Aviva completes £875m buy-in with its own pension scheme

Aviva Life & Pensions UK has completed an £875m buy-in with its parent company’s defined benefit pension scheme, covering around 2,800 members’ pension liabilities.

This is the Aviva Staff Pension Scheme’s second buy-in with Aviva after a £1.7bn buy-in in 2019 and a £5bn longevity swap in 2014.

Of the approximately 2,800 members covered under the deal, around 2,100 are deferred members and 700 are current pensioner members.

The transaction, which is the second under an umbrella policy agreed in October 2019, brings the total number of insured scheme members to over 27,000.

The Aviva Staff Pension Scheme was advised on the deal by Hymans Robertson, with Linklaters providing legal advice to the trustee.

Commenting on the buy-in completion, Aviva Staff Pension Scheme chair of the trustee, Brian Bussell, said: “The trustee is delighted to have entered into this second buy-in with Aviva to continue to take steps to help secure the benefits due to our members.

“In addition to the existing longevity swap and buy-in, this recent buy-in helps to further reduce the amount of longevity and investment risk within the scheme.

“Hymans Robertson’s leadership, advice and insights proved invaluable to us in reaching another significant milestone for the scheme.”

Hymans Robertson partner and lead adviser on the transaction, Michael Abramson, added: “Hymans Robertson is pleased to have helped the trustee take another meaningful step in its de-risking journey, with over £7bn of the scheme’s longevity risk now removed.

“In a turbulent year, this buy-in is a prime example of how pension schemes who are well prepared can move nimbly to take advantage of de-risking opportunities.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Are current roads into retirement delivering member value?
Laura Blows explores HSBC Master Trust’s recent report, Converting pension pots into incomes, with HSBC Retirement Services CEO, Alison Hatcher.

Savings and finance at retirement
Laura Blows is joined by Claire Felgate, Head of Global Consultant Relations, UK, at BlackRock, to discuss savings and finance at retirement. Please click here for an edited write-up of the video

Making pension engagement enjoyable through technology
Laura Blows speaks to Nick Hall, business development director and Chartered Financial Planner at UK-based Wealth Wizards about the opportunities that technology provides for increasing people’s engagement with pensions and increasing their retirement wealth. Please click here for an edited write-up of the video

Pension portfolios – the role of asset-backed securities
Laura Blows is joined by Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) head of sterling credit research, Martin Foden, and its Senior Fund Manager, Shalin Shah to discuss the role of asset-backed securities (ABS) within pension fund portfolios
Incorporating ESG into fixed income
Laura Blows is joined by TCW head of fixed income ESG, Jamie Franco, to discuss incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies into fixed income portfolios