Unternehmensrisiko Pensionskasse

The system of occupational pension provision is based on the fundamental idea of a legally separate entity from the employer company that manages employee benefits, with the special assets of this entity—usually a pension fund—being managed equally by representatives of both employees and employers. In this area of employee benefits, different fundamental principles come into tension with one another: on one hand, there is the principle of self-administration of the pension fund, while on the other hand, there is the expectation that the employer company will step in as a "contributor of last resort" if necessary. Against this backdrop, the authors address the fundamental question of the extent to which an employer company has legal obligations towards the stakeholders of "its" pension fund and how the associated liability risks can be limited.