The Pension Insurance Corporation has concluded a c.£600m buy-in with the trustees of the Wolseley Group Retirement Benefits Plan.

The transaction covered all of the plan’s pensioner liabilities and Aon and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised the trustees.

Wolseley Group Retirement Benefits Plan chairman of trustees David Illingworth stated that the transaction was the next “logical step” in the scheme’s de-risking strategy. “Over the past couple of years we have matched an increasing amount of our assets and liabilities and this strategy has now allowed us to take advantage of market conditions and fully insure these liabilities. I want to thank the team at PIC for their proactive approach and flexibility in helping us achieve this milestone, as well as our advisers for their support.”

PIC head of business development Mitul Magudia said: “We are very pleased to have been able to complete this transaction with the trustees. As with last year, and reflecting continued low gilt yields, the majority of insurance transactions in 2017 have been pensioner buy-ins. The bulk annuity market, driven by high levels of demand and competitive pricing, is currently experiencing a period of significant activity.”

Aon partner John Baines said: ““We are delighted to have helped improve both the financial position of the scheme and member security.” He noted that the use of Aon’s Compass framework meant that they were able to aptly time the transaction in order to achieve favourable pricing.

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