Aviva completes £1.7 billion buy-in with the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme

Published: 24 Oct 2019

Aviva Life & Pensions UK Ltd announces the completion of a £1.7 billion bulk annuity buy-in transaction with the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme. Through the transaction Aviva will insure the defined benefit pension liabilities of approximately 4,300 deferred and 1,500 current pensioner Scheme members and remove the investment and longevity risk of these members from the Scheme.

Members will experience no change in the amount of benefits they receive or the way in which they are paid as a result of the deal. The strong financial position of the Scheme has led the Trustee to complete their first buy-in as part of a long-term plan to de-risk the scheme.

The Scheme Trustee was independently advised throughout the process by Hymans Robertson, Linklaters and Redington.

Brian Bussell, Chair of the Trustee of the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme, said:

“The Trustee is delighted to have entered into this first buy-in to help secure the benefits due to our members, working closely with our advisers and Aviva to do so.  Combined with the existing longevity swap, this buy-in means that the Scheme has now hedged a material amount of longevity and investment risk.”

Jason Windsor, Chief Financial Officer, Aviva plc, said:

“This transaction capitalises on Aviva’s expertise in the pension de-risking market and builds on the strong funding position of the Scheme. This is a result of the years of joint stewardship between Aviva and the Trustee in building the financial strength of the Scheme. We look forward to continuing this relationship as the fund enters this new de-risking phase.”

Tom Ground, Managing Director of Defined Benefit Solutions at Aviva, said:

“This latest transaction underlines our skills and expertise in the pension de-risking market, and I am delighted that we have secured this transaction with the Scheme. We have significantly strengthened our pension de-risking capability in recent years and by securing this transaction we have once again shown that Aviva can service a wide variety of schemes in the market.”

Michael Abramson, Partner at Hymans Robertson, said:

“We are delighted to have helped the Trustee take this meaningful step in its de-risking journey. Despite political uncertainty and market volatility, 2019 has already proven a record year for the bulk annuity market, with total transaction volumes in excess of £36bn. Buy-ins such as these show how insurance can be a meaningful part of the de-risking strategy for even the largest pension funds.”

- ENDS -

Enquiries:

Media:

Ben Moss

Corporate and Workplace

Notes to editors:

  • We are the UK's leading diversified insurer and we operate in the UK, Ireland and Canada. We also have international investments in India and China.
  • We help our 19.2 million (as at 31 December 2023) customers make the most out of life, plan for the future, and have the confidence that if things go wrong we’ll be there to put it right.
  • We have been taking care of people for more than 325 years, in line with our purpose of being ‘with you today, for a better tomorrow’. In 2023, we paid £25.6 billion in claims and benefits to our customers.
  • In 2021, we announced our ambition to become Net Zero by 2040, the first major insurance company in the world to do so. We are aiming to have Net Zero carbon emissions from Aviva’s operations and supply chain by 2030. While we are working towards our sustainability ambitions, we recognise that while we have control over Aviva’s operations and influence on our supply chain, when it comes to decarbonising the economy in which we operate and invest, Aviva is one part of a far larger global ecosystem. There are also limits to our ability to influence other organisations and governments. Nevertheless, we remain focused on the task and are committed to playing our part in the collective effort to enable the global transition. Find out more about our climate goals at www.aviva.com/climate-goals and our sustainability ambition and action at www.aviva.com/sustainability
  • Aviva is a Living Wage, Living Pension and Living Hours employer and provides market-leading benefits for our people, including flexible working, paid carers leave and equal parental leave. Find out more at https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-people/
  • As at 31 December 2023, total Group assets under management at Aviva Group were £376 billion and our estimated Solvency II shareholder capital surplus as at 31 March 2024 was £8.5 billion. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE 100 index.
  • For more details on what we do, our business and how we help our customers, visit www.aviva.com/about-us
  • The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our spokespeople images, podcasts, research reports and our news release archive. Sign up to get the latest news from Aviva by email.
  • You can follow us on:
  • For the latest corporate films from around our business, subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/aviva

      More from our Newsroom