Standard Life is looking to expand its pension risk transfer (PRT) business through a partnership with CVC Capital Partners, Prudential Financial Inc. (PFI), The Goldman Sachs Group and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, with a combined initial capital commitment of up to £2bn.
The commitment is expected to be drawn over five years, including £500m from Standard Life, with the balance provided by a consortium led by CVC and PFI.
The partnership will focus on large UK pension funds, which account for the majority of the £1.1trn of assets held in UK defined benefit (DB) schemes and are expected to represent a significant and growing share of the £350bn-£550bn of PRT transactions projected to come to market over the next decade.
The UK PRT market recorded 367 buy-ins totalling £38.2bn in 2025, while volumes are expected to reach around £50bn in 2026. Insurers are reporting a healthy pipeline for the current year.
Nuwan Goonetilleke, chief executive officer of Standard Life PRT solutions and interim CEO of retirement solutions and asset management at Standard Life, told IPE that the company currently invests £200m-£300m of capital in its PRT business, giving it the ability to write upwards of £5bn a year.
With £2bn of capital available, the partnership will open up a different segment of the market to Standard Life, including transactions with schemes above £2bn and bank schemes and large corporates with pension liabilities in excess of £10bn.
He said: “We can now participate in pitching for these deals. It is a step change in terms of what we can access. We’ve been participating [in the market] for a number of years and building up the right skills and capabilities to execute those transactions.”
Goonetilleke is confident Standard Life can capture a significant share of expected PRT transaction volumes and rank among the top three players in the market over the next five years.
LCP ranked Standard Life fifth in 2025, with an 11% market share, behind Aviva, Rothesay, Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) and Legal & General (L&G), which dominated the market with a 27% share.
But Goonetilleke stressed that Standard Life will “remain disciplined” and that growth will not come at “any cost”.
He said: “This is about the right proposition for our customers and trustees, but also at the right return for our shareholders, which was always part of our framework.”
In August 2025, Standard Life completed a £1.9bn deal with the Sedgwick section of the MMC UK Pension Fund, one of its largest transactions to date. Goonetilleke said Standard Life has already been in discussions at various stages with “slightly larger” schemes, including a £2.5bn scheme.
Beyond expanding its presence in the market, the partnership will give Standard Life access to private markets asset origination through its partners. This is expected to improve its pricing competitiveness and structuring flexibility, allowing it to offer trustees more compelling terms on complex de-risking transactions.
Andy Briggs, group CEO at Standard Life, said: “By bringing together our comprehensive PRT capabilities with our partners’ specialist private markets capabilities and significant capital resources, coupled with a trusted and well-known brand in Standard Life, we will be able to offer trustees and sponsors for the largest pension schemes an alternative to secure the pensions of their members across the UK.
“This partnership further accelerates Standard Life’s vision to become the UK’s leading retirement savings and income business.”
Goonetilleke said the partnership was a positive signal for both the UK and the UK economy.
He said: “For a UK-listed PLC to have £1.5bn of external capital come in is a stunning endorsement of the opportunity in the UK and confidence in the insurance industry.
“That money doesn’t come if it does not think the UK is an attractive place to invest capital.”
Interest in UK PRT
In recent years, the UK PRT market has seen a surge in overseas investor activity.
In July 2025, PIC was acquired by Athora in a £5.7bn deal, while Just Group was bought by Brookfield Wealth Solutions for £2.4bn.
L&G has meanwhile partnered with Blackstone, combining L&G’s PRT and asset management capabilities – including a £92bn annuity book and £1.1trn in assets under management – with Blackstone’s $465bn credit platform.
In December 2025, Utmost Life and Pensions was sold to JAB Insurance for an undisclosed amount in a deal that included more than £5bn in assets under management, as JAB builds a UK insurance platform.
Industry commentators had predicted further M&A activity among bulk annuity insurers at the beginning of the year. With the market reaching record volumes, the UK PRT sector continues to attract overseas investors.
