Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme – Regulatory intervention report

We took action to protect members of the Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme when an employer left and failed to pay its departure debt.

Published: 28 July 2026

Case summary

The Plumbing & Mechanical Services (UK) Industry Pension Scheme is an industry wide defined benefit (DB) multi-employer scheme with more than 300 member employers and more than 30,000 scheme members. When a participating employer leaves this type of scheme, it may be required to pay a debt. If an employer fails to pay its debt, the liability is distributed across the remaining employers.

In this case, a participating employer, Cliden Construction Limited (CCL), triggered a debt under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 when it ceased to employ active members of the scheme. By taking action to ensure CCL could not walk away from its debt to the scheme, we ensured the liability would not be carried by the remaining employers, of which there are more than 300.

This case is a good example of how we use a range of enforcement tools to achieve a settlement that supports the scheme and its employers. These included interviewing various parties concerned under section 72A of the Pensions Act 2004, exercising our power to issue a fixed penalty notice under section 77A of the Pensions Act 2004 and issuing a Warning Notice.

Through our supervisory approach, we will work with our stakeholders to put things right without the need to use our powers. However, we will use our enforcement powers when necessary to protect members and deter wrongdoing.

This case demonstrates that we will protect members of multi-employer schemes, including by ensuring employers fulfil their contractual obligation to the schemes that they have sponsored.

Background

The scheme was established in 1975 to provide pensions to workers in the plumbing and heating industries that may not otherwise have had access to a DB pension. The scheme closed to future accrual in 2019.

As the scheme was established before the introduction of section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 and due to the size and nature its employers, it has a high level of orphan liabilities. These are liabilities that are not attributable to any particular participating employer and must be apportioned between the remaining employers when they leave the scheme.

As at 5 April 2023, the scheme had a deficit of around £258 million on a buyout basis as against assets of around £1,430 million. This deficit is the shortfall in the amount needed to cover members' benefits in full by purchasing annuities.

Triggering the section 75 debt

CCL ceased to have active members of the scheme in late 2018 and in February 2019, the scheme’s trustee notified it that that a section 75 debt had been triggered. In a follow up letter in July to one of CCL’s two directors, Trevor Stuchbery, the trustee estimated the debt to be £251,600.

Failure to pay

At the time of these notifications, a substantial intercompany debt was owed to CCL by one of its minority shareholders, Stuchbery Investments Limited (SIL). SIL has substantial property assets. Trevor and Clive Stuchbery are the directors of SIL and each own 50 per cent of SIL’s shares.

Instead of seeking payment of that debt from SIL and using it to settle its debt to the scheme, CCL took a series of steps to avoid the debt being paid and the resulting funds being deposited to the scheme:

• First, in 2019, CCL undertook a share reclassification which allowed it to subsequently declare a dividend to SIL totalling £252,163. This dividend did not involve any transfer of cash but was accounted for by reducing the balance of the debt owed to CCL by SIL to zero as at 30 September 2019. 
• Second, further dividends were recorded in CCL’s accounts for the years ending 30 September 2020 and 30 September 2021, again reducing the assets in CCL that would otherwise have been available to pay the section 75 debt.

Throughout this period, Trevor Stuchbery was aware of the existence and the estimated size of the section 75 debt and his position as director of both CCL and SIL enabled and facilitated these transactions.

CCL entered liquidation in June 2023, leaving the scheme unable to recover any part of the section 75 debt.

Regulatory action

Following CCL’s entry into liquidation, we opened an anti-avoidance investigation. We were concerned about the impact of CCL’s failure to pay its section 75 debt on other participating employers.

We considered the use of our power under section 38 of the Pensions Act 2004 to impose a Contribution Notice on individuals and entities connected and associated with CCL. On 30 June 2025 we issued a Warning Notice requesting that Contribution Notices be issued to Trevor Stuchbery and SIL on a joint and several basis.

The Warning Notice set out our view that the main purpose of the actions undertaken by Trevor Stuchbery and SIL was to prevent the recovery by the scheme of the section 75 debt.

We issued several information requests under section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004.

We also used our power under section 72A of the Pensions Act 2004 on three occasions to compel individuals to attend an interview for the purposes of providing additional information. This included filling in gaps in the timeline of events leading to the insolvency of CCL. These interviews took place with key individuals shortly before the Warning Notice was issued.

Action against advisers

In addition to our enforcement action against Trevor Stuchbery and SIL, we also took action against CCL’s accountants, Thornton Springer LLP, for failing to comply with an information request. This included the issuance of a fixed penalty notice under section 77A of the Pensions Act 2004. Although Thornton Springer LLP appealed this penalty, its appeal was made following the end of the appeal period and was consequently refused. They paid the penalty in full shortly after. Our action against Thornton Springer LLP shows we will take action where appropriate, when third parties fail to comply with statutory information requests.

Outcome

Following the Warning Notice, we received several settlement offers from Trevor Stuchbery and SIL and, following discussion with the trustee, a settlement was agreed and payment has now been made to the scheme.

In view of the settlement, we ceased our enforcement action.

Our approach to settlement

Our approach is to strive to achieve the best outcome for members, including through use of our regulatory powers where necessary.

We assess each case on its individual facts and circumstances. Our decisions on interventions are proportionate and risk-based so that we reach an appropriate and timely resolution that protects members.

Where we agree a settlement, the amount and whether to disclose it is determined on a case-by-case basis reflecting any relevant, mitigating or aggravating factors. We consider the time and costs involved in our actions, the circumstances of the scheme, the circumstances of targets of our regulatory action, and the realistic possibility of achieving a better outcome through more protracted enforcement action through the Determinations Panel, Upper Tribunal and the courts.

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