Mairi Carlin

Trustee Director

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Mairi has specialised in pensions since qualifying as a lawyer in 2005.

Following seven years with DWF’s pensions team, she spent nine years at Pinsent Masons LLP, latterly as a Legal Director, where she provided both pensions legal advice and professional trustee services. She subsequently joined Brodies as a Pensions Legal Director and most recently worked at Burges Salmon in Edinburgh as a Pensions Professional Support Lawyer.

Mairi has extensive experience advising trustees and employers on a broad range of pensions matters, including corporate transactions, scheme governance, funding negotiations and endgame planning. Alongside her advisory work, she acted as a professional trustee for a number of defined benefit pension schemes and developed specialist expertise in public sector pensions, including public sector outsourcing, bulk transfers and TUPE-related pension matters.

Based in Glasgow, Mairi has extensive experience advising trustees and employers on a broad range of pensions matters, including corporate transactions, scheme governance, funding negotiations and endgame planning. Recognised by Legal 500 UK 2022 as a “Next Generation Partner”, she has also been described by Chambers as “straightforward to deal with, gets to the point and understands the issues quickly”. Mairi is also a qualified Mental Health First Aider.

Mairi is fully accredited by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees and also holds the Pensions Management Institute’s Retirement Provision Certificate.

  • Buy-in preparation and insurer transactions
  • Corporate transactions and due diligence
  • Defined benefit pension schemes
  • Employer covenant and corporate guarantees
  • Employer exits and flexible apportionment arrangements
  • Funding negotiations and actuarial valuations
  • GMP equalisation and reconciliation
  • Investment governance and manager appointments
  • Pension scheme governance
  • Professional trustee services
  • Public sector pensions
  • Service provider selection and transition management
  • The Pensions Regulator engagement
  • Transfers and bulk pension scheme migrations
  • Trustee and employer advisory services
  • TUPE and outsourcing arrangements
  • Acted as professional trustee to multiple Scottish defined benefit pension schemes.
  • Led triennial valuation negotiations and deficit repair contribution discussions with sponsoring employers.
  • Negotiated employer exits and flexible apportionment arrangements.
  • Managed service provider selection exercises and transitions to new advisers.
  • Negotiated bespoke investment management arrangements for pension schemes.
  • Oversaw scheme preparations for buy-ins, including GMP reconciliation, equalisation and data-cleansing exercises.
  • Managed projects involving the transfer of private defined benefit schemes into the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.
  • Acted as the primary liaison between trustees and The Pensions Regulator on long-term funding agreements and regulatory matters.
  • Advised trustees and employers on funding negotiations and employer covenant support arrangements, including corporate guarantees.
  • Provided specialist advice on the pensions aspects of corporate transactions.
  • Significant expertise in public sector pensions, outsourcing arrangements, bulk transfers and TUPE-related pension matters.
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