Marvin OnumonuMore than £500bn of pension scheme liabilities have now been insured, following a record year for buy-ins and longevity swaps in 2025, according to analysis from Hymans Robertson.
There were 380 risk transfer transactions in 2025, up 25% from 2024.
Buy-ins now total over £370bn and longevity swaps are around £170bn.
Over half of this activity has happened in the last five years.
Hymans Robertson expects that £1trn of pension scheme liabilities will have been insured by 2035.
James Mullins, partner and risk transfer specialist at Hymans Robertson, said: “Pension scheme risk transfer has reached a historic milestone with over £500bn of transactions completed in under two decades, and with half of the volume completed in just the last five years.
“It’s a clear sign of how attractive and resilient the market has become and it shows the scale of confidence that pension scheme trustees and sponsoring employers place in this endgame.
“We’re seeing record levels of activity from pension schemes of every size and the momentum is only growing as more capital, and investment supply, comes into the UK market from global asset managers.”
Mullins added: “DB pension schemes now have more options than ever before. The superfund market is now firmly proven as Clara continues to demonstrate its value as a credible and trusted solution and with the entrance of TPT’s new superfund.
“We’ve also seen innovation with bespoke alternatives emerging, like the Stagecoach and Aberdeen arrangement, that show how creative and flexible endgame planning has become.
“Given the large recent and projected future volumes, the UK buy-in market is attracting global attention.”
He said: “With PIC’s acquisition by Athora (owned by Apollo) and Just’s acquisition by Brookfield, we’re seeing large international asset managers committing significant capital to the UK buy-in market.
“These transactions signal growing international interest in UK pension risk transfer and are expected to drive fresh capacity and sustained appetite in the years ahead.
“That kind of backing increases insurer capacity and broadens the investment universe, opening up new opportunities for insurers to source assets and ultimately helping to support competitive pricing for pension schemes.”
