Clifford Chance Pension Review for Expats

A Clifford Chance pension review starts with confirming whether your benefits sit in the Clifford Chance Pension Scheme and what type of benefits apply to you.

Public scheme material clearly evidences defined contribution governance through the 2025 Chair Statement. Clifford Chance also has a dedicated pension information website, while Aon hosts public scheme documentation.

That gives former employees useful recognition points.

However, it does not mean every Clifford Chance pension record is identical.

Depending on your joining date, employment status and service history, you may hold:

• Defined contribution pension savings.
• Transferred-in benefits.
• AVCs where applicable.
• Possible legacy benefits.
• Possible safeguarded or protected features.

Any DB or older legacy section should be confirmed directly from member documentation rather than assumed.

The distinction between employees and partners is also important.

A law-firm partner may have had different retirement, profit-sharing or pension arrangements from an employee. A former partner should therefore establish exactly what structure applies before treating it as a standard workplace pension.

For an employee with DC benefits, the main questions are likely to be:

• What is the current fund value?
• How is the pension invested?
• What default or lifestyle strategy applies?
• What charges apply?
• Is flexible drawdown available?
• Are beneficiary nominations current?
• Are there any protected features?
• Does the pension still fit the member’s wider retirement plan?

Before making any transfer, consolidation or retirement decision, a former Clifford Chance employee should confirm:

• Whether their benefits sit in the Clifford Chance Pension Scheme.
• Whether they hold DC savings, AVCs, transferred benefits, legacy rights or safeguarded features.
• Whether more than one pension record applies.
• Whether Aon is relevant to their current member route.
• Who currently administers the scheme.
• What investment funds and default strategy apply.
• What charges apply at member and fund level.
• Whether drawdown is available within the existing plan.
• Whether beneficiary nominations remain appropriate.
• Whether overseas address and contact details are current.
• How the pension fits their overseas tax position, future spending currency and wider retirement plan.

Clifford Chance is one of the most internationally mobile UK law firms.

Former Clifford Chance professionals frequently move between London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York and other major financial centres.

That makes an old UK pension particularly relevant to cross-border planning.

There are several reasons it may need reviewing.

First, high earnings can create meaningful pension values.

Senior lawyers and business-services professionals may have built significant pension savings over relatively short periods.

That makes charges, asset allocation and retirement strategy more important than they may appear.

Second, the default investment strategy may no longer match the member’s plans.

A default strategy may assume retirement in the UK and a particular retirement date or access method.

Someone who now plans to retire abroad may have different:

• Tax considerations.
• Spending currency.
• Income needs.
• Investment objectives.
• Estate-planning priorities.

Third, pension fragmentation is common.

A former Clifford Chance lawyer may also hold pensions from:

• Other law firms.
• Banks.
• Investment firms.
• In-house legal roles.
• Previous professional-services employers.

The issue is not simply whether consolidation is possible.

It is whether consolidation improves the overall structure without giving up valuable features.

Fourth, law-firm employee and partner arrangements can differ.

A partner should not assume their historic retirement arrangements are identical to an employee pension scheme.

The exact structure needs to be established from documents.

Fifth, beneficiary planning matters for internationally mobile families.

A member may have moved country, remarried, had children or changed estate-planning arrangements since leaving the firm.

Old pension nominations should not be assumed to remain appropriate.

Sixth, a transfer is not the only solution.

Some former employees may be best served by leaving the pension where it is and adjusting investments or beneficiary nominations.

Others may benefit from comparing consolidation, SIPP or International SIPP options.

A good Clifford Chance pension review should therefore:

• Confirm the exact pension arrangement.
• Identify the benefit type.
• Review investments and charges.
• Check drawdown availability.
• Identify protected features.
• Update beneficiaries.
• Review overseas servicing.
• Coordinate the pension with other assets and retirement income.

A SIPP or International SIPP may offer broader investment choice, clearer consolidation, flexible drawdown and adviser oversight. Those advantages still need to be compared carefully against the existing Clifford Chance scheme terms, costs and protections.

This page is for general information only.

It does not constitute personalised financial, tax, legal, pension transfer, investment or retirement advice.

Scheme details should always be verified directly with the Clifford Chance Pension Scheme trustee, Aon where relevant, the appropriate administrator, provider or official member documentation.

Pension transfers, consolidation, drawdown, tax treatment, DC pensions, AVCs, transferred benefits, legacy benefits, safeguarded benefits, death benefits and retirement options depend on personal circumstances and may change.

Historic Clifford Chance pension arrangements may differ depending on employment status, joining date, partner status, seniority and service history.

Transferring a pension can be irreversible and may result in the loss of valuable guarantees, protected features or benefits.

Defined benefit, legacy and safeguarded benefit transfers require particular care and may require regulated UK pension transfer advice.

For Clifford Chance pension members, particular care may be needed where benefits include transferred rights, AVCs, protected tax-free cash, protected retirement age, guaranteed annuity rates or another safeguarded feature.

Investing involves risk. Pension and investment values can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invest.