Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) reported strong new business growth in the first half of 2025, highlighting the continued expansion of the UK pension risk transfer market.

The specialist insurer for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes revealed that it completed £5.5bn of new business year to end-August and completed £1.1bn of new business during the first six months.

This covers eight schemes, including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme Pension Scheme. In August, PIC also secured a £4.3bn buy-in with the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund, covering the pensions of 36,000 members.

With PIC expecting the risk transfer market to reach £40bn to £45bn this year, Tracy Blackwell, CEO of PIC, said this growth is fuelled by trustees’ focus on securing members’ benefits.

She said: “The continued growth of the pension risk transfer market will be driven by the desire of the trustees of UK defined benefit pension schemes to secure their members’ benefits for the long term. This growth will be supported by the capacity and capability of institutions like PIC to invest at scale in UK housing and infrastructure.”

PIC’s capacity to invest in UK housing is set to expand following the acquisition of its parent company by pan-European savings and retirement group Athora Holding Limited for £5.7bn.

The deal is expected to strengthen PIC’s resources for UK housing and infrastructure projects, supporting the insurer’s growth and enabling it to offer competitive pricing across more pension risk transfer deals.

PIC currently manages a £50.9bn portfolio covering 400,000 policyholders, with £30bn invested in the UK, including £13.8bn in housing and infrastructure.

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