Fetter on a power of amendment: High Court considers meaning of “accrued rights or interests”

On November 21, 2025, the High Court gave directions in 3i plc v Decesare [2025] regarding the correct interpretation of a fetter on the amendment power of an occupational pension scheme which prevented amendments that would "diminish any pension already being paid under the Plan or the accrued rights or interests of any Member or other person in respect of benefits already provided under the Plan".

The key issue was whether this provision prohibited an amendment closing the scheme to future accrual in 2011.

The Court distinguished the case from BBC v BBC Pension Trust Ltd [2024], where it had been held that "interests" was "untethered to any composite phrase" and protected the terms on which active members of the BBC scheme accrued benefits on an ongoing basis in the future.

In contrast, the language of the fetter in the 3i plan was "carefully circumscribed" and prevented modifications that would diminish past service benefits. The deed closing the 3i plan to future accrual maintained the link to final pensionable salary for accrued benefits, and the Court concluded that it did not violate the fetter in the plan's amendment rule and was therefore valid.

The High Court’s decision illustrates the importance of reading the whole of any provision in scheme rules and the context in which words are used.

We will look at the judgment in more detail in our January 2026 pensions briefing.