Marvin OnumonuCanada Life has completed a £189m buy-in for a healthcare sector pension scheme, securing benefits for over 1,100 deferred members and over 600 pensioners.
The buy-in followed nearly two years’ work by the trustee and sponsoring employer, preparing the scheme for market.
Canada Life was chosen after a competitive process.
The insurer covered enhanced benefits for deferred members still working for the sponsor, in line with the scheme’s terms.
The deal also allows the trustee to adjust insurance for any members who leave before buyout.
WTW advised IGG, the sole trustee for the scheme.
Stephenson Harwood acted on legal matters, and Mercer was the actuarial and investment adviser.
Canada Life worked with its in-house legal team, WTW and Baker McKenzie.
Shreyas Sridhar, managing director, bulk purchase annuities at Canada Life, said: “We are pleased that Canada Life has been selected by the Trustee of this healthcare sector pension scheme to help the sponsoring employer and Scheme achieve its long-term goals.
“I would like to thank the Trustee and sponsoring employer for the collaborative working culture we have already built.
“As a UK life insurer with a strong 120-year heritage of understanding customers’ retirement needs, it’s important to Canada Life that our pensions buy-in arrangements deliver bespoke, valuable solutions to a company’s corporate financing needs and provide peace of mind to the company and trustees that their members will be well-cared for.”
Dickon Best, professional trustee at Independent Governance Group and trustee director for the plan, said: “As Professional Corporate Sole Trustee, we are pleased to have helped steer the scheme through to a successful buy-in transaction with Canada Life.
“As a result of the deal, all our members now have their benefits secured, and we are happy to have achieved such a strong outcome.
“We would like to thank our advisory teams, WTW, Mercer, Stephenson Harwood and the Company for their support throughout the process, as we worked together to deliver our shared objectives.”
Gemma Millington, senior director at WTW, said: “We were delighted to work with IGG and the sponsoring employer to achieve their objective in securing benefits for all scheme members.
“Initial quotes were received from eight insurers, demonstrating the appetite of insurers for deals of all sizes and contributing to very attractive terms being achieved.
“We expect high levels of competition between insurers to continue in 2026 which is good news for schemes preparing to approach the market next year.”
