British insurer Aviva has completed a £350m bulk purchase annuity buy-in transaction with the Trustee of the Co-operative Pension Scheme (Pace).
This marks companies second transaction with Co-operative Pension Scheme following a £1bn transaction announced in January this year. It was completed using a pre-agreed ‘umbrella contract’ to support a quick and efficient process.
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Following the transaction, Aviva will insure the defined benefit pension liabilities of an additional 2,300 members. The company will also remove the investment and longevity risk of these members from the scheme.
Members will see no change in the amount of their benefits or the way in which they are paid as a result of the transaction, which forms part of the Trustee’s de-risking strategy, it said.
Aon lead the process to select an insurer and negotiate terms on behalf of the Trustee. The Trustee received legal advice from Linklaters and investment advice from Mercer.
Aviva Annuities and Equity Release managing director Tom Ground said: “We are delighted to have completed a second transaction this year with the Co-operative Pension Scheme.
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By GlobalData“All parties have been closely monitoring pricing, given that current market conditions presented potential opportunities for the scheme. The transaction was completed in under two weeks from start to finish, with the existing ‘umbrella contract’ allowing the parties to transact smoothly and quickly.”
Co-operative Pension Scheme’s Trustee chairman Chris Martin said: “The ability to transact this quickly and efficiently is testament to all of the hard work from our colleagues in the Co-op Pensions Department in getting Pace to a position where such security enhancing options are possible.
“Thanks also go to all of our advisers for their work in exceptionally challenging circumstances in making this outcome possible”.
