Wirral Borough Council are the Administering Authority responsible for managing and administering the Merseyside Pension Fund. Mercer were the lead advisers on the transaction with input from Paul Middleman as the Fund Actuary. Legal advice was provided to the Administering Authority by Eversheds Sutherland LLP.
In selecting an insurer, the Administering Authority placed a strong emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations. Aviva was able to demonstrate its commitment, both as a founding signatory to the Sustainability Principles Charter for Bulk Purchase Annuities, and through its track record of taking action on climate change and social action, to help build stronger communities.
John Fothergill, Senior Deal Manager at Aviva, said: “We developed Aviva Clarity as a streamlined process to help a greater number of trustees by increasing standardisation. It’s pleasing that Aviva has now been recognised for tailoring its approach to adapt to the public sector procurement process. The Administering Authority made clear upfront the requirements to meet their ESG expectations and to be trusted to provide members’ benefits. This enabled us to efficiently deliver what they needed in order to proceed with Aviva.”
Peter Wallach, Director of Pensions at Wirral Borough Council, commented: “We are delighted to have expanded our risk management strategy to achieve greater certainty of cost for the Fund’s biggest non - public sector constituent employer, Arriva Merseyside, whilst simultaneously improving governance and reducing risk across the employer base with Aviva.
“This was a complicated project, and we thank Mercer and Eversheds Sutherland for the clarity, expertise and tenacity they brought in assisting us through the process to ensure compliance with public procurement legislation, and to obtain competitive pricing along with good contractual terms. Merseyside Pension Fund has now become a Charter signatory and we look forward to working collaboratively with Aviva, Mercer and other signatories, post-transaction.”
Ian Kirk, Group Pensions Manager at Arriva Group, commented: “This is great news for members of the Merseyside Pension Fund, and we fully support Wirral MBC’s decision to de-risk with Aviva. Our number one priority across all of our pension schemes is to minimise risk and protect member benefits, and this transaction does just that."
Andrew Pugh, Risk Transfer Principal at Mercer, said: “We worked closely with the Authority and Eversheds Sutherland to create a customised broking and procurement process. This maximised insurer engagement and helped us secure the best deal for the bulk annuity transaction. With Mercer being a supporter of the Charter, it was particularly pleasing to help the Authority meet its financial strength and sustainability objectives.”
Amanda Small, partner at Eversheds Sutherland added: “We are really pleased to have assisted the Administering Authority on the implementation of its risk management strategy. The Authority had clear objectives, and we used our combined expertise in procurement law, public sector pensions and risk transfer to help deliver them”.
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