Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has insured two sections of the C&J Clark Pension Fund, sponsored by footwear retailer Clarks.
The £540m buy-in covers approximately 8,000 pensioners, dependents and deferred members.
It is the second transaction the pension scheme has completed with PIC following a £280m buy-in completed in 2022, and it means the whole scheme is now insured.
Libby Edwards, chair of the pension scheme’s trustee board, said: “We’re delighted to have completed this transaction with PIC, which secures the long-term security of all our members’ benefits. Our experience of PIC’s customer service following the previous transaction meant choosing to work with them again was an easy decision.”
Clarks’ chief financial officer Philip Yau said the deal was “a major step in fully securing members’ benefits at the same time as eliminating pension related balance sheet volatility”.
Michael Abramson, partner at Hymans Robertson and lead adviser to the trustee board, said: “The buy-in represents a positive step in the management of the fund as part of the good work of the trustees in continuing to implement its de-risking strategy for the members with support from the company.
“The key to success was early engagement with the insurers, setting out a clear set of objectives so that the trustees were able select the right partner for their members.”
