BBC strikes £6bn longevity swap deal to extend scheme insurance

The deal means approximately £9bn of the broadcaster’s pension liabilities are now insured against the risk of members living longer than currently expected. The first transaction was completed in 2020 and involved Zurich and Canada Life.

The latest transaction insures around 21,000 members of the £13.8bn pension scheme, according to a press release, and means almost all of its pensioner and dependant liabilities are now covered.

Tom Scott, risk settlement partner at Aon, which advised on the longevity swap, said: “This transaction is further evidence of the vibrant longevity insurance and reinsurance markets, which continue to offer attractively priced and structured solutions in various forms to UK pension schemes – in this case in the form of a ‘longevity swap’, which means the scheme retains investment control and flexibility.”

A&O Shearman provided legal advice to the BBC trustees, while Slaughter and May advised Zurich. MetLife was advised by Eversheds Sutherland and Debevoise & Plimpton.

Catherine Claydon, chair of the BBC Pension Scheme trustee board, said: “The trustee board is pleased to have further mitigated the scheme’s exposure to longevity risk, through a second transaction on highly attractive terms for the scheme.”

Angela Li, MetLife’s head of UK reinsurance, said: “This transaction underscores our dedication to the UK market and our ability to partner on complex, large-scale longevity swaps, providing tailored solutions that meet the evolving needs of pension schemes and the broader retirement market.”

The biggest longevity swaps

The BBC longevity swap is the latest in a series of large reinsurance transactions announced by larger pension schemes over the past 12 months. In March this year, the BT Pension Scheme announced two swaps  worth a combined £10bn, while Lloyds Banking Group also announced a pair of deals  worth £5.1bn.

BT and Lloyds have been the most active in terms of large longevity reinsurance transactions. BT’s 2014 deal with the Prudential Insurance Company of America remains the biggest single deal completed in the UK at £16bn, and it has since completed three £5bn deals.

Lloyds, meanwhile, completed the second largest longevity swap in 2020 with a £10bn transaction, and has added to this in 2022 and 2025 with large deals for various of its defined benefit schemes.

In December 2024, the Airways Pension Scheme – sponsored by British Airways – secured a £340m longevity swap, also with Zurich as the insurer and MetLife as the reinsurer.

The BBC’s transaction is the joint fifth largest by premium completed in the UK, according to data from consultancy group WTW.

Source: WTW