On the go: Trustees of the Xylem UK Pension Plan have completed a £255m buy-in with Rothesay Life.
The bulk annuity transaction, finished in January, covers all 2,500 final salary section members of the plan, 1,100 of whom are deferred.
The plan’s members accrued their pension benefits while employed within Xylem, a water technology provider, and previously related companies.
The transaction is structured as a full scheme buy-in that is expected to move to buy-out in future, at which point Rothesay Life will take full responsibility for paying members’ benefits, the insurer stated.
The scheme trustees were advised by Aon and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Rothesay Life was advised by Gowling WLG.
According to Brian Blackmore, chairman of the trustees of the Xylem UK Pension Plan, the “transaction is a key step in our derisking of the plan and delivers a superb outcome for our members by providing greater security of their benefits”.
Tom Seecharan, business development at Rothesay Life, said: “The trustee of the plan came with a challenging but realistic price target and a preparedness to move quickly to exclusivity if this could be met. This was an advantage in a busy market.”
