Activity in the pension risk transfer market is expected to be "much busier" in the second half of 2025, with momentum in all segments as multiple small, medium, and large schemes come to market, Just Group has said. 

The group's half-year results confirmed that the defined benefit (DB) market experienced the usual first-half seasonality, with additional timing effects as some larger schemes paused potential transactions in anticipation of the government’s new pension rules, which were announced in May. 

However, Just Group emphasised that it still believes that the insurer solution remains the gold standard that the vast majority of schemes will eventually choose as they de-risk in the decades ahead.

Commenting on the activity seen in 2025 so far, Just Group group chief executive officer, David Richardson, said: "I am extremely pleased with the strategic execution of our DB business, which has had a record first half year in terms of transactions.

"We completed 61 transactions (H1 24: 55 transactions), which delivered £1.6bn of new
business, down 13 per cent (H1 24: £1.9bn).

"Nevertheless, this represents an outperformance compared to the market that we estimate was towards the low end of £10-15bn in the first half of 2025 compared to £15bn in H1 24."

The group also confirmed that, since the reported H1 25 DB volumes, it has written or are exclusive on a further £0.4bn of DB business, leading to a cumulative £2bn year to date.

"We have a strong pipeline of small, medium and large transactions in a busy and competitive DB market," the group stated.

Particular growth may be seen in the number of larger transactions, as the group's interim report stated that, since completing its first £1bn plus transaction in 2024, Just Group has been invited to quote on a much greater number of larger transactions.

"Following the completion of Just’s largest transaction to date, a £1.8bn deal with the G4S pension scheme in November 2024, we are actively quoting and selectively participating in the large transaction segment (£1bn+), in addition to being a major participant in the up to £1bn transaction size part of the market," the group stated.

" In 2024, Just’s activity translated into an 11 per cent share by value of a £48bn DB market that was split c.1/3 in the first half and c.2/3 in the second half.

"We expect to be much busier in the second half of 2025 and beyond, with momentum in all segments as multiple small, medium, and large schemes come to market as corporates of all sizes choose to offload legacy and complex DB pension risk to insurers."

Ahead of this, the group also confirmed that it is looking to improve its technology offering to meet growing demand, with utilisation of its bulk quotation and price monitoring service, Beacon, continuing to increase, and over 350 schemes now onboarded.

And whilst Just Group acknowledged that a range of governmental initiatives from the review of the pensions landscape may change the operation of existing DB pension schemes and workplace pensions, it said that it is expecting limited major regulatory changes in the near term.

Legal & General's (L&G) interim results also recently suggested that an increase in larger de-risking deals could be on the horizon, revealing that whilst L&G wrote £5.2bn of new PRT business globally in H1 2025, it is also actively pricing or has visibility of £42bn in new UK deals expected over the next 12 months, including nine deals exceeding £1bn.

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