Kunjan is a Principal Associate with nearly 20 years’ pensions experience, specialising in advising on all aspects of pensions law. She advises trustees and employers on issues arising in their day-to-day management of occupational pension schemes and has experience of a variety of schemes, from life assurance only schemes, to DC and DB, and multi-employer segregated schemes.

Kunjan regularly collaborates with a wide range of scheme advisers, including actuaries, consultants, and professional trustees, and is known for her affable and approachable nature. She has an ability to build and maintain strong relationships which help deliver comprehensive and collaborative solutions that support the effective running of pension schemes.

Key areas of experience include:

• De-risking Strategies: Advising trustees on a buy-in of scheme liabilities, followed by a buy-out and wind-up.
• Scheme Funding: Supporting trustees through triennial valuation and difficult funding discussions with the employer, including negotiating a parent company guarantee
• Scheme Mergers: Advising both trustees and employers on pension scheme mergers, drafting implementation documentation, and managing projects to ensure timely completion.
• Scheme Closure: Providing advice on amendment powers, salary linkage issues, and trustee duties.
• Trust Deed Updates: Advising on updating and consolidating pension scheme trust deeds and rules; drafting complex deeds of amendment.
• Automatic Enrolment: Advising employers on compliance obligations for automatic enrolment.
• Corporate transactional: Drafting due diligence reports and raising additional enquiries, reviewing and negotiating pension warranties, advising on obligations during and after transfers/sales, and mitigating risks of section 75 employer debts.
• Pension Disputes: Defending complaints under internal dispute resolution procedures and in front of the Pensions Ombudsman.
• Group Life Assurance Schemes: Advising on the establishment and structuring of group life assurance arrangements.

Kunjan trained and practised as a private client lawyer for 3 years before moving to Shoosmiths in 2003 to retrain as a pensions lawyer. Following a successful 16-year tenure at Shoosmiths and a career break, Kunjan recently returned to the firm to continue to provide strategic and practical guidance to trustee and employer clients. Kunjan is a full member of the Association of Pension Lawyers.