Company pension plan
We advise you on pension commitments and on the introduction and further development of occupational pension schemes.
Key areas of our consulting services include:
- Advice on direct pension commitments, particularly to managing directors who are also shareholders
- Analysis and structural reorganisation of unfunded pension commitments
- Development of viable solutions for existing pension schemes
- Design and implementation of occupational pension schemes
- Outsourcing and restructuring of pension liabilities
- Support with company acquisitions and disposals with regard to pension commitments
- • Analysis and assessment of pension obligations in the context of transactions
- Drafting and negotiating pension schemes and works agreements
- Coordination of the implications under employment law, tax law and accounting standards
- Support for tax advisers and law firms specialising in employment law on complex individual issues
The questions raised by our clients are:
- How should existing direct pension commitments that are no longer financially viable be handled?
- What options are available for adjusting older pension commitments to shareholder-managing directors?
- What are the tax and social security risks associated with changes to existing commitments?
- Is it advisable to outsource pension liabilities, and how can this be implemented?
- What options are available when setting up a company pension scheme?
- How should existing pension obligations be assessed as part of a due diligence process?
- What intersections with employment law, tax law and company law need to be taken into account?
Pension commitments are long-term obligations with significant financial and economic implications. Their impact extends beyond the individual commitment and affects the structure and sustainability of your entire pension scheme.
Older commitments in particular – especially those made to shareholder-managing directors – are often based on conditions that no longer exist today. Low interest rates mean that obligations are no longer fully funded, creating a need for action.
Existing schemes must be adapted or restructured. We advise you on managing pension commitments and develop solutions that are legally sound and economically viable.
When introducing and further developing occupational pension schemes, we draft and negotiate individual contractual commitments as well as works agreements. The aim is to achieve a uniform structure that is sustainable for all parties involved.
Individual issues can often only be resolved through a collaborative approach. Implications under employment law, tax law and accounting standards are frequently interlinked. We incorporate these aspects into our advice from the outset.
We also analyse pension liabilities in the context of company acquisitions and disposals, and develop solutions to ensure a clear allocation of risk.
