The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Pension Scheme has agreed a £110m buy-in with Legal & General (L&G) Assurance Society for the CAA section of the scheme .

The scheme has previously secured a number of risk transfer arrangements, including two buy-ins with the Pension Insurance Corporation, and a £1.6bn bulk annuity with Rothesay.

The transaction marks the scheme’s first pension risk transfer with L&G, however, and has been agreed as an umbrella contract in order to allow for the “smooth facilitation” of any future transactions.

The trustee was advised throughout the deal by Aon, whilst legal advice was provided to the trustee by Reed Smith, and to L&G by CMS.

Commenting on the deal, CAA Pension Scheme trustee chair, Joanna Matthews, stated: “This transaction takes us a step closer to achieving our long-term aim of de-risking the CAA section of the scheme.

“We are delighted to expand our relationship with the Legal & General Group, who demonstrated flexibility to meet our needs along with competitive pricing."

Aon principal consultant, Karen Gainsford, also highlighted the deal as fitting into the scheme’s policy of seeking opportunities to de-risk “over a period of time” using a phased approach.

“We monitored a number of key metrics for the scheme through a regular dashboard to determine when the time was right to go to market, and we were able to transact efficiently once the opportunity arose,” she explained.

L&G Retirement Institutional UK head of pricing and execution, Gavin Smith, added: “I am pleased we were able to secure the pension benefits for a long-standing Legal & General client.

“We look forward to working closely with the CAA Pension Scheme Trustee as they continue to insure the scheme’s remaining pension liabilities.

“Providing umbrella contract solutions enables pension schemes to continue moving effectively and strategically, to complete their de-risking journeys, when favourable conditions arise.”

The scheme also recently announced the appointment of BlackRock as fiduciary manager of its £4bn growth portfolios following a competitive tender process.

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