Royal London, the UK’s largest life, pensions and investment mutual, today confirms its entry into the bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market.
Offering a new and attractive choice for trustees to secure their members’ benefits, Royal London will focus on working with trustees and advisers on BPA transactions of up to £500 million.
A team of 40 experts, led by Director of BPA Solutions, Paul Bowker, has been established, offering trustees access to a diverse range of skills and expertise. The team have been involved in hundreds of buy-ins and buyouts from small to multi-billion-pound deals, with experience across a range of bulk annuity providers and consultancies.
Today’s announcement marks the latest stage in the development of Royal London’s BPA proposition, which has included transacting a £250 million full scheme buy-in policy with the Trustee of the Royal Liver UK Pension Scheme in November 2023 and a further £350 million buy-in policy in January 2024 to insure a subset of members in the Royal London Group Pension Scheme.
In July the Group successfully transacted with its first external pension scheme, securing a £30m full scheme buy-in, followed by a further £100m transaction with another external pension scheme in September. These transactions underscore the Group’s readiness for entering the BPA market and supporting trustees.
Barry O’Dwyer, Group Chief Executive Officer, Royal London, commented: “With an increasing number of pension schemes looking to meet their de-risking objectives, it’s an important time to be providing a mutual choice. Royal London is the only mutual in the BPA market, and we believe that will be a very attractive proposition for many trustees. We’re off to a strong start as we continue to focus on establishing a reputation as an insurer of choice for trustees and their advisers.”
Paul Bowker, Director of BPA Solutions at Royal London, said: “We have invested significantly to build a compelling bulk annuity offering for trustees and their members. They will be able to partner with a well-known mutual brand with proven financial strength, in the confidence we only have their members’, and all our customers’ interests, at the core of our long-term decision making.
“We will be building on our strong customer service credentials and delivering our BPA administration in-house to ensure we deliver the highest standards of service.”
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