On the go: Trustees of the Marks and Spencer Pension Scheme have purchased buy-in policies with Phoenix Life and Aviva totalling £1.4bn.
The insurance policies cover roughly a third of the £10bn defined benefit scheme’s pensioner liabilities.
Simon Lee, chief investment officer of the scheme, which closed to future accrual in 2017, said: “We are delighted to have secured these insurance policies for a significant portion of the benefits payable to our members.”
Both transactions were carried out using umbrella master agreements and transaction schedules, and the trustees can now move quickly to complete further buy-ins either with these two insurers or other market participants.
Michelle Wright, partner at LCP, the consultancy that advised on the transactions, said this is “another great example of how even the largest schemes can use insurance as an effective component of their derisking toolkit”.
It is the first bulk annuity transaction completed by Phoenix with an external client.
