Adviser and pension trustees face court over 'illegal' loans

Prosecution brought by TPR over five ‘prohibited loans’ from the scheme

Jenna Brown
clock • 1 min read

An adviser and two former pension scheme trustees are due in court for allegedly making five illegal loans and a £700,000 investment with assets from a workplace pension scheme.

The prosecution, brought by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), will see the three men appear before Preston Magistrates' Court 19 October. Stephen Smith, 63, of Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria and David Boardman, 68, of Preston were trustees of the Worthington Employee Pension Top Up Scheme. The pair are accused of making five prohibited loans from the scheme and one prohibited investment, the regulator said. It explained the allegations concern loans and an investment reaching a value of £700,000. These included three loans by the scheme to Stonewell Property Company, which was the parent c...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Pensions

Triple lock played 'important role' but it would 'always need to end'

Triple lock played 'important role' but it would 'always need to end'

Pensions industry reacts to triple lock change

Holly Roach
clock 30 September 2026 • 4 min read
Triple lock changes welcome but 'cannot solve' national care problem

Triple lock changes welcome but 'cannot solve' national care problem

‘The sooner the government comes clean on these plans the better’

Sophia Panayi
clock 30 September 2026 • 6 min read
'The interesting thing about Burnham's triple-lock plan isn't the triple lock'

'The interesting thing about Burnham's triple-lock plan isn't the triple lock'

'Look past the mechanism and something more interesting is happening'

Tony Müdd
clock 30 September 2026 • 5 min read