ABSTRACT
Section 15 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 has inserted ss 342A-342C into the Insolvency Act 1986. Section 342A enables the trustee in bankruptcy to apply to the court on the basis that the bankrupt’s rights under any pension arrangement are the fruits of excessive contributions, the making of which has unfairly prejudiced the interests of creditors.88 The court has the power to make such order as it thinks fit for restoring the position to what it would have been if the excessive contributions had not been made. In determining whether or not to make an order, the court shall consider in particular whether any of the contributions were made for the purpose of putting assets beyond the reach of creditors and whether the total amount of any contributions made by or on behalf of the individual is excessive in view of the individual’s circumstances when those contributions were made. Sections 342D-342F of the Insolvency Act 198689 provide for contributions in certain circumstances to be recovered under s 339 or 340 of the Insolvency Act 1986 from a pension share which has been awarded to a former spouse.
