TPT Retirement Solutions (TPT) is preparing to bring its defined benefit (DB) run-on superfund to market after successfully completing The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) assessment process.
The outcome allows TPT to progress towards its first transaction. The provider previously said it aims to launch its superfund with its first transaction in early 2027.
TPT has secured the capital required to fund the first £1bn (€1.2bn) to £1.5bn of transactions, which it expects to support several deals, subject to their scale, transaction approval and market conditions. It is also in discussions with a “growing number” of schemes interested in joining the superfund.
David Lane, chief executive officer at TPT Retirement Solutions, said: “This is a landmark moment for TPT and one of the most significant milestones in our history. Achieving a successful outcome through The Pensions Regulator’s assessment process enables us to bring an innovative new superfund to the market, expanding choice for trustees and sponsors.”
Nadeem Ladha, chair of TPT’s superfund trustee board and partner at Aretas Trustees, added: “Our focus now, as trustees, is on the future and, above all, on members. We look forward to working with TPT to provide a secure long-term home for DB pension schemes, while giving members the opportunity to share in the value created over time.”
Richard Wellard, head of alternative risk transfer solutions at Hymans Robertson, described TPT’s proposition as a “genuinely exciting superfund proposition” that he believes will provide a “valuable new option for pension schemes and their members”.
He said that Clara-Pension “has done a fantastic job of pioneering the superfund market and demonstrating what the model can deliver, and TPT’s successful assessment represents the next stage in the market’s evolution, bringing greater choice for schemes for the first time”.
Wellard said it is a “transformative time” for the superfund market, with Hymans Robertson predicting that the number of superfunds and transactions will double over 2027.
Richard Gibson, head of risk transfer at Howden, also expects momentum to build in 2027.
He said: “[…] with £1.2trn still held in UK DB schemes, superfunds will have plenty to compete for now that they are established as credible alternatives to insurance buy-outs.”
Laura Amin, head of DB consolidation at LCP, said further expansion of the provider landscape was expected. TPR has confirmed that another superfund is undergoing assessment, with a further provider expected to enter the process shortly.
“It is understood that these providers are also operating run-on models and so we could have three run-on superfunds having passed TPR assessment by the end of Q1 next year,” she added.
Amin said a larger provider market could increase competition, potentially improving pricing and encouraging providers to differentiate themselves through non-price factors such as member experience.
She added: “It will be fascinating to see how further innovation in the superfund and wider endgame market – for example in value share propositions - may further extend the range of endgame options available for sponsors and trustees and deliver improved member outcomes.”
