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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Law : Law

Undergraduate Course: The Law Practice and Policy of Lifetime Savings (LAWS10215)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Law CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course is a timely introduction to the law relating to pension schemes which perform a key role in society but which are often misunderstood. Pension schemes and assets impact on many other aspects of law and this course will cover a wide range of issues. This will enable students to be informed and knowledgeable of the key areas which arise with such regularity and often in the public domain impacting workers, employers, investors, product providers and others. This will be a useful course to add to those studying commercial law honours subjects.
Course description The law and policy relating to retirement planning is an issue of national significance and subject to significant regulation and ongoing reform. This one semester course will examine the law and practice relating to UK retirement benefit schemes in a commercial context. The course will consider policy, legislation, case law and reforms providing an in-depth insight into the issues facing policy-makers and those dealing with pensions and related benefits. This course will equip students with an awareness of the legal issues arising from pension schemes in practice such as employment law, insolvency and corporate and commercial law. No prior experience of pensions law is required as the subject will be broadly introduced by considering the nature of saving for retirement in the UK and the differences between State, Public, Private and Occupational Pension arrangements, benefit structures, funding and risks. Differences between the Scottish position and the rest of the UK will be explored where these exist. The course will then consider the governance of these arrangements before analysing in detail the issues arising in a number of specific areas such as, the employment context, funding and commercial transactions.

By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the different types of pension arrangement existing in the UK;
2. Critically evaluate and discuss the laws, regulation and policy which impacts on pensions and retirement benefits in the UK;
3. Identify the practical difficulties arising from retirement benefits and the law governing them in a number of practical scenarios arising in a commercial environment;
4. Analyse the issues arising from cases and case studies and apply knowledge to provide solutions to practical
problems
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs Some additional textbooks may be required to be purchased to be held on short loan. For example, Pensions Law Handbook, Bloomsbury Professional (cost - 95 GBP)
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesThis course is only open to visiting students coming through a direct exchange with the School of Law (including Erasmus students on a Law-specific Exchange). Exchange students outside of Law and independent study abroad students are not eligible to enrol in this course, with no exceptions.

**Please note that 3rd year Law courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.**
Priority will be given to students studying on exchange within the Law department, and it is highly unlikely that there will be additional spaces for general exchange students & independent study abroad students to enrol; we will look into this on a case-by-case basis in September/January. Visiting students are advised to bear in mind that enrolment in specific courses can never be guaranteed, and you may need to be flexible in finding alternatives in case your preferred courses have no available space.

These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. By the end of this course students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the different types of pension arrangement in the UK; 2. Critically evaluate and discuss the laws, regulation and policy which impacts on pensions and retirement benefits in the UK; 3. Identify the practical difficulties arising from retirement benefits and the law governing them in a number of practical scenarios arising in a commercial environment; 4. Analyse the issues arising from cases and case studies and apply knowledge to provide solutions to practical problems;
  2. Demonstrate ability to conduct legal research and work collaboratively to apply knowledge to factual situation and understand relationships between different aspects of the commercial legal environment.
  3. Key commercial skills in applying knowledge to factual situations, presentation skills and negotiation skills
  4. Confidence in applying legal knowledge in practical commercial situations
  5. Students must manage time personally to prepare for seminars and must also develop skills to work in partne with others, similar to those skills required in legal practice. Students will be encouraged to consider working ways which accommodate the strengths of different skills within working groups to meet course outcomes.
Reading List
The majority of materials required, such as legislation, cases and articles are already available via MyEd online library resources (PLC, Westlaw & LexisNexis). Some additional textbooks may be required to be purchased to be held on short loan. For example, Pensions Law Handbook, Bloomsbury Professional (£95)
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the different types of pension arrangement in the UK;
2. Critically evaluate and discuss the laws, regulation and policy which impacts on pensions and retirement benefits in the UK;
3. Identify the practical difficulties arising from retirement benefits and the law governing them in a number of practical scenarios arising in a commercial environment;
4. Analyse the issues arising from cases and case studies and apply knowledge to provide solutions to practical problems
Additional Class Delivery Information 10 2-hour seminars
Keywordslaw,practice,policy
Contacts
Course organiserDr Amanda Wyper
Tel: (0131 6)50 2854
Email: Amanda.Wyper@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Olivia Hayes
Tel: (0131 6)50 9588
Email: Olivia.Hayes@ed.ac.uk
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