Mercer has been selected by Bombardier Transportation UK to provide pension scheme actuarial services to the trustees of its three defined benefit plans across seven schemes in the United Kingdom with combined assets of around £1bn. Bombardier Transportation UK, boasting yearly revenue of $6,275m[1] and employing over 26,000 employees across Europe, is a global leader in the production and engineering of rail technology.
Most notably, Bombardier Transportation UK is responsible for improving one of the world’s oldest and busiest metro systems, the London Underground (‘the Tube’). The company is playing a vital role in the current upgrade program ensuring a more reliable service to the Tube's one billion passengers a year.
Mercer’s relationship with Bombardier has been growing recently in the UK and this actuarial appointment comes on the back of an earlier appointment in 2011. At that time, Mercer was appointed investment advisor to the Trustees of both Bombardier Transportation UK and Bombardier Aerospace UK. This appointment advised on a pension plan totaling £2 billion, with £1 billion of liabilities in the UK alone.
Tina Keeling, Pensions Manager at Bombardier Transportation UK said, “Our trustee selection panel was impressed with the chemistry of the Mercer team and their ability to deliver a comprehensive and cost effective core actuarial service which was closely joined up with their investment colleagues.”
Mick O’Loan, Principal at Mercer and leader of Bombardier’s Belfast-based actuarial team said, “We are delighted that Bombardier Transportation UK has appointed us in this role. It is a further testimony to the strength and depth of the team we have based in Scotland and Northern Ireland and we very much look forward to continuing to work with our growing portfolio of large mainland UK clients serviced from Belfast.”
Martine Ferland, leader of Mercer’s Retirement business for Europe, added, “I was happy to be involved in supporting this bid and delighted with our success, especially given my shared French-Canadian roots with Bombardier. Mercer showcases the value it brings to clients by putting together multi-disciplinary teams to integrate the asset and liability advice”.
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