Elementis Group Pension Scheme has completed a £300m (€350m) bulk purchase annuity (BPA) buy-in with Aviva, securing the benefits of 4,500 members.
The transaction, which completed in May 2026, covers defined benefit liabilities and enables a subset of members to access additional voluntary contributions as a primary source of tax-free cash through Aviva’s integrated DB&C Master Trust solution.
Aon acted as lead adviser to the trustee, with Squire Patton Boggs providing legal advice. Aviva’s legal advice was provided in-house.
The transaction included a price lock, enabling the trustee to sell down credit fund holdings and transition into the premium payment portfolio, helping to minimise mismatch risk and support pricing certainty throughout the process.
Wai Wong, secretary of the Elementis Group Pension Scheme, said: “Even with extensive planning and preparation, we had to overcome a number of challenges in our journey, but our risk transfer advisory team at Aon were excellent and methodically guided the trustees through every step in the process, supported by all of the scheme’s key advisers and Aptia as scheme administrator.
“Our focus now turns to the data validation phase, and a comprehensive plan and strong project management will ensure we deliver for all our stakeholders.”
Sean Rooney, senior BPA deal manager at Aviva, added: “As part of this transaction, the trustee has the option to draw on Aviva’s expertise, alongside our specialist partners, to support completion of their data cleansing and verification activities. This provides certainty to the scheme and its sponsor that, regardless of any scheme administration constraints, they can always rely on Aviva to ensure their preferred timescales for data cleanse are met, providing greater flexibility over the timing of any potential future buyout.”
