LCP advises the Trustee of the Thomas Miller & Co Ltd Retirement Benefits Scheme on £140m full buy-in with Aviva
Pensions & benefits Pension risk transfer DB pensions
The Trustee of Thomas Miller & Co Ltd Retirement Benefits Scheme ("the Scheme"), working closely with its sponsoring employer (Thomas Miller & Co Ltd), is pleased to announce that it has completed a buy-in with Aviva. The transaction secures the benefits of all members in the Scheme.
The transaction is the culmination of many years of prudent management by the Trustee which designed and implemented a strategy to target full funding using the significant contributions from the employer, alongside strong investment returns to gradually reduce the risk in the Scheme and so improve the secure outcomes for its members.
A joint buy-in committee was established in 2023 to manage the approach to insurers. Aviva was selected after a competitive process. The transaction removes any residual investment risk as well as the longevity risk for the Scheme. Members will see no change in the amount of their benefits or the way in which they are paid as a result of the transaction.
The transaction was led by LCP, who are also the Scheme’s actuarial and investment consultants with legal advice provided by Reed Smith.
Daniel Barlow of Law Debenture, Chair of the Trustee of the Scheme, said: “The transaction went very smoothly as a result of the thorough preparation, strong governance and excellent collaboration between all stakeholders. This resulted in an extremely positive response from the market and has led to improved security for our members and greater certainty for the sponsoring employer.”
Toby Holmes, Senior Deal Manager at Aviva, commented “We are pleased to have been selected by the Trustee to help Thomas Miller with this buy-in transaction. This transaction highlights the strength of the Aviva brand and provides further evidence of our commitment as a whole of market insurer.”
David Salter, LCP Partner, said: “We are delighted to have advised the Trustee on this transaction. It shows that, even in a busy market, well prepared schemes can present themselves in an attractive manner; achieve a high level of engagement from a range of insurers and therefore transact with attractive terms.”
Simon Hartley of Reed Smith added: “We are very happy to have assisted our longstanding client, the Trustee of the Thomas Miller & Co Ltd Retirement Benefits Scheme, in achieving such a significant step in its derisking strategy.”
