The General Healthcare Group Pension & Life Assurance Plan has secured a £150m buy-in with Aviva, covering all 700 of its defined benefit (DB) members.

The deal follows over 10 years of recovery for the scheme, after its funding level fell to less than 70 per cent during the 2008 financial crisis.

Over the past 10 years, the scheme’s asset value has increased from around £79m to over £150m and it recovered from a £27m deficit with only £5m in deficit recovery contributions required from the sponsor, BMI Healthcare.

In 2008, the trustee of the scheme hired Inside Pensions to provide an independent governance framework and appointed its managing director, Rita Powell, as an independent trustee and chair of the trustee board.

Furthermore, it appointed Redington to work with the trustees and sponsor to develop and implement a long-term risk management framework and journey plan.

Commenting on the journey to buy-in, Inside Pensions founder and General Healthcare Group Pension Plan chair of trustees, Rita Powell, said: “We knew we needed a radical change in approach to overcome our difficulties, but as a small scheme with minimal resource we had to think differently to find the right solution.

“By focusing carefully on what really mattered and working closely with the sponsor and our investment and governance experts, the trustee was able to come up with a long-term funding plan that worked for all parties.”

Redington investment consulting practice director, Mette Hansen, said: “Our focus was to establish a clear framework that would put the trustees in full control and get all stakeholders behind a shared objective.

"For the plan, this objective was to generate sufficient investment returns to minimise the pressure on the sponsor, but importantly in a highly risk-managed way that enabled the trustees to retain full control in all market conditions.

“With the current market downturn putting those with funding challenges under increasing pressure, this case shows that there is a workable solution for everyone, regardless of sponsor strength, scheme size and budget, given the right long term funding plan and a strong governance framework.”

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