Using Perspective to collate historical deeds will make the process for documentation review more cost effective and attractive to insurers. It should also help pensions lawyers leverage their valuable time to focus on the key issues and take on more of this kind of work.
Managing Deeds in the Buy-out Process
Managing Deeds in the Buy-out Process
- Scheme documentation needs to be in good order before approaching buy-out. This will pave the way for a speedy and efficient transaction in the future.
- The Dating Game – the trustees and sponsoring employers can make their scheme more attractive for buy-out in the eyes of the insurers if their scheme documentation is not only on Perspective, but has been through the vigorous checking process which Perspective provides.
- Even if a scheme’s journey does not conclude with a buy-out, access to accurate, consolidated and up-to-date scheme documents on Perspective will streamline general administration responsibilities and decision-making.
How Can Pendragon Improve the Process of Preparing for Buy-out?
- Expertise: Our editors are highly experienced in handling multiple versions of interacting documentation in various formats. The individuals involved and the processes used have been developed over multiple projects and will provide an efficient and effective service that is well-aligned with the documentation needs of parties in the buy-out process.
- Cost effective: Using our service will reduce the amount of billable time required from lawyers, freeing up valuable resources as well as being good value for money.
- Timesaving: Our extensive experience with collating and managing documents means that the time taken to organise the relevant information, combined with the time taken to upload it to Perspective, is likely to be far less than a law firm performing the same tasks.
- Risk reduction: The work taken to load the documents onto Perspective and to apply extra value will mean parties are working with the best possible versions of the deeds. This process reduces the risk of deeds being misinterpreted, which will potentially save time and costs at every stage of the buy-out process.
- Peace of mind: Our method of organising documentation for use on Perspective will involve careful analysis and established checking processes that will aid the discovery of existing errors or inconsistencies. We will compile a list of questions and concerns as we work through the documents so that the issues can be quickly addressed. The early detection of problems such as incorrect cross-references or technically “impossible” amendments will mean these issues are speedily resolved long before the buy-out process begins and certainly before the due diligence stage.
Loading Documents onto Perspective: How Will it Work?
- Quote: Pendragon will take a detailed look at the scheme documents to provide a quote for adding them to Perspective. In many cases our examination will prompt us to return to you with supplementary questions and advice. This will help us to provide an accurate quote and may prove useful in enabling the scheme to isolate any issues that become apparent at this early stage.
- Flexibility: Pendragon is ready to process the deeds in any format that they exist. Ultimately the documentation will be accessible on a single online platform — Perspective.
- Document management: Perspective is a well-established system for managing documents. Loading documents onto the system will save the time and costs involved when a law firm sets up its own document management processes for scheme deeds.
- Capacity: With Pendragon leading the document collation project, law firm resources will be preserved allowing increased capacity to concentrate on other activities.
How Will Perspective Help with the Creation of the Benefit Spec?
- Added value: As an unrivalled document repository, Perspective offers functionality that will make the scheme documents easier to understand and analyse. These tools include:
- time travel tools allowing deeds to be viewed as they existed at any date in the past with the option of viewing those changes marked up with colour-coding
- the powerful search function which can be refined to search for specific information or expanded to search multiple documents at the same time
- linked terms and references providing one-click access to definitions and locations in other documents or other places within the same document
- annotation and favourites tools which will enable those using the documents to make notes and save specific locations allowing for a personalised experience.
- Accuracy: The document collation process means that many inconsistencies and issues will already have been identified by Pendragon before a lawyer sets eyes on the deeds. When the law firm starts working on the benefit spec, they will have the best version of the scheme documents.
- Accessibility: The scheme documents will be available on Perspective — an intuitive and familiar platform to lawyers — enabling the quick and efficient production of a comprehensive assessment of the deeds.
How Will Perspective Continue to Provide Value in the Buy-out Process?
- Data room: Perspective provides a single and secure space housing the scheme documentation. This space can be made accessible to parties such as prospective insurance companies to carry out due diligence and provide a quote. Perspective will enable:
- Clarity — the party carrying out due diligence can use the deeds on Perspective and potentially access the annotations of the firm that produced the benefit spec. Annotations could, for example, help explain why certain assumptions have been made in the benefit spec that may not be clear from the text of the deed.
- Agility — the due diligence process can take place in parallel with the production of the benefit spec.
- Reassurance — permanent access to scheme documents means insurance companies are able to resolve any future queries by accessing the deeds directly on Perspective.
Why Include Pendragon in the Buy-out Process?
- Time: Each stage is abbreviated by using Pendragon’s editors and Perspective, which is the best tool available to assist in efficiently producing a benefit spec or carry out due diligence.
- Safety: Our processes ensure that the deeds have gone through the most rigorous evaluation so that there are minimal surprises to be identified at the due diligence stage.
- Savings: The time saved, and security provided, may ultimately reduce the cost of the buy-out transaction — a potential reduction of as little as 0.25% will equate to a huge total saving.
- Exclusions: Having your deeds well organised on Perspective (and dealing with any issues that are highlighted by Perspective) increases the likelihood that the number of exclusions which an insurer may request at the point of buy-out will be reduced.
managing deeds in the buy-out process
Perspective is a leading legal and regulatory information service which can be used by schemes to provide a more efficient and effective buy-out journey ensuring that the trustees and employer can realise their best-desired results.
Please download a step-by-step guide here.
Pendragon offers a bespoke service, adding scheme rules to Perspective. This can provide the scheme, its lawyers, consultants and trustees with more accurate, secure and speedier access to documentation. Please watch this short clip in which Gary Collinson from Railpen describes the value of this service to them.
