Marvin OnumonuCanada Life completed an £80m pension buy-in with the Safeway Pension Scheme, securing benefits for more than 350 deferred members and 1,450 pensioners.
The scheme is backed by Safeway Stores Limited, part of the Morrison Supermarkets Group.
Aon acted as lead broker to the trustees and handled actuarial advice, with Hymans Robertson advising on investments.
Legal advice for the trustees came from Clifford Chance and Gowling WLG, while Canada Life was advised by its in-house team.
Shreyas Sridhar, managing director, bulk purchase annuities at Canada Life, said: “It’s been a real pleasure to be part of this collaboration to help the Safeway Pension Scheme reach a buy-in deal and I would like to thank the Trustees for choosing Canada Life to secure the benefits of its members.
“Collaboration among all parties was vital to achieving an accelerated transaction process.
“Working to a tight timescale, a joint working group held early admin preparation calls to ensure the scheme’s readiness, and efficient due diligence enabled swift completion of the agreement once Canada Life was exclusive as its insurer.”
Steve Southern, chair of the trustees, said: “As our sixth buy‑in transaction, this is a significant milestone in our long‑term de‑risking journey and underlines the strong collaboration between the Trustees and Morrison Supermarkets Group, working together through our Joint Working Group to secure members’ benefits.”
James Staveley-Wadham, associate partner at Aon, said: “We have worked with the Safeway Pension Scheme Trustees on several stages of their de-risking journey, and this buy-in with Canada Life is another important milestone.
“The Trustees have a highly engaged board, which allowed us to move swiftly while maintaining a clear focus on securing members’ benefits.”
