The IBM appeal – when is a pensions promise not a promise?

Employers can pursue pension plan change with renewed vigour following the publication of the judgment in the IBM appeal. They can now be less concerned about whether promises they have made in the past may bind them into the future, as the weight of an employee’s “reasonable expectations” argument has been significantly downgraded making it more difficult for an employee to successfully challenge pension plan change on the basis that it breaches the employer’s duty of good faith.