Five defined benefit (DB) pension schemes sponsored by advertising giant WPP have collectively removed £140m of risk.
The insurance buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) covers pensioner and deferred liabilities.
The trustee chair for each of the five schemes, Peter Docking of Independent Trustee Ltd, described the transaction to secure the benefits of members across five pension schemes as ‘complicated’.
PIC head of business development Mitul Magudia added that the deal was innovative.
“This continues the trend of FTSE 100 companies that have de-risked their pension schemes in 2017 through insurance,” he said.
Mercer partner David Ellis believes that we will see many more such transactions this year.
“The bulk annuity market is currently undergoing a period of intense demand and we expect more such high-profile transactions in 2018, in what many believe will be an exceptionally busy year,” he added.
