Pensions - Articles - Aon advise Alcatel-Lucent on £300m pensioner deal with Aviva


Aon Hewitt, has announced that it advised the trustees of the Alcatel-Lucent Pension Scheme on a £300 million pensioner buy-in with Aviva plc.

 Alcatel-Lucent, the global telecommunications equipment group, has UK pension scheme defined benefit liabilities of around £1 billion. Aon Hewitt acts as actuary, consultant and investment adviser to the scheme. This transaction, which is a key part of a longer-term de-risking objective, involved a buy-in of £300 million of pensioner liabilities. Aon Hewitt had previously secured a smaller group scheme in a full buyout in 2014.

 Martin Couzens, Chairman of Alcatel-Lucent Pension Trustees Limited, said: “We were very satisfied with this increase in security for our scheme and its members. We have obtained full insurance backing for most of our pensioners and even made a saving against our funding reserve. Overall this takes us substantially closer towards our goal of full buyout.

 “Aon has smoothly managed all aspects of the transaction as well as keeping us informed and ready to act very quickly to seize the opportunity.”

 Nick Johnson, Managing Director of Bulk Purchase Annuities at Aviva, said: “I was pleased that we were able to help the trustees capture an attractive opportunity using our experience from deals we have previously been involved in. Working collaboratively with all parties was vital to this agreement and we have achieved a successful outcome for everyone involved.”

 Dominic Grimley, principal consultant and risk settlement specialist at Aon Hewitt, said: “This is a good outcome which has come about after a strongly contested auction. Aviva has shown great flexibility to accommodate the scheme’s needs and the trustees have acted extremely efficiently throughout to secure an ideal result for all parties in a short space of time.”

Back to Index


Similar News to this Story

Wish list for the occupational pensions industry in 2025
As one year closes and another begins, it's an opportune moment to set our sights on the future. The UK occupational pensions industry faces nume
PSIG announces outcome of Consultation
The Pensions Scams Industry Group (PSIG), which was established in 2014 to help protect pension scheme members from scams, today announced the feedbac
Transfer values fell to a 12 month low during November
XPS Group’s Transfer Value Index reached a 12-month low, dropping to £151,000 during November 2024 before then recovering to its previous month-end po

Site Search

Exact   Any  

Latest Actuarial Jobs

Actuarial Login

Email
Password
 Jobseeker    Client
Reminder Logon

APA Sponsors

Actuarial Jobs & News Feeds

Jobs RSS News RSS

WikiActuary

Be the first to contribute to our definitive actuarial reference forum. Built by actuaries for actuaries.