The Hartwells Pension Plan (1971) and The Church of Scotland Pension Scheme for Ministers and Overseas Missionaries, sponsored by The Church of Scotland, have secured buy-in transactions with Just Group.
Hartwells Pension Plan has completed a £160m (€185m) full-scheme buy-in, securing the benefits of all 2,361 members, including 1,689 pensioners and 672 deferred.
With the transaction completed in February, the fund was advised by Isio, with Aon as scheme actuary and LCP as investment adviser. CMS acted as a legal adviser, with MUSG as administrator and Vidett as a professional independent trustee.
Georgina Forbes, company secretary and head of legal services at Hartwell, said: “The economic landscape meant that it was a relatively cost-effective time to de-risk and allows the company to enjoy the certainty that all member benefits are secured, whilst also being free to focus exclusively on its core business activities.”
Kevin Kenneally, client director at Vidett, added: “Hartwells and the trustees have a long history of close collaboration and achieving this risk transfer was the culmination. Having a sponsor that was engaged with exploring all risk transfer options, as well as funding the transaction, achieved a really positive outcome for the Plan and its members.”
As for the Church of Scotland, the completed transaction was worth £220m, securing the benefits of 2,800 pensioner members and 700 deferred members.
This is the third scheme Just Group has insured for the Church of Scotland pension trustees after two prior transactions, valued at a combined £75m, were completed in December 2024.
LCP was the lead transaction adviser to the trustees, with Addleshaw Goddard and Burness Paull providing legal advice. XPS Group provided actuarial and investment advice, while legal advice to Just Group was provided by in-house counsel.
Norman Smith, chief officer of the Church of Scotland Assembly Trustees, said: “Reaching this milestone reflects our long-standing commitment to those who have served the Church, and we are grateful to everyone involved in bringing this to fruition.”
Lin Macmillan, chair of trustees, and Raymond Martin, vice chair of trustees, added: “Finding a competitively priced solution to reduce pension risk was important to the trustees, but working with an insurer with a focus on sustainability and member experience was also imperative. Following the success of the previous transactions with Just, we felt confident in working with them again to achieve long-term financial security for members.”
