The Scheme’s sponsor, the Chartered Insurance Institute (“the Institute”), is a professional body dedicated to building trust in the insurance and financial planning profession.
The announcement marks a significant milestone in the Scheme’s de-risking journey and is the culmination of several year’s planning and collaboration between the Trustees, the Institute and advisors Mercer. The Scheme, with the support of Legal & General, will now be taking the next steps to finalise the buy-in policy.
The Trustees were advised on the transaction by Mercer, with legal advice provided to the Trustees by Stephenson Harwood.
Julian Hobday, Origination & Execution Director of Legal & General Retirement Institutional, said:“ We are delighted to have been chosen by the Trustees to secure their members’ benefits and we look forward to working with them as they move towards buyout. Once again, we have demonstrated Legal & General’s ability to provide effective de-risking solutions for schemes of all sizes.”
Robert Fletcher, Chairman of the Trustees, said: “This buy-in is the culmination of a project to significantly reduce risk in the Scheme and has secured the benefits for some 330 members in the process. We are grateful to the Institute and our advisers, Mercer and Stephenson Harwood, for their work in achieving this outcome.”
Joanna Carter, Principal of Mercer, said: “We are delighted to have supported the Trustees in achieving this significant milestone in their long-term plan to secure members’ benefits. We have worked closely with the Trustees on a fiduciary management basis to deliver a robust dynamic de-risking journey plan automatically capturing opportunities to de-risk. More recently, we have collaborated with Legal & General through challenging market conditions to achieve attractive terms for all stakeholders. By entering into this buy-in with Legal & General, the Trustees have improved security for Scheme members and the Institute has minimised its exposure to pension volatility.”
John Bissell, Chief Operating Officer of the Chartered Insurance Institute, said: “We are very proud to be able to offer our Scheme members the protection to their pensions and peace of mind that this insurance policy provides. This transaction underscores our commitment to meeting the pension obligations and places the Scheme and the Institute in a strong position for the future.”
Graham Wrightson, Partner, Stephenson Harwood, said: “Getting to the point of being able to approach insurers was not always straightforward and presented some significant and challenging legal conundrums along the way. Together with the Trustees, we found workable solutions that helped pave the way for completion of the buy-in. We are proud to have been part of the Trustees' team.”
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