Employee incentives and pensions

Our team advises on all matters relating to the use of trusts for employee incentivisation and pensions. We act for corporates, trustees and employees around the globe who have existing schemes or want to introduce new schemes to retain and incentivise their key employees.

Our team can design and structure new incentive arrangements including share options plans, savings schemes, bonus schemes as well as assisting with establishing a wide range of incentive arrangements including employee ownership trusts. We advise trustees, individuals and corporate entities on their arrangements and offer support across the lifetime of schemes, through to termination and wind-up.

We advise on the full range of legal, regulatory and tax issues relating to pensions in Jersey, Guernsey, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, from establishment of tailored jurisdictional schemes to assisting on buy-out, closure to future accruals and winding up. We advise a significant number of banks and other financial institutions on their employee pension schemes in our jurisdictions and further afield. 

Ogier has strong relationships with many of the major international law firms. The team regularly guides multi-jurisdictional organisations through a wide range of corporate transactions including listings, mergers, acquisitions, management buy-outs, and restructurings. We offer legal advice throughout the insolvency process and its impact on pension and incentive arrangements.

Employee incentives and pensions services

Employee benefit trusts

Establishing employee benefit trusts for the purposes of holding shares or options, either for warehousing purposes or to enable innovative and attractive incentive arrangements to be put in place for the executives of our clients.

Corporate

We frequently work alongside other teams within Ogier involved in advising in respect of existing or new employee incentive plans where companies are being sold or are involved in a takeover.

Pensions

Advice on pension schemes established under Article 131 or Article 131A of the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 as amended. We have advised also on the establishment of more niche pension arrangements such as QROPS or QNUPS.

Ogier is a member of the IPEBLA (International Pension and Employee Benefit Lawyers Association) and ESOP (the Employee Share Ownership Centre). As members of the Jersey Pensions Association, we have been very involved in the recent changes to, and the revamping of, Jersey’s pensions law.