Ockham Pension Scheme completes £110m buy-in deal with Just Group

Ockham Pension Scheme has completed a £110m buy-in of its liabilities with Just Group.

This is the third buy-in completed by a pension scheme sponsored within Liverpool Victoria (LV) Financial Services following the £40m full buy-in with Rothesay of the Teachers Assurance Group pension scheme in 2019, and the conversion of the LV employee pension scheme’s longevity swap into a £800m buy-in with Standard Life in 2020.

LCP was appointed as specialist de-risking adviser to the trustee and LV, with A&O providing transaction legal advice alongside Eversheds which provided further advice to LV. Redington provided investment advice on the asset transfer. Just Group was advised by Pinsent Masons.

Huw Evans, chair of the Ockham Pension Scheme and a director of BESTrustees, said that securing member benefits under the buy-in insurance policy, regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), gives additional layers of protection to members and effectively removes investment and other demographic risks from the scheme.

He said: “Our advisers, LCP, A&O, Hymans and Redington worked collaboratively to run an efficient process and drive the project to a successful conclusion.”

Stephen Percival, chief financial officer at LV, added that transaction is another important step in reducing LV’s defined benefit pension scheme funding risks, which further enhances the stability and quality of LV’s capital surplus.

He said: “The transaction both secures the benefits for the Ockham pension scheme members and is also in the best interests of LV’s 1 million+ members.”

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