On the go: Smiths Group, an industrial technology company, has completed a £142m buy-in transaction with Aviva for the TI Group Pension Scheme.
The deal will see Aviva insuring the defined benefit pension liabilities of 1,224 pensioner members, removing the investment and longevity risk of these individuals from the pension fund.
Chris Surch, chair of the TI Group Pension Scheme trustees, noted that this is the pension fund’s sixth annuity tranche, “continuing a well-established derisking strategy for the scheme”.
He said: “I am pleased that this was swiftly concluded when the opportunity arose, thanks to the dedication of our trustees, Smiths Group, our advisers and Aviva — all working as efficiently remotely as they had been when office based.”
The process to select an insurer and negotiate terms was led by Aon.
According to Dominic Grimley, risk settlement adviser at Aon, this “transaction continues a trend of well-timed transactions for the group, and was made possible by nimble decision-making from the trustee and Smiths Group, capturing the market’s interest and derisking without any funding cost”.
