Smart Pension has acquired the defined contribution (DC) Ensign Master Trust.

The Ensign Master Trust currently has 62 employers, over 5100 members and £158m in assets under management, and is the eighth master trust to have been bought by Smart Pension.

Smart Pension claimed that the consolidation will result in charges on members’ pots being reduced significantly.

It said that a 25-year-old member on a salary of £26,000, with a pension pot of £2,500, could achieve an estimated £5,200 more in savings by the time they retire at 65 under the Smart Pension umbrella, rather than under the previous Ensign scheme.

This is based on a 2.5 per cent annual increase in salary, achieving annual market growth of 5 per cent, and maintaining the minimum pension contribution level of 8 per cent.

As part of the deal, Smart Pension will also create an advisory panel for the Ensign Retirement Plan.

This will enable employers and members, as well as other stakeholders such as trade unions, to provide sector-specific feedback to the trustees of the Smart Pension Master Trust.

Smart Pension CEO Jamie Fiveash, highlighted the acquisition as an example of "real consolidation" that delivers all the benefits of its ground-breaking digital efficiency and customer experience.

"For some time now, consolidation has been the watchword in the pension industry," he said.

"People know that is the key to providing value for members. But all too often, we see schemes continue to run separately with duplicate governance and customers stuck on old legacy platforms with the same proposition."

Ensign Master Trust chair Rory Murphy, added: “In joining with Smart Pension, we are now able not only to retain those qualities, but also to enhance them by reducing costs even further, offering greater digital efficiency and financial sustainability, all whilst retaining a strong and accountable governance structure.”

Smart Pension now serves almost one million members and 70,000 employers.

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