Pensions and Insurance

Our Pensions and Insurance team have been at the forefront of developments in pensions and de-risking. Our clients include trustees, sponsoring employers and parties involved in corporate and finance transactions. We also advise pension providers on the development of their products and major insurers and reinsurers on complex, high-value de-risking insurance and reinsurance transactions.

We regularly advise on funding negotiations, benefit correction exercises, transfers to Master Trusts, scheme mergers and the effect of corporate and financing transactions on pension schemes, including managing engagement with the Pensions Regulator. We also have particular expertise in transfers to pension superfunds. No matter what the issue, we work collaboratively to deliver pragmatic solutions that work for all parties.

Our de-risking experts support clients on bulk annuity buy-in and buy-out transactions (including deferred member transactions), matching adjustment solutions (such as gap policies and deferred premium arrangements), buy-out documentation (such as individual policies and deed polls) and residual risks arrangements. We also advise on reinsurance structures, including longevity reinsurance, funded reinsurance, flow treaties and umbrella/framework structures, along with associated collateral structures. We work closely with our banking and funds specialists to advise on the use of illiquid assets in pension risk transfer transactions.  

Recent highlights include advising:

• the Trustee of a Wates Pension Fund on the transfer of the assets, including some illiquid assets, and liabilities of the defined benefit section of the Fund to Clara;
• Zurich Assurance Ltd on transitioning its existing longevity swap with the National Grid Electricity Group of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme to Aviva, as part of arrangements for a £1.7bn pensioner buy-in by the National Grid Electricity Group;
• the Trustee of a pension scheme on the transfer of AVCs to a Master Trust with a switch back arrangement at retirement to allow the AVCs to continue to fund tax-free cash;
• Legal & General on a £900m buy-in with the ICI Pension Fund, securing the benefits of over 7,000 retirees;
• the Trustee of a pension scheme on the first ever value share bulk purchase annuity transaction with M&G, which insured the benefits of c.3,200 pensioners and deferred members;
• Legal & General on a £370m buy-in with the BAL section of the TUI Group UK Pension Trust;
• Spirit Aerosystems on the pension aspects of the sale of part of its business to Airbus; and
• a leading insurer on its funded reinsurance transaction with an international reinsurer, including in connection with illiquid asset classes.