National Grid has secured a buy-in worth £900m with Rothesay for the National Grid UK Pension Scheme – the third it has completed in the past six years.
It brings the total liabilities insured with Rothesay to £4.5bn, following previous transactions completed in 2019 and 2020. The pension scheme has also previously conducted a buy-in with Legal & General.
The latest deal was completed in July 2025 and insures 7,130 pensioners and dependants. In a statement announcing the buy-in, Rothesay said it had facilitated competitive pricing by sourcing both longer- and shorter-dated assets to match the scheme’s liabilities.
Chris Martin, professional trustee at Independent Governance Group and chair of the trustee board, explained: “Having taken on the position of chair of the scheme after the first two buy-ins, the board and National Grid completed a review of our shared strategic direction and concluded that it was appropriate to continue to de-risk the scheme and further enhance the security of our members.
“Through the hard work of all parties and their advisers, it is pleasing to have completed the buy-in. The scheme’s longstanding relationship with Rothesay supported the smooth and efficient execution of this latest transaction.”
Mike Edwards, partner at Aon, which was the lead risk transfer adviser on the deal, added: “We carefully designed this transaction to meet the objectives of the trustees and National Grid, and Rothesay provided the level of flexibility needed to meet the scheme’s requirements.
“It is a competitive de-risking market for both schemes and insurers right now and to achieve such a positive outcome via an innovative transaction required a high degree of collaboration between all parties.”
Rothesay received legal advice from CMS and Sackers provided legal advice to the trustees. LCP provided actuarial and investment advice, as well as executive and governance support to the trustees, a remit it has had since the start of September last year.
In November 2024, National Grid insured the bulk of its section of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme through a £1.7bn buy-in with Aviva.
