Pensions - Articles - LCP advises Pearson on £1.2bn pension plan buy in

 LCP was appointed earlier in the year to advise the Trustee of the Plan on structuring and negotiating buy-in transactions to help reduce the Plan’s longevity risk. 

 The Plan’s strong funding position has allowed the Trustee to follow a strategy of reducing risk by aligning investments more closely with the pension benefits needed to pay members. The buy-ins transfer significant longevity risk to Aviva and Legal and General, reducing the pension risks being underwritten by Pearson and providing additional security for the Plan Trustee and members.

 The buy-ins are held as investments of the Plan and members will see no change to how their pensions are provided.

 Commenting on LCPs involvement, Clive Wellsteed, partner at LCP and lead adviser to the Trustee, said: “The key advantage of an umbrella contract, as used by the Pearson Pension Plan, is the ability to complete future buy-ins quickly if pricing is competitive, building on the strong relationships and contract terms already in place with the insurers.

 "The Plan’s £1.2bn of buy-ins supplement the busy start to the year reported in our analysis of H1 transaction volumes at £5.1bn, and means that 2017 is well on track to exceed £10bn of transactions for the fourth year running."