You can take my house, but you will never take my pension!

Since the introduction of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, the legislation around how a bankrupt individual’s pension is to be treated became clear. If the bankrupt was in receipt of pension income, the trustee in bankruptcy (TIB) could apply for an income payments order (IPO), and if no pension income was being paid, the TIB had no recourse to the pension fund. Naturally, in true pension style, these rules seemed too straightforward, and when pension rules are simple to understand, we should always expect change. Cue the Raithatha v Williamson 2011 case. The background As ...