professional trustee, member queries, day-to-day compliance issues and providing trustee training.
- Advising the administering authorities of several multi-billion funds within the Local Government Pension Scheme on governance, compliance and investment matters including the liabilities of individual participating employers, member complaints and benefit queries, the impact of new legislation and the Government’s pooling agenda.
Education
- College of Law, London, L.P.C., 1998
- University of Cambridge, LL.B., 1997
Admissions
- England and Wales, 2000
Memberships & Affiliations
- Member of the Association of Pension Lawyers.
- Kirsty ranks consistently in major legal directories such as Chambers and has also ranked in Legal 500.
- Guest speaker, Local Government Association’s annual governance conference, 2020-current
- Guest Speaker, Is LGPS Governance Up To Scratch?, Pensions Expert Podcast, 3 April 2019.
*Copyright for this podcast is owned by the Financial Times. This podcast was originally published in Pensions Expert on 3 April, 2019.