Aon publishes in a press release:
“Aon plc (NYSE:AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has advised the Smiths Group pension schemes on their eighth bulk annuity purchase.
The £3bn Smiths Industries Pension Scheme has secured a new £176m bulk annuity, its second with Canada Life. As with the scheme’s previous buy-ins in 2016 and 2017, the purchase was well-timed to capture strong pricing opportunities, with the annuity improving the return on scheme assets while reducing risk. The trustees were advised by Aon, using its Compass bulk annuity platform
Aon has now secured eight bulk annuities, totalling around £1.6bn across the sponsor’s two schemes. This process – one of the market’s longest-established programmes of phased de-risking – has removed risks for the majority of the pensioner liabilities.