Samantha Howell Senior Associate

Samantha qualified into the Pensions team in 2016, having trained with the firm. She graduated with a first class degree in Law and French Law from the University of Exeter before undertaking a master’s degree in European and International Law in France.

Samantha advises pension scheme trustees and companies on a broad range of pensions legal issues.

She is based in Burges Salmon’s Bristol office, but is regularly in the firm’s Edinburgh office to support our pensions team based in Scotland.

Samantha enjoys delivering training sessions and has experience speaking at trustee training days and seminars. She is an associate member of the Association of Pension Lawyers.

• Leading our team’s in house approach to cyber security for pension schemes. This has involved developing our firm’s cyber security package offering, including template documents (such as a cyber security policy and an incident response plan) and training. Samantha has also chaired a webinar and has written several blogs and articles on this topic.
• Acting as the day-to-day contact to advise the trustees of the AT&T ISTEL Pension Plan and the Wessex Water Pension Scheme, amongst other trustee clients, on a broad range of pensions issues.
• Advising clients on their GMP equalisation projects. 
• Advising trustees and employers in relation to scheme liability management, including leading specific projects, such as closures to accrual and member consent exercises, as well as ongoing scheme funding negotiations.
• Leading de-risking projects, including preparing benefit specifications and advising trustees in relation to scheme flight paths to buy-in/buy-out and winding up.
• Leading projects to transfer scheme benefits to master trusts.
• Working with trustees and employers in relation to member communications, including reviewing and drafting communications in connection with closures, transfers-out, retirement options and GMP equalisation and advising in relation to legal requirements and best practice.
• Providing advice in relation to outsourcings from the public sector, member benefit queries, member complaints and transfers from schemes.