The Walkers Shortbread Limited Retirement Benefits Scheme has completed a £34m bulk purchase annuity buy-in transaction with Legal & General, securing the benefits of 161 retirees and 238 deferred members.
“This was a textbook transaction that showed the benefits of getting the preparation stages right. From deciding to proceed with a transaction, the trustees, advisers, and employer worked closely over the next few months to get the scheme buy-in ready. Through Barnett Waddingham’s ongoing engagement with Legal & General we identified an opportunity to transact sooner than planned. With Barnett Waddingham’s clear and timely support, as well as that of our legal advisers at Pinsents, we were able to take advantage of that opportunity and secure a fantastic outcome for the Scheme members and the sponsoring employer,” said Mike Kennedy, Director at ProPensions Limited, Chair of the Trustee Board.
The trustees used Legal & General’s Flow solution, a specific solution designed to support trustees of smaller pension schemes from their market approach all the way through to buyout and ongoing member care.
“Flow maintains our proud heritage of supporting pension schemes of all sizes. A growing number of smaller schemes are seeking to achieve full insurance. We are growing our capacity to support smaller schemes in a sustainable way, so that we can continue to deliver high quality post-transaction service. This includes both support for pension scheme trustees and third-party administrators during the data cleanse phase and delivering high quality service to members into the future,” said Dominic Moret, Head of Origination & Execution at Legal & General Institutional Retirement.
Barnett Waddingham served as an advisor to the trustees, while Pinsent Masons provided the trustees with legal advice.